ENGINE ON STAND,WHAT FIRST? NORTH CALIFORNA

[greeneyegi]

This is my first turbo v6 build.Let me start with my goals for this build.I want to run with the same block,heads,turbo i have.anywhere in the elevens is fine with me.I believe the block/heads are the originals.the pistons are stock ,i had 140 in all cyinders except no2,it had 90.turned motor over till no2 cylinder valves were closed put air in and had air coming out of the intake port,i got a bad back and cant work on the motor in car.so thats why i pulled it..i really just wanted to know what im dealing with.
So my question is where to start?can i take the block and heads and intake to any machine shop to be cleaned,checked for cracks etc,ive read we should go to a machinist that knows these motors.i dont know where to start.the motor has about 100-120k on it.

 

[trailinjake]

Guess it depends on your knowledge and/or how involved you want to be with the build. Either take the intake and heads off and see if you see something obvious, or take the entire engine to a qualified GN machinist/builder. The problem with just bringing the top end to a machinist, you could have a broken ring or rind land. Good luck

 

[fastblackracing]

Pull the intake and put the air back in the #2 cylinder again and try to determine if the air is coming past the valve or past the head gasket in the lifter valley or past the rings and piston, this will help determine how deep you have to go.

 

[greeneyegi]

Pull the intake and put the air back in the #2 cylinder again and try to determine if the air is coming past the valve or past the head gasket in the lifter valley or past the rings and piston, this will help determine how deep you have to go.

i pulled the head off before i decided to pull motor,i couldnt hang with my back leanin over the fender much more.but i had the intake off,the air came straight through the intake valve boar.but after pulling head off ,the gasket was good and the valve seems ok,im guessing ill pull the valves out of the cylinder i had issues with now.also before i pulled the head off the rocker shaft was loosened so i was positive the valves were seated.is their a tool that would actually test my springs to see what the lbs of tesion they r?maybe i just had a soft valve spring.originally the cylinder was 120lbs,the rest were 140,earlier this year,but when i pulled the intake off and did the pressure test to see if it was truly a valve or piston,it came up at 90.i figured thats way too much off.so thats where im at now.one head, intake,off sitting on stand.
ready to take next step,

 

[big reazon]

yep most machine shops have tools to test the valve springs. Also you can have the heads checked at any reputable machine shop to see if everything is sealing up properly.

 

[greeneyegi]

yep most machine shops have tools to test the valve springs. Also you can have the heads checked at any reputable machine shop to see if everything is sealing up properly.

ok,i guess thats next step,to the machine shop tomorrow,

 

[fastblackracing]

ok,i guess thats next step,to the machine shop tomorrow,

if you were closer i would say stop by and we could check your stuff, I just got a neat spring tester that needs used. let us know what you find

 

[greeneyegi]

so i got the heads off and took a few pics of the cylinders,on top of a couple pistons they had these spots like someone had wiped it clean,heres a couple pics,the valves looked good,gonna take em in to have checked.

 

[greeneyegi]

so when i take my heads to machine shop what do i have done?im going to buy a polishing kit and debur the heads /ports myself,but what should i have shop explicitly checck or do?they are stock but look good to the eye.

 

[turbofabricator]

Search my posts. I have posted detailed instructions on how to port Buick cylinder heads. Basically, open up the port under the valves. Follow the basic shape of the stock port. Remove all of the exhaust guides in the port. Reduce the diameter of the intake guide and tear drop shape it, and radius the back side of Intake guide o the biased side of the port. (The wide side of the port from the guide to port wall). Blue the valve seat area (use a blue or red Sharpie pen). Look down the ports and try imagine how you would like the port to be if you we're being blown through the port at 500 mph. Visualize
Airflow. Take a spoon to the water faucet in the sink and watch the water flow around the spoon when placed into the water stream. There is lots of good info about air flow and head porting on the web. Read....read.....read. Or......send them to a good porter and have them done right. For $750-$1,200 you can have a great cylinder head. I,m real busy, but if you're not in a hurry................

 

[greeneyegi]

Search my posts. I have posted detailed instructions on how to port Buick cylinder heads. Basically, open up the port under the valves. Follow the basic shape of the stock port. Remove all of the exhaust guides in the port. Reduce the diameter of the intake guide and tear drop shape it, and radius the back side of Intake guide o the biased side of the port. (The wide side of the port from the guide to port wall). Blue the valve seat area (use a blue or red Sharpie pen). Look down the ports and try imagine how you would like the port to be if you we're being blown through the port at 500 mph. Visualize
Airflow. Take a spoon to the water faucet in the sink and watch the water flow around the spoon when placed into the water stream. There is lots of good info about air flow and head porting on the web. Read....read.....read. Or......send them to a good porter and have them done right. For $750-$1,200 you can have a great cylinder head. I,m real busy, but if you're not in a hurry................

thats exactly what im going to do,but before i do that,is their something the shop should do to it,check cracks,valve job,etc?

 

[SHADOWII]

You can have them checked for cracks and for the mating surface to be flat and straight. Then do all the head work you want to accomplish while keeping in mind the amount of time and cost it takes to do a "balanced" runner/pocket job. It won't take long before you will wish you bought a set of heads already done! lol Ask me how I know?! Ken's post is really excellant to follow. The price of the tooling is another consideration.
If you can afford it, I would recommend purchase a set of heads tho they are not needed for the 11's. But who ever stops there????

 

[SCOOBY DOO]

Disassemble the heads. Have them degreased...and magnafluxed.

 

[bison]

I wouldnt touch the bottom end. Just have a valve job done. Clean everything and bolt the heads on. Put engine back in and have fun.

 

[greeneyegi]

so today i pulled the rest of the motor apart,everything except the crank out.i believe this thing has never been apart at all.heres some pics of the stuff i found.the timing gear is nylon,its got a big crack on one of the teeth,the chain is baaaad.under the pass rear valve cover you can see where its all scuffed up(some previous damage? )the plastic things on the rocker shafts are different colors then the other side.white.the cam looks good.the oil pickup has a bunch of plastic stuff,and on the bottom of the pan.
so i pulled the heads apart,and going to take heads down next week and have em done.the original issue was low compression on the no2 piston,can i pull the crank and pistons out and if everything looks good reassemble and retorque or is that not a good idea?i just want to be sure everything is kosher,ive gone this far.?
i took a pic of the valve top where i see damage?what could have done this?

 

[SCOOBY DOO]

Any ring ridge?

 

[greeneyegi]

Any ring ridge?

like the top of the cylinder ?is that what you mean

 

[greeneyegi]

heres some pics of the top of the cylinders,kind of a weird clean spot,i didnt wipe anything off.the spots are only on the tops

 

[fastblackracing]

Sounds like you had a rocker shaft break at some point in the past, I would at a minimum since you are in this deep now pull the #2 piston for inspection and also the #3 main bearing cap. If these bearings and look good and the # 2 piston and rings look ok you can re use what you have. You already know you need a t-chain and you should turn the motor over while watching the the lifters raise up and down looking for any cam lobes that are wore down, by eyeball they should all look about the same. Like Bison said get a valve job done and put it back together. Just be forwarned porting work is more difficult than it looks, not saying you cant do a decent job but you will understand after you try it. You are at a crossroad now which way to go---- what is your realistic $$$ amount you want to spend at this time, These cars can turn into a deep black hole real quick. Just be honest with your $$$ there is a lot of fun to be had with the right combo of bolt on stuff on a stock motor.

 

[greeneyegi]

Sounds like you had a rocker shaft break at some point in the past, I would at a minimum since you are in this deep now pull the #2 piston for inspection and also the #3 main bearing cap. If these bearings and look good and the # 2 piston and rings look ok you can re use what you have. You already know you need a t-chain and you should turn the motor over while watching the the lifters raise up and down looking for any cam lobes that are wore down, by eyeball they should all look about the same. Like Bison said get a valve job done and put it back together. Just be forwarned porting work is more difficult than it looks, not saying you cant do a decent job but you will understand after you try it. You are at a crossroad now which way to go---- what is your realistic $$$ amount you want to spend at this time, These cars can turn into a deep black hole real quick. Just be honest with your $$$ there is a lot of fun to be had with the right combo of bolt on stuff on a stock motor.

i pulled the crank and pistons out,the bearings on the pistons look like this.....the piston rings and cylinders look great,still crosshatch and no lip.the bearings all look like the pics,crank not as bad.what is this wear?should i have crank ground and new bearings and rings?or reuse rings and new bearings.