Muggus

I just changed the head gasket and before i start the car up i wanted to ask a few questions. Keep in mind i havent really touched a motor in years so im a little rusty. After i put the cams in i wanted to rotate the motor a couple times to make sure the timing marks stayed on point. As it rotated it would be smooth and then jerk. Im assuming it was the point at which the piston was making its peak and going from up to down? The first time around the motor actually stopped and i got a little scared for a min, thought maybe the piston hit the valve. Its a stock gasket and i just had the head cut as well. So i took the plugs out and rotated it backwards and then forwards. It did continue to rotate except it was a bitch to align the tdc marks because that was the point at which it would go smoothly and then stop and jerk past the markings. Another question i have is, how accurate are the markings? When i have the marks on top lined up with each other the crank pulley marking is slightly off. However i kind of remember it being slightly off when i set it to tdc before i took the head off. I have pics to show this. And lastly just to make sure. Are there identifying marks to tell the difference between the intake and exhaust cams. I had them set a certain way and then someone moved them but swore they kept them in the same order but i just wanted to check. Thanks

Muggus

Also is it possible that the reason its getting stuck is that the head was cut too much and the valves are pressing lightly on the pistons? The motor was built around 9k miles ago and i know the head had a 5 angle valve job so im assuming it was most likely cut at that time as well. And i just had it cut today as well. The gasket that came out was a cometic and i put an oem one in which i think might have also been slightly thinner.

Muggus

Anyone?

Muggus

Can someone at least tell me how i can tell the difference between the intake and exhaust cam to make sure i didnt mix them up? Would the motor even rotate if they were wrong or would the valves straight up smash into the pistons?

spets

It is pretty normal to get it to stop and jerk, the valve springs are putting pressure against the cams when you turn the motor. If you can take it through a couple of complete revolutions even if it takes a bit of effort to do it, it should be fine and nothing is making contact.

Muggus

Yeah its rotating fine now but before it came to a complete stop which scared me. I guess ill know when i start it and then do a compression test. I would still like to know about the cams before starting it though. Otherwise ill just see how it goes tomorrow when i actually do start it. Got caught up with stuff today.

Muggus

Well i started the car and it ran fine, the valves were a little loud so ill probably have to redo the adjustment but now i have a new question. I started flushing the radiator to put different coolant in. I filled the radiator and started the motor and continued to fill. I left the cap off and let the car warm up. It was going fine and hit full temp pretty quick. Once the thermostat opened it burped and some water came out and then sucked in. Seemed normal untill i started filling it some more and it started burping out water consistently. The last time iv seen it come out like that was from compression getting in from a head gasket. Im hoping its just a bunch of air coming out and its normal for this car. I have a video off my phone im gonna load up.

Muggus

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3vkBhldivY
Let me know if you have any problems viewing the video

Muggus

This car is starting to give me a headache. I flushed it with water a couple time yesterday and then filled it with water and drove around. Today i went to empty it and fill it with coolant and the water that came out wasnt very clear. So i filled it and drove it again for a couple mins and the water that came out was a little more clear. Im hoping its just the remaining shit inside the engine coming out. When i drove the car it felt a little slower then before i did the gasket. Especially in the lower rpm. I thought maybe it was because i also went from a dc header with a mugen 60mm exhaust to a j's header and skunk2 70mm exhaust. Figured maybe it wasnt enough back pressure. Anyways i decided to do a compression test and it came out 180,165,175,180. I know those seem low however i know it has wiseco pistons in it and the previous owner was building it for boost so im assuming there lower compression pistons but unfortunaly neither him or the shop that did the work remembers what was put into it. Im still a little worries about the number 2 compression. I put a little oil in and it jumped to around 175.

Muggus

Hmm from some searching i found that wiseco only sells 8.5:1 pistons so around 180 sounds about right. Still not sure whats up with that 165. I feel like iv been talking to myself in this thread. Anyone with any tips feel free to comment. I wont bite.