In need of lots of help..

Ogapostrophe

New Member
Jun 27, 2010
13
0
0
Spring Hill
I am sort of in the middle of a build and am stuck. My friend who was supposed to be helping got a job and basically was forced to bail. And now I am stuck with a non-running car and an incomplete engine. Basically I have quite a few questions/concerns as far as the motor going together. I have searched around, and read the haynes and what not. But I really need some confirmation and all the info in one spot I can book mark, along with all the other info I already have marked.

So, I bought a 90 block and ALL arp hardware from a friend a few months back, and took that to the machine shop. Got it bored .20 over and decked and the crank was sent away(I live in a smallish town in Florida) to be ground and everything. Now, I didn't know this at the time, but apparently I needed the timing cover machined with the block as well. I don't have one however aside from the one in the car, but another friend who has built up a few 7m and 1j/2j mk3's said I COULD file it down very precisely if need be. Hes a very meticulous person and probably would be a huge help if he wasn't working 40 hours a week and living over an hour away. Is this do-able?

Issue two is that the blocks gasket surface is pitted slightly around a coolant passage or two. As long as it's not contacted by the gasket(a HKS MHG) or really even near the gasket surface should it be okay, or should I be worried?

Issue three is that with the thrust washers in, the crank won't turn, even with liberal amounts of assembly lube in the all the correct places. I have read that since not all engines/cranks were made EXACT and that thrust washers only come in one size they may need a slight sanding with really fine sand paper on a mirror if the engine won't turn with them in, until it does? Didn't read it on a supra website, but I found it on a few muscle car sites and such. Hope it doesn't just apply to engines made in the 1940's.

I also know that this might be due to bad machine work, or to the torque specs being wrong. What exactly are all the arp torque specs? My friend said he emailed them and they said it was 90 for the rods and mains. But is that too high? The bearings were ordered by the shop, and we checked with plasti-gauge that they were right. The crank turns without the thrust washers in place.

What are all the torque specs for the ARP hardware? I basically only can find them for arp head studs via search. Doesn't seem very common for people to spend all the money on all the hardware :-/

One more issue, the final one I can think of right now, is that when the rods went in with the pistons, the manual said to point the raised marking protrusion or something along those lines towards the front of the engine I believe. My rods didn't seem to have these unless what we figured were them was infact them. hah. One side of the rod did have a different shape where the other was more of just flat, so that's what we counted as the raised marking protrusion.

Sorry for all the stupidity, I know I will be told to use the search, and told I probably shouldn't be assembling a motor if I don't know what exactly I am doing, but I have no choice. My car finally gave out the other day, after many many many miles of rod knock and some BHG thrown in as well.
I am seriously surprised it held out so well, for so long, and I hate that what should of been done a month or two ago(the new engine in the car) has hit so many snags. I JUST moved yesterday, so I am now able to start working on the car. It drove here, and finally died. I need to get it back on the road. I won't let it be one of the Supras that don't run for years.
 

Ogapostrophe

New Member
Jun 27, 2010
13
0
0
Spring Hill
Welp, did some more research and discovered the torque specs were way way off.. :-X Actually found a post of someone using all arp.. go figure. Anyway, the engine is now re-assembled correctly, and the car is in position to be taken apart tonight and tomorrow before I go to work.
Idk if I will get any help... but does anyone have any tips for me as far as engine removal, install, and break in? I know people have different opinions when breaking in an engine.. let me hear yours.