BigBoom360ci

Yeah the tire shredder will come sometime along the road. Look in your phone book to see if there are any engine builders near to ask. If they are nice enough they will guide you also. Reading, asking questions (like already mentioned) is the best teacher for now. When you dig into the mill, there is us in the forum and the machine shop or engine builder to speak to.

For starting out, the engine is a big air pump like a compressor except with spark plugs or glow plugs until you reach the Heavy diesel engines which do not use glow plugs they use compression to ignite the fuel. The camshaft turns 1/2 the speed of the crankshaft on 4 cycle engines. Cylinder heads vary in chamber, valve arrangement designs. As do pistons from dished to flat to domed. Application to application, parts differ between years and displacement. If Chevy didnt change their 350 piston design from 1989 to 1995 your pistons should have valve reliefs (4 to each piston). I have just mentioned very vague descriptions so if you would like to move into more detail let me or Gary know or whoever else replies toyou. I am sure they wouldnt mind it at all.

[sm=icon_rock.gif]

Charms

I will most definitely be asking for help here, but I figure a few good books would help weed out a lot of the "annoying n00b questions".

I ordered the DVD yesterday, it will get here next week probably and I will probably have to wait until after xmas to start tearing it apart, as I think I am getting some tools and stuff and I don't want to spoil anybodies gifts by buying something they plan on giving me.

I really appreciate you guys willingness to help. I feel like such a n00b and I know a lot of forums aren't so friendly, especially computer related forums they seem to be the meanest for some reason... Anyways, I will let you guys know when I am ready.

BigBoom360ci

He most likely wants to do it himself but be guided through it & have the helpwhen a question arises. It shouldn't be too confusing.

Charms

1) Also known as the otto(spelling?) cycle. Intake, compression, power and exhaust.

2) Intake and exhaust, I guess that makes 2 some engines have 4, which ones have what, I don't know...

If that is the basics, I am passed that. I know how an engine works, but I have never opened one up myself.

Yes bigboom was right, I want to do it myself in person, I don't want somebody there sticking their hands into it, but I want someone to tell me what to do and why, to teach me, to let me experience it myself, not to do it for me.

I just has mucho turkey and I am dead tired. I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving weekend.

I may even start this sooner as every day I drive this truck to work and back it sounds worse and worse and it leaks oil a lot, I think its the bearing that is on the crankshaft at the front of the motor, I believe this is called a main bearing or seal or something? And it doesn't have oil pressure at running temp and idle, and it misses, and it knocks, and when driving if I don't give it gas or let it slow down, just kind of keeping it at the same speed above 2500 rpm's it has this metallic chattering noise like there is a loose valve or something.

I want to wait at least until I have watched this DVD . I can get a better idea of what all I am going to need tool wise and what all is involved in doing this.

Thanks guys

Charms

Promise you won't reach through my monitor and beat the crap out of me?

Sockets and wrenches pretty much.

I plan on buying a lot of tools so its not like I don't know I am going to need a lot more then that.

BigBoom360ci

The difference between the 2 cycle and the 4 cycles are... 2cycle camshaft turns at the same rate the crankshaft does.

The Intake and exhuast is removed from the 2 cycle (IE some Detroits)since every "intake" is also a compression stroke and the power stroke is also the exhuast stroke (as it reaches the bottom of the stroke the blower &/or turbo pushes (scavenges) the air out of the cylinder.

These engines are becoming less used in the world of new vehicles/recreational/earthmovers etc, but are still being used somewhatin trucking, or pulling sleds at the county fair (Detroit V12s are sweet to watch [sm=badbadbad.gif]). I believe they stopped producing the 2cycle truck engines in the late 90s maybe earlier maybe later (im not sure) The 4 cycle is the design that dominates the engine world. 4cycles use less fuel than 2 cycles also.

As for valves, a basic4 cycle engine will have 2, some have 3 and others can have 4. The valvearrangements in the headdiffer from inline SB chevy, Ford, Chrysler, etc. Chevy, Ford etcalso uses Staggered valves in their big blocks. Everymaker has used one or the other at one point in time. Then IE Chrysler fire power engines (hemi) use a cross arrangement since the flow is across the chamber in those (flowing towards the wheels. Chevy BB & SB use a longitudinal flow (with thedirection of the vehicle) from Int. - Exh. As do other makers for the typical wedge chamber designs (inline or staggered valve placement).

Charms

Yep I knew the difference between 2 and 4 stroke. Some ATV's use 2 stroke engines, like a Yamaha Banshee specifically, which I believe they stopped making

Anyways, I just watched the DVD I got in the mail today. I expected this to be a lot of work and it was going to take a while, but now its sunk in a lot more of really HOW much it is going to take to do this.

The DVD referred to all of them except the rifle brush set, which I have one already anyway.
I now have at least SEEN an engine disassembled and reassembled.


Thanks for the list of tools. I know Craftsmen is expensive, but if i'm not wrong, they have lifetime warranty on their stuff right? As in if it ever breaks I can exchange it no questions asked? Or am I thinking of another brand... Reason I'm asking is, we are planning on going out of town this weekend and there is a Sears where we are going so...

Charms

Do they sell only half of a drill? lol [8D]


Anyways, I appreciate the help. I can't wait to start tearing it apart. If I buy tools right now my wife would hang me so its definitely going to have to wait until after Christmas. Lots of time to watch the DVD and read about other people's projects.

One thing I definitely want to understand more is the cam. What amount of duration and lift is good for so and so... I have no idea??? [&:]

BigBoom360ci

Ha ha Gary....

The cam is a very complex piece. Don't worry about that until the build has been finished. But to answer your question briefly, the application, theCID rating, engine rpm operation range, etc. When selecting a cam is not exactly eeny meenie miny mo.... Go to Iskycams.com or Compcams.com, Isky has been around for a long time BTW so reading his stuff is always beneficial. His cams are racing oriented, but all cam designs big, medium or small need to have certain characteristics for optimum performance of the displacement/purpose it isused in.

I buy Craftsman, S&K, Ingersol Randtools. I think the ONLY thing I have bought from Snap-on is a 1/4 finger ratchet, that still hasn't been used. So I don't look at snap-on for much if anything at all. I just roll into Sears when needed. But I stay away from foreign tools unless they are impacts sockets, which seem to be the only thing that is imported doesn't break on me. If you do use the cleaning pads mentioned by Gary, do that before you assemble so you can blow/wash outthe dust/abrasives that have come off the cleaning pad you used along with lint from towels etc like Gary mentioned there......Ouch!!

Charms

Ok went to summit and looked up all that, not too bad price wise, not as bad as I thought anyway.

Hopefully Christmas will leave a little more then lint in my pockets...