Completed Project My 98 super charged EX

[Dono]

Yea, last week we hit 1.2 degrees Fahrenheit at night. I'm not real happy about it.
Great to hear the inside of your motor isn't showing any impending issues.

 

[CDW6212R]

Since the inside is so clean, paint that with the red goop stuff. I'm glad you are tough enough to handle that cold. I hate it when the days are near freezing, that's when it likes to snow.

 

[4pointslow]

Today I got the cams at 112 on bank 1 (pass side) and 111.5 on bank 2 (drivers side).
Then I went and attached the shim plate to the back of the engine and bolted up the starter.
Then I did a compression test with the engine on the stand.
Passenger side was around 165psi, drivers side was around 180.

After talking to Tom Yentzer again, I will go at it again tomorrow and try to get the drivers side to 112.
He stated that a half degree could cause the 15 psi difference.

He gave me the option to adjust either side, said that if I adjusted the passenger side to get it higher it might be good for 7-8HP.
However adjusting the drivers side to lower the compression, engine longevity would be the benefit. I choose the latter.

Here is a picture of the shim plate installed with the starter.

 

[Dono]

Here I thought a half a degree difference was probably better than most people would get.
And half a degree makes that big of a difference. Wow.

 

[4pointslow]

Yea, I was surprised to hear that too.
If all goes well I should have it all straightened out tomorrow.
I can not wait to get the engine back in!!!! so excited to see what this thing can do.

 

[CDW6212R]

Interesting, that accuracy is more important than people think. My wonder has been how close is the TDC tool to true TDC, plus how accurate does each cam tool work along with the TDC tool.

You have yours down to the single degree, and can test the difference by compression gauge.

You have the TDC marker secure right, can you get the TDC tool onto the balancer without moving the TDC marker? I'd love to know how close the tool and balancer show the TDC to be, versus the actual TDC location. I've thought that there's a good chunk of power there if the TDC could be more accurately used. I think you are there, I hope I can get mine that close.

 

[4pointslow]

I had the cylinder head off so I felt TDC, then scribed a mark. After that I put the heads back on and used the piston stop to find the mark was right on.
Then I installed the crank alignment tool and found it to be off a half a crank degree.

Tom told me that Comp Cams tries to regrind the cams and align it with the factory timing slots so the tool will get them close.
He added that they can still be up to 4 degrees off (each cam). That could leave them 8 degrees different from bank to bank and that's why degreeing is needed.

Now the tool that aligns the cam has play in it. When I first set them up I used that play to advance the cams as much as possible.
That gave me 113.5 on the passenger side and 116 on the drivers side.
That was all with the crank set at true TDC.
The drivers side was so far off I put 3 washers under one side of the cam alignment tool to advance it more.
That got me to 114.

After thinking about it I new I could do better.
To go further I set the crank around 1-2 degrees retarded on purpose.
Then I set both cams up again using the factory cam alignment tool and reused the 3 washers on the drivers side again.
This got me to 112 on the passenger side and 111.5 on the drivers side.
Now that I know I have to get that drivers side to 112 I will remove one washer and try again with the crank set to 1-2 degrees retarded.
If I hit 12 or 12.5 I will retest compression to see if it matches the 165 psi on the passenger side.

 

[CDW6212R]

I understand, and that's logical to make the timing correct.

I knew there was some variance in how the timing could end up, I thought the TDC tool was the biggest possible error. My tool will move a little based on how it's located on the balancer. That's why I wanted to use a degreeing wheel, which I haven't used in 20 years(it's in a box somewhere).

Thanks for the great pictures too, that will help a lot of people.

 

[4pointslow]

So today I was at it again, ended up removing all the washers and the compression did not come down.
I even bought a battery charger with a 200 amp cranking feature to make the engine crank fast and steady.
I decided to oil up the cylinders, so I squirted about a teaspoon into each cylinder and then rotated the engine by hand a few times.
Then I cranked the engine over with all the spark plug holes open to expel any excess oil.

To my surprise after all that I did a compression test again and now the passenger side came up to 180 and matched the drivers side.
I am going to check compression again tomorrow and if it is still good I will set the drivers side back closer to 112 and retest compression.
If it still stays the same then I will keep it there.
Here's hoping that tomorrow I will be able to say I am done with the cams and can start putting it back together.

 

[ahodges]

Awesome attention to detail. This is why you can pull off the seemingly impossible.

 

[4pointslow]

Well, just so everybody knows that things go wrong for me too.....
The Motorcraft water pump and Motorcraft lower radiator hose I ordered off eBay turned out to be the wrong ones.
I had to run to Advance Auto for a new pump and hose. I think someone jinxed me. lol.
Advance had a CARQUEST water pump with a lifetime warranty, lol.

Then this thing tore a slash in my middle finger just to the right of my nail.
I swear this happened to me the last time I used this engine stand.
I replace the ring (with sharp end), with a keychain ring that looks much safer.
That other ring is now in the trash.

 

[4pointslow]

Despite cutting my finger I made good progress.
This was early this morning, I now have all the hard stuff done including the headers, exhaust pipes, torque converter nuts, starter, AC&PS bracket etc.
Tomorrow I have some errands to run but hope to get the thermostat housing and lower intake manifold on.
I am shooting for Atco this coming Tuesday because some weather reports show possible rain for Friday (NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!)

 

[4pointslow]

Tomorrow the hood goes back on and then it is start up time!
Right on schedule for Tuesday night test and tune!
I had a fortune cookie tonight, it looks promising. lol.

 

[Dono]

Fantastic!

 

[4pointslow]

It runs beautifully!
Just took it on a ride around the block and nothing fell off!
Time to data log and adjust the tune, it is running a little lean according to the wideband gauge.

 

[Dono]

Great work!.
Huge sigh of relief from the peanut gallery.

Everything looks so clean.
Did you manage to get the both cam's degree's exactly the same? I still think 1/2 degree difference is soooo close.

 

[CDW6212R]

Excellent, that looks great.

 

[ahodges]

Wow! nice work

 

[4pointslow]

Great work!.
Huge sigh of relief from the peanut gallery.

Everything looks so clean.
Did you manage to get the both cam's degree's exactly the same? I still think 1/2 degree difference is soooo close.

I have the passenger side at 112 and the drivers side at 113, I set the drivers side that way due to higher compression readings on that side.

The main thing I was even concerned about during the degree process was to be within 5 degrees of spec (112).
I heard that further out it could lead to engine or valve damage.
I really liked learning how to degree the 4.0 SOHC, it was challenging but very interesting.

 

[vroomzoomboom]

so how far into the 12's (also making mine, andy and don's task even harder lol) are you going to chuck it?
side note
sucks. reading how everyone still playing with their trucks, meanwhile we have snow, i was near dons place yesterday and saw his truck sitting in his driveway while evil has been sitting in the back yard not started, not moved in around a month now. but i am sure my neighbours couldnt be happier.