Sniv's Custom Long Travel Build

[4Running Daily]

$116 is a steal! Looks sweet! Maybe if school is nice to me I'll meet you out at KOH!

 

[fourfive]

Wow that turned out great, doesn't even seem like the same part. Enjoy witnessing the rehab progress!

 

[snivilous]

$116 is a steal! Looks sweet! Maybe if school is nice to me I'll meet you out at KOH!

That would be sweet man! I'm tentatively planning on leaving here Wednesday and arriving Thursday, and heading back Saturday night or Sunday. All depends on what my testing schedule is like, but I think I should be able to make it for the weekend at least.

 

[smallfry]

What did you end up doing?

Just like what your doing. Had it torn down and cleaned up.

This is what mine looked like.

 

[solsnowbarger]

"I just bought the viton valve seal set from LC Engineering, I also have my head gasket and head bolts kit coming in sometime this week (hopefully) from a buddies shop."


I'm definitely on the newb-ish side, but is this all a better alternative than just buying from camelback or some such place online? I haven't done a ton of research, but I was thinking getting the head gaskets and bolts straight from the dealer was kinda my only choice, I hadn't seen any kits till now.
In either case, congrats on your find man, those heads look brand new! Hope it all comes together for you.

 

[MStudt]

Finally got the heads back today, $116 to clean the heads twice and then mill the bottom which seems like a pretty good deal.

Not a bad deal. That would have cost me $150 in St. Louis, but the turn around time is 48 hours.

 

[snivilous]

"I just bought the viton valve seal set from LC Engineering, I also have my head gasket and head bolts kit coming in sometime this week (hopefully) from a buddies shop."


I'm definitely on the newb-ish side, but is this all a better alternative than just buying from camelback or some such place online? I haven't done a ton of research, but I was thinking getting the head gaskets and bolts straight from the dealer was kinda my only choice, I hadn't seen any kits till now.
In either case, congrats on your find man, those heads look brand new! Hope it all comes together for you.

Thanks man! I doubt the head gasket/bolts kit I'm getting is as good as OEM, but I think it'll be sufficient for my engine and I guy on T4R told me he used the same kit with good results. It's all about juggling your options, personally I don't have a lot of money to put into this engine, and it also doesn't need to last me very long since I'll graduate in 16 months and be able to afford an expensive kit or just a new engine straight up--so in regards to that, the fact I knew someone who ran the cheap chinese kit with good results and that it cost under $100 for everything was good enough for me.

If I was doing a serious rebuild I would use OEM or equivalent/higher performance components. Again, not enough money, not enough time to do everything correctly, and I'm in an apartment so couldn't do a proper engine build even if I had the time and money. But to answer your question, yes there are alternatives, not a whole lot but there are some. LC Engineering is also known to make good performance products, and I know viton is a good material so the fact the valve seals were about a buck a piece I may as well run them versus some ebay crap that wouldn't save that much money.

Not a bad deal. That would have cost me $150 in St. Louis, but the turn around time is 48 hours.

That was my one complaint, and I've heard the place I went is typically really slow on turn arounds, [MENTION=105529]BoostedRNR[/MENTION] was telling me his stuff would take weeks or months at a time. Oh well, I got the heads and they're super clean so slowly but surely getting there


I need to find some valve shims, I'm gonna call LC Engineering since they list valve shims but only for the 2/3RZ and then some "race shims" whatever those are. I've only gotten through cleaning the lifters and cams for the driver bank and measuring the valve lash, cylinder #5 was .002" larger for both exhaust valves (0.016"), everything else so far has been in spec. I might get lucky and can swap shims on the passenger bank and get everything in spec, but I doubt it since all the exhaust valve lash was on the edge (0.014") of spec.

Just rebuilding heads in our little apartment... The apartment owners will never know I'm rebuilding the top end of my engine.....

 

[snivilous]

I'm trying to muster courage to work outside in 9 degree weather. She's just waiting for her heart surgery.

I bought this piece of shit from O'reilly the other day to do my valve seals. Turns out you need an adapter which is like a socket that has openings to access the keepers. The tool itself was $110 (I was gonna return it when I was done) but wouldn't even work without the adapter. No one else in town even had a valve spring compressor that would work, which seems odd because I feel like that's an essential tool that auto stores should carry but whatever...

Ended up ordering this thing called a keeper remover tool:

It was $57... but it does work awesome. I hate having to buy custom tools I'll rarely use but oh well. Essentially it's a handle that has a bore in the middle, and then some magnets in it. You push the keeper retainer plate down and the keepers pop up from the magnets. Super easy, just did it by hand. Then there's the black piece which has a spring loaded center section which applies force to the keepers to push them down, but as the valve stem pushes up through the keeper plate it allows the keepers to move up while still pushing them down until they pop into place. Worked awesome.

I got the valve seals from LC Engineering super fast, and then waited all weekend trying to find the stupid valve remover tool which set me back a few days.

Yesterday I drove to Salt Lake City to get my head gasket kit and head bolts. That whole process was a pain in the ass but now I have it, which hopefully is the last step. Apparently the kit comes with valve seals which I had no idea.

Last night I finished the heads up. Replaced the valve seals, vacuumed all the shit out that was under the seals, lubed everything on the heads up, and checked the valve lash on the last head.

I cleaned and lubed the springs and keeper retainer plate. Black seal is the old one.

Five of the exhaust valves are 0.002" loose. I'm just gonna say screw it and throw the heads on though. Considering how little I care at this point, and I haven't measured the specs on half the parts, I don't mind if 2.5 cylinders have a slightly shortened exhaust duration. If I was feeling super motivated I would measure the shims in the engine right now and see if I could swap them over, but I honestly don't know if I'll even do that.

So with that said, heads are ready to rock. Now if it could just warm up a bit so I can get this baby running by this weekend...

 

[JBurt]

Those heads looks good!

 

[snivilous]

there goes 2 hours of my life just reading this, and it was worth every minute. Great build.:surfer:

Thanks man! Always good to hear when people read all my ramblings

 

[turbo8]

When I replaced my original radiator I couldn't find one for a manual vehicle, so I had to put in one from an automatic. Lmk if you found a supplier for the smaller manual radiator.

 

[snivilous]

I removed the valve covers, intake plenum (or whatever the piece the injectors plug into is called), timing belt, etc. Essentially I need to remove the exhaust manifolds and unbolt the heads and I'm done with the disassembly. I'm hoping I can do the exhaust manifolds easily, so far from looking around I can't even spot all the lower studs. I don't know if this is because of my shock mounts, or just the location the studs are in. I watched a youtube video and the lower studs looked like a ***** normally, and usually not having an inner fender helps access things so we'll see... Worst case scenario I'll unbolt the manifolds from the down pipe which I can (seemingly) access much easier, then pull the heads and then unbolt the manifolds.

I also was probed on facebook for this, does anyone think there will be issues with the block being below freezing? The heads, valve covers, gaskets, etc. are obviously at room temperature right now, but the block will be wicked cold. I don't see why there would be an issue, it's not like there is anything bonding to the block, it's just the gasket pressing against it and I would assume it potentially gets "baked" on once the engine first warms up, any thoughts? At the end of the day I really have no choice, I don't have access to a garage and there's no way to heat the block up. Like I said, in the end the engine will warm up anyways, and there's less than a 100F difference in temperature between everything.

ey, no problemo. Will i expect more reading soon?op2:

Hopefully I'll have wheeling and exploring stories versus 27 ways to clean the heads soon enough!

When I replaced my original radiator I couldn't find one for a manual vehicle, so I had to put in one from an automatic. Lmk if you found a supplier for the smaller manual radiator.

This is the radiator I ordered: More Information for SPECTRA PREMIUM / COOLING DEPOT CU1778

I was lead to it from TTORA (Swapping to a Shorter Radiator? - TTORA Forum) which then linked me to Pirate (different radiators for the 3.4 - Pirate4x4.Com : 4x4 and Off-Road Forum). I didn't see any actual pictures of the radiator I ordered (let alone with no body lift), but I should have the new radiator here tomorrow I'm guessing and will throw up a picture of what the clearance looks like.

 

[SnowLizard]

I removed the valve covers, intake plenum (or whatever the piece the injectors plug into is called), timing belt, etc. Essentially I need to remove the exhaust manifolds and unbolt the heads and I'm done with the disassembly. I'm hoping I can do the exhaust manifolds easily, so far from looking around I can't even spot all the lower studs. I don't know if this is because of my shock mounts, or just the location the studs are in. I watched a youtube video and the lower studs looked like a ***** normally, and usually not having an inner fender helps access things so we'll see... Worst case scenario I'll unbolt the manifolds from the down pipe which I can (seemingly) access much easier, then pull the heads and then unbolt the manifolds.

I also was probed on facebook for this, does anyone think there will be issues with the block being below freezing? The heads, valve covers, gaskets, etc. are obviously at room temperature right now, but the block will be wicked cold. I don't see why there would be an issue, it's not like there is anything bonding to the block, it's just the gasket pressing against it and I would assume it potentially gets "baked" on once the engine first warms up, any thoughts? At the end of the day I really have no choice, I don't have access to a garage and there's no way to heat the block up. Like I said, in the end the engine will warm up anyways, and there's less than a 100F difference in temperature between everything.

working in the cold... it's a pita cause you DO have extra steps.

IIWIYS... I would put it all together to get running (not driving), like minus the radiator/cooling system fan/accessory belts, maybe the alt tho. once together, start her up, run for 2-3 mins idle, make sure it's not 'hot' to handle but warm up the engine. kill it, then go re-torq your heads, meaning loosen them, then re-torq them in correct order. this makes the heads and engine block the same temp, and gets your engine bolts perfect. I know it's an extra step, it's annoying.. but you'll have warm fuzzies knowing you won't blow a head gasket from the cold head swap. (at least it's free?... except your time part)

If you know anyone with an easy-up (or canopy tent), ask them to borrow it, place it 'slanted' over your rig, find tarps for the sides, it will keep the breeze and wind out. if you have electricity near by, add a space heater. I've seen this setup a few times as people work on their cars. oh and clear the snow, it's a **** to drop something in.

 

[cashmoney]

Set the heads and what not outside in a plastic bag for a few days. Won't get wet and will be the same temp as the block.

 

[snivilous]

New radiator mocked up (More Information for SPECTRA PREMIUM / COOLING DEPOT CU1778), 18" tall radiator, sits a lot higher than the last one which I think was 22". Unless I slide over a spikey rock that pokes the radiator, I should be fine. I'll still get another skid this summer, which should also sit a lot tighter. [MENTION=94914]turbo8[/MENTION]

 

[turbo8]

Thanks. Will this have less cooling capacity than the larger ones?

 

[snivilous]

Thanks. Will this have less cooling capacity than the larger ones?

Yea, it's obviously shorter and I don't think it's as deep. But from what I read it's meant for the 3.4L

 

[JBurt]

Set the heads and what not outside in a plastic bag for a few days. Won't get wet and will be the same temp as the block.

or just sick them in the back of the truck

 

[turbo8]

I think i'll stick with the larger one because I live in a desert and I have a supercharger.

 

[cashmoney]

or just sick them in the back of the truck

Ain't nobody got time for logic here.