On my first assembly I actually just shaved down that spacer. I had to replace the front rotor and housing on my first rebuild. I now have a second spacer from an N/A engine I tore down. If I do have the iron lapped or replace it; hopefully one of those spacers has the correct end play.

For the record shaving down that spacer was a PITA and took forever, but I didn't want to wait a week for shipping to get my engine together. What I did after I saw end play was out of spec was take apart the front stack. Sand down the spacer and constantly was checking with my micrometer to make sure I had it evenly shaved. I believe I checked on either 6 or 8 pts around the spacer. So I'd take some material off, assemble the front stack, check endplay with my dial indicator and repeat the whole process till end play was within spec.

This is a noob question, but what are the circled rings on the irons called?http://sphotos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...58739674_o.jpg

Those of course need to be removed for lapping and then I assume simply pressed back in after lapping. I talked to the machine shop about doing the lapping, but I don't think they really want to do the work. Owner said (what I already knew) that those would need to come out so the iron can lay flat for the lapping....but didn't offer or say "we can pull those for you" Do they come as easily as getting some Vice Grips and working them loose?

I didn't even ask the machine shop costs on having the iron lapped cause instinct tells me that if I can find a replacement that is in spec that is going to be the best moneys spent. I left the shop thinking, "It's an option, but not the best options...I'll find a used iron." Problem is that irons and housings are getting very hard to find. I suspect that with 20 yr old parts that rotary shops are buying up the parts and holding them. The flooding in Japan certainly doesn't help matters.

If I do have 0.001 lapped, should I also be re-nitrating? I wouldn't think I'd have to. That surface is 0.004 thick which still leaves me 0.003 of material.

I've decided to use my front iron. I simply need to make a list of the small parts I need that I hadn't already ordered and get them on their way.

I decided to replace my flywheel with one VRRacing was selling and also replaced my exhaust manifold. Waiting for both those parts to arrive.

While making what I hope is my final order of parts....Should I worry about replacing the bearing plate? My instinct is no, that the thrust bearing is riding on a film of oil between the bearing plate and the bearing.
http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...65251253_o.jpg

Those are dowels.
Yes, those are press-fit into the (front) iron.
They can be removed, if need be.
They are used to locate the front oil cover into the proper position for installation.
They don't take very much stress.


-Ted

Wow, that looks like "galling" to me!
Unless the pic looks worse that it is, I would replace it.
Does any of it drag on your fingernail?
If it does, you need to replace it!

On the other side...
I would inspect the Torrington bearing that was in contact with this plate!
I would bet some of the needle bearings are scored?
I would recommend to replace that Torrington bearing too.
At the same time, inspect the other Torrington bearing too...
It's not supposed to look like that unless we're talking really high mileage, high power, and / or lack of oil lubrication?


-Ted

It does look worse in the pic than it is. There is one spot where I can catch my nail. Unless it went to scrap, I do have another plate from an N/A engine I toredown, or I have a friend who has one. Replacing it won't be an issue.

For what it's worth and IIRC that is how the plate look on the original teardown and rebuild. The engine is a JDM but did not appear to be high power. It had factory turbo, factory fuel injectors. That wear is on the underside/engine side of the plate and I'll certainly look over the bearing. I need to replace the top/cover-side bearing as I damaged it during dissasembly. Atkins sells them as a pair. I was going to call Dan and ask him to sell me only one because all the parts have about 2k miles on them.

One thing I'm thinking of while ordering parts is doing some porting. I would like to do at least some exhaust porting and maybe get templates. I have some ruined housings and N/A irons I can practice on.

i agree with Ted. replace the plate.

Yep, it's being replaced. My spare apparently went to scrap but a friend is mailing me one.

I have all my parts collected minus a flywheel and ready to put it all together. I'm a lil dissapointed that Pineapple Racing's videos are down. Those were very helpful in spec'ing and prepping for assembly.


My flywheel on first assembly only had 1-2 cracks on it so I had it turned and used it. 2k miles later the flywheel now has cracks all over it..maybe 8 or so. Flywheel warping? I had an n370flywheel purchased but something happened in shipping, so I need to source another one. As a precaution, if needed, I bought a S5 rear counterweight, it hasn't arrived yet. It may end up being mated up with light flywheel. Depending on what I find available used.

I've replaced the exhaust manifold with a minty fresh manifold. Not a crack in sight. Though I may still want to try my hand at welding a tubular manifold this summer....if the instructor for my class will allow me to use class space and tools.

Damn Jeff you have yet to catch a break on this rebuild/build at all.

Tell me bout it brotha!! I understand that in every large project you need to plan for the unexpected.....but damn!!

Oh one tool I bought so that I'm sure my coolant seals are intact. Atkins coolant seal tester!!!

Sooo the saga continues. I haven't sourced a flywheel yet, but I figure I can get the engine assembled and at least get the garage organized. I was doing final cleaning and organizing to do the rebuild this week. And I find a nice little nick in my rear stat gear bearing!! I mean wtf? There is no damage on the eshaft so I don't know what or how..but it's there.

I've got a spare gear from the N/A engine and the bearing looks pretty alright. There is no copper showing. But I may spend for the new one. Seems a pity to have the front one new and the rear one used.

Disregard the post. It was a dumb question I answered by searching...

Bearing replaced. I bought an automatic rear counterweight in prep for getting an ACT Streetlite flywheel.

I have two questions about my rear counterweight

I measure the distance between my fingers to confirm that it is a S5 rear counterweight?
http://sphotos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...61950212_o.jpg
S5 = 12.52 to 12.85 mm
S4 = 13.23 to 13.92 mm

I believe that this wear is fine, but need to make sure
http://sphotos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...27278758_o.jpg

There's no real way to discern the difference between the two?
In fact, I heard a rumor that if you order a new counterweight from Mazda, the part is identical for all FC years and the part #'s are identical - the new counterweights are NOT drilled, and you had to get them balanced yourself???
As a general rule for the counterweights - the S5 had more holes drilled in them versus the S4.
I weighted them once, and the difference was 0.2 lbs., which was the increment on my 100lbs. max digital scale. :(
So I think the difference will be a matter of ounces and even down to grams...?


Is that a groove (black line) in the counterweight???
I have NEVER seen a groove worn into the metal like that in my life.
Did you get an explanation for the groove?
That might wreck the rear oil seal?


-Ted

Not so much a groove, it's shiny from wear...if you run your finger over it you can barely feel it. I do not know the history on it other than it came out of a 90. It's an eBay purchase, so I may not get a response to questions.

Since concerns have been raised, it was also painted, which I planned on lightly sanding off, but it has a small notch in it also. Is that small ding enough to cause balance issues?
http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...79215451_o.jpg
http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...75869256_o.jpg


I assume that taking it to a machine shop would then affect clearance between seal and counterweight?

Hmmm...my vision was pretty bad last night due to a horrible few days at work, so you have to excuse me a bit.
I just saw that black line and went *WHAT?*.
So the black line is caused by paint?
There should be no other reason why such a black line be on that part of the counterweight due to normal use.

I'm also a little bit worried about you stating: "if you run your finger over it you can barely feel it."
It's in constant contact with a silicone oil seal that's rotating.
It it were a perfect world, that area should be smooth.
A slight imperfection could easily destroy the oil seal in short order. :(


That ding doesn't look that bad.
There are vendors that offer (re)balancing services if you're that worried.


You can talk to the machine shop and ask them for their advice.
Explain the situation, and they should be able to give you an answer?
A competent machine should know proper clearances for this application with this type of seal...


-Ted

Sorry about the confusion, the whole flat side of the weight had been painted (poorly) in silver.

The line is actually a shinny ring. It doesn't make a groove, just a different texture. I posted pics on "the other" forum and a couple of experienced members pretty much said "no big whoop", that it's normal wear.

I contacted the seller and was of course told, "I assure you it works perfectly, I was using it on my engine with no issues"

The seller is an idiot for painting that part in the first place...
I would try and strip away the paint before installing.
Even paint chips that can possible flake away can chew up the rear oil seal.
You don't want to be replacing just that seal if it does fail. :(


-Ted

Yeah the plan is to strip the paint off.

I wish there was one voice of opinions spoken about that ring on the counterweight. It makes me nervous thinking about the nightmare a failed rear main would cause me.

Other than choosing the flywheel the engine is ready to be assembled. I'll probably assemble it the week after this week. I'm in school for a 2nd degree and midterms are this coming week.

Disregard this post. I am at times an idiot. My questions were answered...

Want some opinions on the pittiing on these housings.
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z...311_133221.jpg

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z...311_131527.jpg

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z...311_131356.jpg

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z...311_131339.jpg

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z...311_131317.jpg

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z...311_130657.jpg

Update:

I used JB Weld on the suspect area just to be sure...sanded it down of course. Engine is assembled up to oil pump, front stack and cover.
http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...61900690_o.jpg

I have class part of tomorrow but I'll finish up the meat of the engine tomorrow. One thing I don't remember and I know I've asked in the past. When setting play on the front stack do I want the flywheel on with the nut tightened down to spec?

The problem with using any kinda epoxy in that kinda environment is:
1) heat cycling will cause the epoxy to loosen or even break up,
2) Additional exposure to coolant and / or combustion gases can only hurt.

I've used housing like that, and Hylomar takes care of any worries of sealing.


Doesn't matter...
If fact, it'll make it harder to do the end play procedure with more weight on the e-shaft.
The only thing that matters is that the "front stack" is complete and torqued down to spec.
This includes everything under the front oil cover + front pulley boss + front eccentric shaft bolt torqued to spec.


-Ted

a MBC set at 0 doesn't vent anything, it actually allows all pressure to get to the wastegate, when raising boost with it it will vent slightly to lower the pressure opening the wastegate.

i would get a lower temp thermostat, check the water pump, blow any crap out of the radiator core and check for obstructions. if all else fails check to see if the cooling system is overpressurizing.

edit: apparently it didn't go to the last page so nevermind.

Core of the engine is assembled
http://sphotos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...20059031_o.jpg

I bought a coolant seal pressure tester, used it and we are good on the coolant seal front.

Endplay on the front stack was borderline .028-.031ish so I used a different K spacer which I had to sand down a touch. Final endplay on the swapped and sanded K spacer is .002.

Outside of the actually install on the engine, the hardest part is going to be remember/figuring out my vacuum routing. I'm hoping to have the engine back in the car over the weekend, but that might a little ambitious as I'm a little backed up on schoolwork.

i would also recommend ditching that "engine destroyer" plastic water pump neck and install an aluminum one.

Excellent point on the MBC.

I believe I sorted out the cooling problem. I did not have my Taurus efan wired correctly. But I'm curious what temp thermostat you'd suggest. I have a 195 on thermoswitch for my efan. Moving my thermostat further away would save my thermostat and efan fighting each other.

I've never heard it called that. Other than a tendency for the plastic one to harden/crack/fail, what else should I know? For the record, I have a spare plastic one so I doubt I'd spring for the $100 aluminum one from Mazdatrix till I need it.

You've got it right. The plastic T-stat necks can crack if torqued down a little too tight, and being plastic they will tend to get brittle with age, and how they would react to various chemical products it may be exposed to over time is an unknown.

I haven't heard anyone complaining about these things failing in a catastrophic way, and plastic T-stat necks are used in just about every car out there today and have been for many years. When they do fail typically it's a hairline crack at the base area that results in a trickle leak (not a full dump of coolant). If it's not neglected, this kind of failure won't end up blowing your engine.

The AL replacement part is nice, but I'd save the money for something more important, especially being that you have a spare stock part handy.

When I started driving my first convertible many many years ago...that plastic neck was the first part which failed on me.

Finally the engine is back where she belongs!!!
http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...33710680_o.jpg

This time around I left the transmission on the car. I think I now prefer pulling only the engine. I saved so much work in NOT having to drop the exhaust, remove the heatshields to get to transmission mount and convertible support. I didn't have to drain my transmission fluid, etc.

Install was much easier than I expected. Initially getting the transmission spline lined up and in was the hardest part. Jacking up the transmission helped greatly. Once that got lined up it I simply used a spare AC compressor mounting bolt and nut through the top bolt hole as well as the long starter through bolt. Once I was able to start tightening those down it was simply a matter of walking the bolts in place.

Yep, once you get used to this procedure, you're always going to insist on doing it this way...

When lining up the splines, it really helps to have another body helping you.
Have the person push the engine from the front as hard as they can.
If you're underneath the car, shift trans in 1st or 2nd gear and spin the driveshaft with your hand.
(Make sure parking brake is off.)
If you're on top of the engine bay, crank over the front eccentric shaft or alternator - if you got the belts installed - to turn the engine over.

Good job!


-Ted

congrats dude hope to see it running again

I had a helper but they had to leave partway through. We got the splines lined up by jacking the transmission up a bit and pushing the top of the engine back towards the firewall. We had to take the driver side engine mount off to allow clearance. Helper had to leave but it was good timing in that we got the splines lined up and the rest I was able to solo. We were turning the engine via socket wrench on the front bolt.

Thanks, Provided I don't have to have spark plugs brought in from another location or a warehouse I should be driving it early in the week. Things got slowed down yesterday because I decided to move my MBC from the shocktower to one of the air pump bracket bolt holes. Problem being, I had the housing powdercoated so there is coating in the holes and on the threads.

Does anyone know if the thread on those holes is M8x1.25? Those are the only 12mm head bolts I have and with the powder in there I don't want to force matters if it's the wrong thread. And, I don't want to start running a tap through there to clean it up if it isn't the same pitch.

Talk about frustratingly slow progress. Finally have everything BUT the alternator and battery buttoned up. I seem to have lost my only alt belt adjustment bar. Literally I had it 2 days ago and now it is no where to be found. Unless it evolved into having legs and walked away it is in the polebarn...somewhere...?? I took my UIM off thinking maybe I left it lying on top of the engine. I got under the car and checked crossmembers and heatshields to see if it fell in or on one. I have no idea where this thing is....and of course I threw out my spare one thinking "why would I ever need another one of these"?

I'm gonna tear apart the polebarn in the AM. If I don't find it I'm heading to my local junkyards. I already know there aren't any 7s on the lots, but maybe I can find a Camary one. According to a 7club thread they are nearly direct swaps.

Bahahaha!!

Edited my previous post because I'm easily confused and apparently so is the guy who works at Advanced Auto. Thought my starter was bad, but it was my wiring, or lack there of. I did not have the small single harness attached and couldn't remember if it was used or not. Took the starter to be tested with intent of watching how they wired it up for test. The employee did not use the small spade on the starter and I assumed he knew what he was doing. Starter tested bad and I bought a new replacement. When I bolted it up and had the same behavior I knew something was wrong. Took the OEM supposedly bad starter to a friend at another Advanced. I told him how I had wired it up...and yes he gave me the look of "are you a damn idiot??" He tested and the starter is just fine.

Engine is up and running!!

But, it still has the same bad bogging and event stalling if the throttle goes up with much of any quickness. Even bumping the RPMS from idle to 2k will cause it to bog and stall. It was doing this before rebuild and I thought I had found the cause in that my charge pipe to cold side coupler was splitting as I was dismantling things for teardown. I thought it had a small tear and my problem was a vacuum and pressure leak. That is not the case.

I'm still bleeding the coolant so I haven't had much time to diagnose anything. What I did notice is that the engine idles better and has less of a problem when vacuum hose that feeds my OEM boost sensor as well as my boost gauge is off the UIM. I use the nipple below the BAC with a tee to feed both OEM boost sensor as well as my aftermarket boost gauge.

When time permits I'll start testing TPS, OEM boost sensor, AFM, etc. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

congratulations. always good to see a first start. when you get it to stop pissing antifreeze, my first thought for your other issue is the TPS.