Perfect Balance's cars | Small update| 05/03/14

[-Fred-]

Yeah, that was ages ago... Sold the engine and other misc parts, scrapped the shell since it was useless, got fed up and gave up on the idea for a while. Been "crewing" for my friend's pro-am team all summer long, got the fever back... so I'm eyeballing JDM S13s because they're cheap.

 

[Perfect Balance]

Yeah, that was ages ago... Sold the engine and other misc parts, scrapped the shell since it was useless, got fed up and gave up on the idea for a while. Been "crewing" for my friend's pro-am team all summer long, got the fever back... so I'm eyeballing JDM S13s because they're cheap.

I say go for it, especially if S13s are cheap like you say. I like that I started from scratch on building my car, but when I think about the fact that I'm nearly 10k deep and my motor is still a stock ka24, it makes me wonder if I would have rather bought a swapped car and dealt with any issues that came up, rather than spend the money on mine like I did.

 

[-Fred-]

I know what you mean, but at the same time, keeping it simple is nice, too. I spent well over 20k to have a car that never actually worked properly and just fed me up with tinkering on cars. Buying something that's already been swapped can cause you even more headaches, and can sometimes even cost you even more than if you did it yourself. I don't know man, I see so many SR swapped 240s that look like crap, with mismatched body panels and ill-fitting wheels... Sure, it might be slower, but at least you don't look like you're driving a mobile "fix-it" ticket, you know?

Just noticed there's also a JZX90 MarkII for sale locally... the Saito fanboy in me is intrigued.

 

[Perfect Balance]

I know what you mean, but at the same time, keeping it simple is nice, too. I spent well over 20k to have a car that never actually worked properly and just fed me up with tinkering on cars.

Well, my car is only simple because I can't afford to do what I'd like to it. At least not all at one time. I'm sure I'll have 20k in mine before it's "done". I think in your case though you unfortunately ended up with a chassis that was no good.

Buying something that's already been swapped can cause you even more headaches, and can sometimes even cost you even more than if you did it yourself. I don't know man, I see so many SR swapped 240s that look like crap, with mismatched body panels and ill-fitting wheels... Sure, it might be slower, but at least you don't look like you're driving a mobile "fix-it" ticket, you know?

Yeah, the bright side is definitely knowing you've done everything right and knowing everything about the car, but it's a lot more money involved that way. A few of my friends have pretty decently built up cars that they've obtained either through trades or simply purchasing, and it makes me question if I should've just gone that route and then fixed it up and made it "mine" for significantly less money.

As far as beat cars though, I hope I never get to the point of having a beat up car that is mismatched and falling apart though. I've always said that drifting for me has ALWAYS been as much about having a cool looking car as the driving itself. That was the reason it appealed to me back in middle school watching videos on youtube, and to this day the cars that appeal to me the most at events are the ones that someone has spent some time on making it look good, (so long as the driving isn't completely crap) so I've always wanted to represent that with my car, at least as much as I could. Maybe my mindset will change in the future, but as of now, I'd sacrifice some "seat time" in a heartbeat in favor of repairing my car.

Just noticed there's also a JZX90 MarkII for sale locally... the Saito fanboy in me is intrigued.

 

[Perfect Balance]

Video. Already posted in the import thread but oh well.

 

[Perfect Balance]

So, I have reached a huge milestone in my 240 ownership. I picked up one of these from a friend, with low compression on cyl 3. (sorry for instagram quality)

The plan is rebuild, clean up, and install. Hopefully the cylinders aren't bad and I can just slap some rings on it and be done, but if I need to get the block bored and buy oversize pistons, a full on forged internals build might be in order.

On a related note, the tranmission needs a new input shaft bearing, so I've also started to tear that apart while the new one comes in the mail. Everything looks good so far, surprisingly little synchro wear despite this engine/tranmission being drifted for two years. Just goes to show drifting doesn't have to destroy your drivetrain like everyone assumes. You can still drive smoothly.

And another pic I snapped while doing roofing at home.

 

[Perfect Balance]

So I got a chance to finish tearing apart that motor.

I was expecting to find an engine that was worn out, and needed new bearings, rings, maybe boring and new pistons, but when I got it all apart I found the factory crosshatching still on the cylinder walls. Curious, I pulled out piston #3, the one with low compression, and this is what I found.

Broken ringlands. The other pistons look fine, so I think I can get away with new rings on all 4, a new piston, and a quick honing to knock the glaze off the cylinders and it should be going back together. Depending on funds I will probably be ordering a gasket set as well and slowly cleaning things and putting them back together. ARP headstuds are also going to be put in.

 

[JrDarknes]

Very nice Sr20, going to turbo or no?

When you do these swaps do you have to swap the transmission to?

 

[Perfect Balance]

Very nice Sr20, going to turbo or no?

When you do these swaps do you have to swap the transmission to?

The motor comes turbo from the factory, so yes, I will turbo it.


The transmissions won't bolts up to both engines, so yes, you need the transmission as well, although the internals of the transmissions are nearly the same. In fact if you swap bell housings you can use the factory transmission.

 

[Punknoodle]

Nice work mate, the new engine should definitely make it move a bit better

 

[Perfect Balance]

Nice work mate, the new engine should definitely make it move a bit better

Move a bit better indeed.

I'm having a bit of trouble finding a piston. Turns out oem pistons are discontinued so I have to find a used set. They came in a few different forms and sizes so I have to find people selling them, and then see if they're the right ones I need. I don't have the money at the moment for aftermarket forged pistons, not to mention it's unneeded for my power goals.

Did I mention I'm running out of money?

 

[Cano]

Nice to hear the engine is a worthy rebuild candidate. Are you already hunting down a trans?

 

[Punknoodle]

Oh you could find another SR20 that is down on one cylinder

 

[Perfect Balance]

Nice to hear the engine is a worthy rebuild candidate. Are you already hunting down a trans?

I've got a trans, It needs a new input shaft bearing which I've already ordered. I got the complete swap basically, just a few things need repairing.

I could buy another block, but like I said Im running out of money.

 

[Perfect Balance]

So the new input bearing is in the transmission and the transmission is back together, although I fear I may have made it worse. The new bearing felt worse than the one I took out, but hopefully it was just minor imperfections/lack of lube and it will straighten up as soon as I start driving it.

I found a full set of used rods and pistons to use as donors for my block, got a super good deal on them, and then found out right after I sent payment that "Oh btw, they also have ARP rod bolts and brand new oem rings".

Awesome. I wasn't even planning on getting new rod bolts but that's great, and the rings will save me about $100. Sounds like a steal.

 

[Perfect Balance]

Well, since my new pistons were to arrive today, I went ahead and took my old ones to work to clean them up and pull the pistons off in prep for the new ones.

Stuck them in the parts washer for a bit, and they came out clean. Pressed the piston pins out, and tomorrow I will be installing the new ones.

Then I got home, pulled the "new" pistons out to have a look at them. Pistons have a few nicks in them but otherwise look fine. Unfortunately one of the "new" piston rings was broken so I had to buy a set anyway.

Unsure of what I'm going to do about the arp rod bolts for now. Started looking online on what would be a good way of getting them in, and come to find out that because of pressing the old ones out and pressing the new ones in, frequently the rod caps become not perfectly aligned anymore, and you have to get them machined/ and then install new bearings. I just got paid today and after bills and new oem rings and a new oem gasket kit, I'm once again out of money until I get paid again in two weeks.

I don't have the money to get the rods machined, nor the money for new bearings, and my old ones are in great shape, they just won't fit a rod that has been machined. At least I don't think so. A stock sr20det holds roughly 400whp, and I don't plan to make near that amount, so I'm considering simply using my stock rod bolts and just not worrying about the arp hardware. The rods they're on right now though, appear to be already machined. I'm going to do some measuring and see how they compare to my current connecting rods, and if the diameters are the same, I will just swap bearings to the "new" rods and be done with it.


Arghh decisions....

 

[JrDarknes]

See, this makes me afraid to rebuild my ka. I just thought all you did was replace old parts with new. Didnt expect all this. Though don't they have rebuild kits? To make life easier?

Also how do you mess with the engines compression?

 

[Perfect Balance]

See, this makes me afraid to rebuild my ka. I just thought all you did was replace old parts with new. Didnt expect all this. Though don't they have rebuild kits? To make life easier?

Also how do you mess with the engines compression?

Well, you have to remember I'm rebuilding an engine that was blown first of all, and second, I'm rebuilding it using a lot of stock used parts and some new parts, so Im having to do a lot of measuring to see if these used parts will work. I could have easily just got it bored, bought aftermarket pistons and rods, looked at the stamps on the crank for bearing grade and ordered all new parts and been done, but I'm trying to save money so I'm doing what I can. I'm also being indecisive because this is the first time I've rebuilt an engine to this level. I've replaced head and rings and stuff before but never down to removing every component and replacing rods and pistons.

On a related note, turns out the new (to me) rods I bought had already been resized with the new arp rod bolts, so I just transferred my bearings from the rods that came out of the engine to these "new" rods and I'm just going to run both the rods and pistons with new rings, as opposed to the original plan of swapping the good pistons to the original rods.

Tomorrow I will be checking the block for flatness to see if I need to get it decked, and giving it a good clean as well.

Edit: To mess with compression typically involves getting pistons designed for higher compression (or lower). You can mess with the compression to an extent with machining of the head or block, or different headgasket thicknesses. For example, stock sr20det have a 1.1mm thick headgasket. If my head or block needs to be resurfaced, I will need a slightly thicker headgasket to make up for the material removed, at least if I want to retain the stock compression ratio.

 

[JrDarknes]

Alright so higher compression means more horse power or no? Do I burn more gas?
Does it also effect the rpm?

I'm really trying to not go turbo for more HP.

Also when you take the engine out what's the best method for remembering where the screws go and remembering how the wiring goes?

 

[MaliciousMD]

Well, you have to remember I'm rebuilding an engine that was blown first of all, and second, I'm rebuilding it using a lot of stock used parts and some new parts, so Im having to do a lot of measuring to see if these used parts will work. I could have easily just got it bored, bought aftermarket pistons and rods, looked at the stamps on the crank for bearing grade and ordered all new parts and been done, but I'm trying to save money so I'm doing what I can. I'm also being indecisive because this is the first time I've rebuilt an engine to this level. I've replaced head and rings and stuff before but never down to removing every component and replacing rods and pistons.

On a related note, turns out the new (to me) rods I bought had already been resized with the new arp rod bolts, so I just transferred my bearings from the rods that came out of the engine to these "new" rods and I'm just going to run both the rods and pistons with new rings, as opposed to the original plan of swapping the good pistons to the original rods.

Stamps on the block & crank for bearing grades only work if you're re-using all the hard components. You can't assume a rod set (aftermarket or OEM re-sized) will have the same big end housing bore as the originals. Even then using the stamps should be for reference, should always dial bore gauge big end housing and main housings with & without bearings. Mic the crank, then backwards math to actual bearing clearance.

I also never re-use bearings, or even thrust washers. Bearings will "crush" and conform to the housing they've be installed in. If the original rod set was perfectly round, and the new re-sized set is lets say tight 180-degrees opposite from vertical (parting line), it will again alter the "crush" and clearances are not even around the entire bearing/journal surface.

This has always been my personal and professional practice. Nobody wants to buy or spend money to build an engine thats been "blueprinted" that doesn't come with a full spec sheet on bearing clearances, cam timing, etc. Not saying it can't be done, but a set of ACL Race bearings isn't much these days IMO. Only about $100 USD with the current eBay price war I've been helping instigate, LOL...

Alright so higher compression means more horse power or no? Do I burn more gas?
Does it also effect the rpm?

I'm really trying to not go turbo for more HP.

Also when you take the engine out what's the best method for remembering where the screws go and remembering how the wiring goes?

Higher compression will make more power as it increase the mechanical advantage the combustion process creates. Increasing compression and lead to poorer gas mileage depending on engine combination. An increase in compression will not directly effect the redline limit. Depending on the amount of compression increase and other build variables, you may or may not notice a difference in how quickly the engine revs up. More than likely you won't notice a major difference.

For engine removal and disassembly... Ziplock bags and a sharpie for labeling bolts that go to a particular part. I also once worked with a fellow who laid out bolts for parts in order on cardboard, then taped them down to remember what goes where exactly. I find this method to be tedious and a huge waste of storage space. Then again in 2 years of working with him, he never lost ANYTHING! Masking tape works decent for labeling wiring connections and hoses.

My suggestion. If your engine runs fine now, buy another and learn on the core, not the running engine...

 

[nobuffalo]

Also when you take the engine out what's the best method for remembering where the screws go and remembering how the wiring goes?

You'll find most of the wires and hoses only have one place to go and are generally shaped/bent in a way that makes it relatively easy to figure out, I never label connections. If I'm doing a quick swap with little time between engine in and out I don't bother labeling the nuts and bolts either. Some can be screwed back in place a few turns and others just get thrown in a bucket. I always degrease them and clean the threads before the reinstall, makes things a little easier. That said if there's gonna be considerable time between pulling the engine out and putting it back in I will go the zip-loc and label route. If I'm breaking the engine down at all that stuffs gets labeled too. Usually for that I'll use cardboard.

If it's a different setup going back in I would probably label everything in case specific changes in wiring need to be made.

I'm giving bad advise though, for your first couple swaps you should definitely label. Pictures can be a tremendous help too.

 

[Perfect Balance]

Stamps on the block & crank for bearing grades only work if you're re-using all the hard components. You can't assume a rod set (aftermarket or OEM re-sized) will have the same big end housing bore as the originals. Even then using the stamps should be for reference, should always dial bore gauge big end housing and main housings with & without bearings. Mic the crank, then backwards math to actual bearing clearance.

I also never re-use bearings, or even thrust washers. Bearings will "crush" and conform to the housing they've be installed in. If the original rod set was perfectly round, and the new re-sized set is lets say tight 180-degrees opposite from vertical (parting line), it will again alter the "crush" and clearances are not even around the entire bearing/journal surface.

This has always been my personal and professional practice. Nobody wants to buy or spend money to build an engine thats been "blueprinted" that doesn't come with a full spec sheet on bearing clearances, cam timing, etc. Not saying it can't be done, but a set of ACL Race bearings isn't much these days IMO. Only about $100 USD with the current eBay price war I've been helping instigate, LOL...

Well, the rods were supposedly resized to oem bore, but I will double check them. I was cleaning the block today, and removed the crank and found the #1 crank bearing worn pretty heavily, and the #5 had what appeared to be small peices of metal embedded in the bearing. I couldnt feel them, and the crank doesnt appear to have any sort of damage to it, but I will definitely be buying new main bearings at least.

Interesting that you mention them being pretty cheap though. ACL main bearings are $25 a full set, and rod bearings are about $50 a full set. LOL I wish I knew they were this cheap from the getgo, before I ordered other things I need. I would have been able to get the bottom end back together soon.

It's also worth noting that Nissan has extremely high tolerances for bearing size. They have 3 grades of bearing size for oem bearings, while aftermarket generally offers only 1 size for "standard bore" and then a few oversize options. Same goes for the piston size as well. Kind of interesting, just goes to show the calibre these engines are produced from the factory.


EDIT: Here's two pics of today's progress. Again I apologize for Instagram quality. I simply don't have the patience to stop during work and take multiple pictures on multiple applications for my various viewer bases. Instagram is more convenient and quick for uploading to the masses.

Before I cleaned the block:

After I cleaned the block:

I'm also going to be taking individual pieces to work a few at a time to run them through our parts washer. It seems whoever owned this vehicle for the Japanese portion of it's life didn't do a great job on oil changed.

 

[Perfect Balance]

Well, the ACL bearings I ordered were backordered until early January, so I upgraded to the ACL race bearings. My piston rings and gasket kit arrives Thursday, and I've already honed the cylinders, so this weekend will most likely be spent gapping the rings. Once that is done, I just need the new bearings and the bottom end is going back together. While I wait until my next paycheck, I'm going to start cleaning up the head and checking it for flatness, and if all is well, replacing the valve seals on it and putting it back together.

Like I said in my last post, I've been taking pieces of the engine to work and putting it through our part washer. Unfortunately I couldn't get the front cover/oil pump and the lower oil pan to clean up as nice as the engine did, even with the aluminum brightner I used on the block. That being said, I sprayed those parts silver and laid some clear over it and they turned out great. So great in fact, that I think I'll be spraying the engine block as well.

You can't really see it in the pic, but it's a nice silver with a good amount of metallic in it and looks a lot like actual aluminum, but with a much more consistent finish to it. I like. Plus with the clearcoat on it, it should be easier to clean.

 

[Punknoodle]

Great work man it's gonna look as awesome as it goes

 

[Perfect Balance]

Great work man it's gonna look as awesome as it goes

Hopefully. Even though I'm doing everything as right as I can/can afford to. I still have that paranoid feeling that I'm going to mess something up. Everything is checking out fine so far, but it's kind of always like this with me. Every time I do something for the first time I feel like I've done it wrong somehow.

I've pulled cams and rods and pistons out of cars before, didn't clean anything and slapped it back together and everything had worked fine. I've never blown up a car before (not accidently at least), but somehow I'm still afraid.

 

[Perfect Balance]

Well, I got a few more parts in the mail.

ACL thrust bearings, as well as ACL race main bearings. I didn't take a picture of those though.

As I mentioned before, I painted the front pieces on the engine and really liked how they turned out so I decided to give the block the same treatment, even though the block cleaned up rather well.

All taped up:

And after paint and clearcoat. Clearcoat isn't necessary I guess, but I think it will make it much easier to clean.

The oem rings and gasket kit came in as well today. Turns out the oem rings are ready pregapped so I just had to check them quickly to make sure they were all within tolerances and then slapped it all together. Everything went together well, so now it's moving on to the head, cleaning and replacing valve seals, bleeding the lifters, checking for flatness, ect. When I get paid next week I'll be ordering a headgasket and some ARP head studs and then that's going on as well. Then it's a waiting game while I save my money for a while. From this point on, once the engine is together, buying anything won't get me any close to actually doing the swap until I gather all the necessary parts, so I'm going to give myself a chance to become un-broke for a while, and just buy stuff when i save some money/come across good deals.

 

[Perfect Balance]

I've decided to make my updates a little more sparse since I'm not really getting comments on them so I'm just double posting after myself. That being said, here's a update on what's happened since I painted my block.

ACL race bearings, ARP rod bolts, new OEM rings and the bottom end was put back together.

After that it was on to the head, cleaning everything while waiting for the headgasket and arp rod bolts to come in.


The head was especially dirty. No real sludge per say, but definitely a dark coating on all the components. Spent an entire day disassembling it and cleaning all the components piece by piece.

At this point everything except the valves and springs were clean, as you can see here.

Then I spent nearly an entire day spraying and brushing things off in the parts washer. It looks cleaner in the pic than real life, but:

I reassembled everything as much as I could, and yesterday the head studs and headgasket came in so today I started putting things back together. This is with the front cover, baffles, oil pickup, timing chain, upper oil pan, and lower oil pan back on, ready for the head to be placed on top and bolted down and cams put in. I found out shortly after this picture was taken that the head can't be installed with the head studs in the block, as the timing chain guide doesn't clear the hole in the cylinder head if you try and set it on the studs right away.

Cosworth headgasket. A nice touch they did was make the headgasket protrude a bit from the head at the front, with a COSWORTH logo stamped out of the metal on it. Really cool, just shows attention to detail from established, respected companies.

 

[Punknoodle]

I love your work! Looks really good. When do you think you'll have it installed?

 

[homeforsummer]

I've decided to make my updates a little more sparse since I'm not really getting comments on them so I'm just double posting after myself.

Feel free to continue posting as much as you like - I can confirm I'm reading each post with interest, but most of what you're doing is outside my level of expertise so there's little I could add of any value to the thread.

 

[Perfect Balance]

I love your work! Looks really good. When do you think you'll have it installed?

Thanks. Can't really say when I'll have it in. I still need sooo many components (intercooler, radiator, fuel pump, injectors, wiring harness, wideband, ect ect) that I can't say, it's just a matter of when funds are available. I don't really make a lot of money and I don't really have any money saved up, so I'm just along for the ride as far as money goes.

Feel free to continue posting as much as you like - I can confirm I'm reading each post with interest, but most of what you're doing is outside my level of expertise so there's little I could add of any value to the thread.

Thanks for reading then. 👍