Considering engine rebuild

[freshspecbluegt]

Looking for a little advice.


Current list of maintenance that needs to be done has me considering pulling the engine and doing a full rebuild. Goal would be to have an engine that is ready for the addition of a supercharger after the rebuild and wouldn't need anything other than routine maintenance for several years as time is going to be tough to come by (work and growing family).

Current maintenance needed:

Rear main and/or upper pan arch seal
P0401 which will require removal of upper intake
Y-pipe needs to be removed and welded
Headgasket has not been done currently at ~170k

Truck is a hobby and working on it is as big a part of the hobby as driving it for me.


Considering pulling the engine to address all of this. While it is out I would pull it all down, deck the block and have the head gone over. Rebuild with Cometic mls and arp studs and replace all gaskets.

I have only rebuilt one other engine and I had to have that one bored out and larger pistons fitted. I don't expect that will be necessary with this engine. Just a hone to refresh the surface.

So the questions:
-am i correct to assume that as long as I don't find any significant scoring that the re-ring will be straight forward and will allow the reuse of the pistons with just a fresh set of rings.

-Is it a requirement to have the blocked decked to switch to the mls gasket?

Sorry for the long post

 

[blkprj80]

I was told you want a shiny finish for the Cometic HG. My machine shop said they do a bit rougher finish if using OEM gasket.

Go here https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/570632-looking-1fz-long-block-new-rebuilt-2.html and look at post #29. Download the pdf (thanks BENO!!!) and spend some time looking at all the neat stuff you might or might not want to get. Plan on spending some money with Beno, CDan, or Sam Stewart. All good folks and very helpful.

I got my mls gasket from graveyard performance as his price was good. I got 209-4702 ARP studs, and cut 1/4" off the top of the front 2 studs so they would clear the cam gears.

If your bottom end is still good, you might consider leaving it alone. Although the cost of a complete rebuild is well worth the peace of mind, to me at least. Mine is a hobby as well.

Good Luck!

 

[NLXTACY]

I don't have the link offhand since I'm on my phone but look at my sig. It's got the link to my complete rebuild which goes thru everything you are talking about. I did exactly that, with the SC, and couldn't be happier. Yes it was spendy but worth the piece of mind.

 

[Howard705]

Need to check on what kind of rings these are or what you replace them with and what finish to hone them to-plateau hone/etc. checked in FSM and have not found it.

 

[SBFJ60FIG]

Just a thought,

You may want to look around for a rod-knocking 1FZ-FE and grab it...or a good one that's already out of the truck. They can be had without too much difficulty. To me the prospect of being able to drive the truck while you rebuild the motor is the way to go. Trucks sans motors are pretty much a PITA to move around the driveway, shop, garage, etc.

Then when it's install time, you could start Friday night and be driving the truck with luck Sunday.

Too bad you're so far away...I have just such a rod-knocking 1FZ waiting for a makeover in my garage.

Either way good luck!

 

[cme4lyt]

This is exactly what I did !

Found a motor with a bad HG. Spent a slow 3 months rebuilding it from top to bottom. Started on a Wednesday morning pulling the old lump and installing the rebuilt mill. Turned the key at 'bout noon that Friday.

It is waaaaay easier to work on a motor on an engine stand. You have access to everything and you can address all the 'while I'm in there' items !

Rgds...

Just a thought,

You may want to look around for a rod-knocking 1FZ-FE and grab it...or a good one that's already out of the truck. They can be had without too much difficulty. To me the prospect of being able to drive the truck while you rebuild the motor is the way to go. Trucks sans motors are pretty much a PITA to move around the driveway, shop, garage, etc.

Then when it's install time, you could start Friday night and be driving the truck with luck Sunday.

Too bad you're so far away...I have just such a rod-knocking 1FZ waiting for a makeover in my garage.

Either way good luck!

 

[SBFJ60FIG]

Nicely done CME,

You can take your sweet time and paint stuff, clean it up really well, and have zero truck down-time. I do most of my work alone and have installed two 1FZs and pushing those trucks around SUCKS alone. So so much easier when you can drive them!

It musta been awesome to pull out the old motor (I'm sure it had oil leaks and wasn't shiny new) on a Wednesday and drive the truck by Friday with a brand spanking new motor!

This is exactly what I did !

Found a motor with a bad HG. Spent a slow 3 months rebuilding it from top to bottom. Started on a Wednesday morning pulling the old lump and installing the rebuilt mill. Turned the key at 'bout noon that Friday.

It is waaaaay easier to work on a motor on an engine stand. You have access to everything and you can address all the 'while I'm in there' items !

Rgds...

 

[freshspecbluegt]

Need to check on what kind of rings these are or what you replace them with and what finish to hone them to-plateau hone/etc. checked in FSM and have not found it.

So this was the type of thing I was looking for. I will discuss with the machine shop prior to the rebuild.

 

[freshspecbluegt]

This is exactly what I did !

Found a motor with a bad HG. Spent a slow 3 months rebuilding it from top to bottom. Started on a Wednesday morning pulling the old lump and installing the rebuilt mill. Turned the key at 'bout noon that Friday.

It is waaaaay easier to work on a motor on an engine stand. You have access to everything and you can address all the 'while I'm in there' items !

Rgds...

I have considered it, but this is not a daily driver, having it stuck in one place for 4-6 weeks until the motor is done will be tolerable.

This is project creep at its finest. The reality is I don't expect there to be anything wrong with the bottom end. The only reason to pull the whole engine down is to allow for the machine work on the block for the MLS HG. I could just go OEM with the ARP studs or OEM with the OEM head bolts and not worry about it. If is does get supercharged I don't plan on running a smaller pulley or upping the boost since I don't want to mess with an intercooler as it becomes a SMOG headache, so perhaps there is no need for the Cometic gasket. On the other hand I usually have an anything worth doing is worth over doing attitude.

All the current jobs will be much easier with the engine on a stand. So I think pulling it is going to save a bit of time and frustration. Just where do I stop.....

 

[Howard705]

NPR piston rings has some good info in this catalog for 1FZ-FE http://www.gjparts.com/products/pistons&rings/NPR2008Book_catalog.pdf

 

[LandCruisinMike]

i'd still find a long block to build out of the truck. rebuild it all for peace of mind, especially when adding boost to the mix.