tightywhitey185 Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Well I figured since every part has needed a going through in one way or another I have decided to tear down the motor.The past owner said it had been recently been rebuilt but I needed to see for myself.I am in no way a pro engine builder and thats why im not afraid to ask you guys for help here.My eyes tell me here that the internals really look like they are in great shape.Heres what I have come up with...... L24 block with an E88 HEAD.This is cylinder number one...it sais on the top 0.50 so im asuming thats .20 over?I measured my bores with a bore gauge and checked for taper and if each bore were out of round top to bottom.My measurements were pretty damn close reading 3.290 give or take 1-2 thous all the way across so that seems like a good thing?Consistant all across the bores not any difference of 1-2 thousanths.Maybe im wrong here.Stock bore is 3.268.This piston to me liiks as if it has very little wear. Here is my rotating assembally.The crank journals look wonderful.No scratches or grooves or anything.Looks like it was just polished.Bearings are standard size.The rod bearings show little wear like the crank bearings.I used a dial indicator on the journals and rotated it aroind acouple times to see if any of the journals were out of round and everything was Good for about 1-2 thous again EXCEPT the rear main jornal as ou can see the bearing is showing.It was about 7 thous out of round.That seemed scary but the bearing wasnt wore totally out or anything.Does that need machined? The thing on this block that stuck out the most to me was the deck. Im pissed becuase i do not have a streight edge good enough to measure this.Besides the deckjust looks bad a little rough to me what do you think?Its a littl pitted around the water jackets and such. What do you guys think of all this?Im scared to death to deal with a machine shop just becuase of my ignorance and never had to use them except for small motorcycle engines.I Bet that i would be able to get this short block cleaned up and in good order by doing a micropolish in the crank...new standard main and rod bearings and a good hot tanking and a hone job.Maybe clan up the deck .Maybe im absolutely wrong.There are without a doubt a million things to measure on this block but what would you recomend I check before committing to a machine shop.It seems things are looking ok from what ive read in my "how to rebuild your L series engine".Any opinions on this I would be very gretful for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightywhitey185 Posted March 9, 2010 Author Share Posted March 9, 2010 I think my thread here is a little nonspecific.When any of you go through an engine is it safe to say that you should have every tool to measure every part of a motor?Precision streight edge,bore mics,feeler gauges,dial indicators and bases,micrometers.I have all these tools but a streight edge.Should any beginer be able to tell the machine shop exactly what needs done?In my opiion if i just drop this sucker of and say hey!Get her done!Im willing to bet they will do way more work then needed.Its their business.I guess i just needed some eyes to take a look at my parts.I dont think it looks like ill need major work here.Maybe im wrong and need to take the next step and guidence from you guys to get me out of beginner engine builder status! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue72 Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 (edited) It's pretty simple and straighforward for the most part. I put my components in the hands of a machine shop I had received multiple good recommendations for on my first engine rebuild trusting their expertise. They took care of me and only did the work that was necessary. The guys even got pretty excited about my old Datsun block and wanted to know why I wasn't going for the full 3.1L treatment. Aside from having new pistons fitted to the rods and boring / powerhoning the cylinders they just cleaned up the block (in their "jet clean" as they were concerned with possibly causing damage to the oil passage inserts), balanced the rotating assembly and polished the crank as it didn't need to be turned down. They did mill the top of the block a little just to clean up the mating surface, but you could still see the pitting around the water pass-throughs like you've got which is pretty common for this vintage of engine. Basically, if it's a shop you trust they'll hopefully treat you right and be able to provide the recommendations for just what kind of work you need. Even if you aren't entirely sure yourself. Oh, and the stock engine bore is 83mm, or 3.27 inches. .020 inches = 0.508 mm Also, if those pistons were that clean when they came out of the engine then it's a really impeccably spotless specimen of an internal combustion engine. Edited March 9, 2010 by blue72 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rising Sun Performance Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Hey , Based on your pics of this engine ,of course it was rebuilt .These pistons are aftermarket and Not Nissan OEM items ,based on the balancing pads .Your crank measurement seems odd or did you mean .0007 (7 ten thousands ?).If you want a correctly built engine trust the machine shop to measure the bores for roundness and taper .Anything less than perfect ,and your engine will Never be perfect .I boils down to what you want and expect from this engine / car when finished .If your alright with it burning some oil ie., quart every 1000 miles ,or do you want it to not burn a drop between changes ? Maybe a new set of .020 pistons fitted or maybe have to go to .030 in aftermarket pistons again or get factory .040 ( Nissan only offered pistons in .020 increments )to have a perfect piston clearance (Rather tight at .001) .Use factory rings ,NPR ,or Total Seal for the best ring seal.Do Not use Cheap cast Rings .The crank probably needs to be turned .010 /.010 is your measurement is in anywhere in the ball park . You didn't mention the head condition ,but you Must have New intake seats installed (Steel ) if it still has the stock brass junk ,set up with the correct valve stem heights ,all equalized . Good Luck , Steve www.risingsunperformance.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightywhitey185 Posted March 9, 2010 Author Share Posted March 9, 2010 Haha blue72 that piston was photographed after i cleaned it.It looked very balck on op like the cylinder head photo above.Came right off though with some brake clean.It was running way rich when i bought it.Thanks for the insight.I know damn sure im going to take it to the machine shop tomorrow for a good hot tanking.Ill just have to go over it with them and hope for the best.The head is a different story.If you look closely at the head ,the deck has grooves in it.Like it has grooves that dug into the head gasket.I am a little confused by that becuase ive seen aother guys freshly decked heads and they are smooth but this head is grooved its weird.thanks for your insight guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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