Which Engine: Mercury Capri RS or Thunderbird TC

[sleeper_inc]

Originally Posted by speedjunkie92 my hx35 is better lol Always gotta be on top hey

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[speedjunkie92]

lol thats how i roll haha,

[evintho]

What's up? Did you ever get the motor out of the Capri? Don't leave us hangin'! Post what's been going on!

[7_Zero]

Sorry, didn't mean to leave you in suspense. Just figured I would give you guys a break from all of my questions before I start bombarding you with more.

Finally got the engine a week ago, the jy didn't seem to be in any hurry to get it out for me but I finally have it. Only problem now is that I sit and stare at it and wonder "what now?" It is not on the engine stand yet, have to figure out how to remove the clutch. After that, I do not know what to do, or where to start. My friend said that I should tear it down and rebuild the bottom end. Is that an appropriate next step? What does it entail? Is this something that a novice like me can do or is it best to take it to a professional? Obviously this whole thing is going to be a learning experience, I have never dug into an engine before. If someone could give me a run down of what to do, and the order in which to do things in that would be great! It doesn't have to be super detailed right now, just something to give me an idea of where to start.

Thanks again for your help and interest.

[sleeper_inc]

Originally Posted by 7_Zero

Sorry, didn't mean to leave you in suspense. Just figured I would give you guys a break from all of my questions before I start bombarding you with more.

Finally got the engine a week ago, the jy didn't seem to be in any hurry to get it out for me but I finally have it. Only problem now is that I sit and stare at it and wonder "what now?" It is not on the engine stand yet, have to figure out how to remove the clutch.
Put a wrench with a 22 or 23mm socket onto the front bolt, put a long pipe on it, then undo the bolts for the clutch

After that, I do not know what to do, or where to start. My friend said that I should tear it down and rebuild the bottom end.
These engines are strong in both the top and bottom end, if you want to rebuild, NOW IS THE TIME TO DO IT AND ADD BETTER PARTS

Is that an appropriate next step?
If you want it to be

What does it entail?
Taking the whole engine apart, making things so they go back the way they where, there is more detail but you should pick up a book about rebuilding a 4 cylinder ford

Is this something that a novice like me can do or is it best to take it to a professional?
You can do tare down, but for the machine work I would go to the professionals

Obviously this whole thing is going to be a learning experience, I have never dug into an engine before. If someone could give me a run down of what to do, and the order in which to do things in that would be great! It doesn't have to be super detailed right now, just something to give me an idea of where to start.
Get all the fluids out, all the bolts you take off should be put into their own bags with labels (you'll see why later) and then just pretty much to to town, take the top end off first (intake, exhaust, head) then flip the engine and take the oil pan off. Now you can take the pistons out if there is no ridge at the top of the cylinder wall

Thanks again for your help and interest.

There is alot more, but I'm going to be late for work

[evintho]

Sleeper's late for work but I'm on vacation! I got a minute.
Sounds like you're a true greenhorn! That's OK, we all were at one time.

First things first................

ORGANIZATION:
This is all new to you so if you start ripping things apart, you'll never figure out how it goes back together! You obviously own a camera. Start taking pictures of everything and how it's attached. Never stop taking pictures! Label them all! If you don't know what something is, ask. Go buy 2 boxes of heavy duty sandwich freezer bags. Quart and gallon. Get a couple of black markers. Every nut or bolt you remove goes in a bag, marked and labeled. The same with small parts. I've built a lot of cars over a lot of years and believe me, you can never be too organized!

TEARDOWN:
Pull the starter motor, bellhousing, clutch and flywheel off.
Now you're ready to mount the motor to the stand. Bolt the stand head to the motor first. Then use a lift or a couple of strong friends to lift the motor to the stand. There, now you can work on it.

Start pulling all the peripherals off, bagging and tagging as you go along. Your goal is to get it down to shortblock, head and oil pan. Now take a break.

Pull the head. Flip it over and pull the pan. How many miles were on the odometer in the Capri? If under 150k you should be alright. If over 200k you might want to thing about a rebuild. However, nothing is written in stone. Many 2.3's are running, with mods, at way over 200k. How big is the ridge on the top of the cylinders? Is the crosshatch hone still visible in the cylinders? You might want to pull some rod caps and see what the rod bearings look like. Notice any big cracks in the head?

This basically gets you down to where you need to be. Everything needs to be cleaned and inspected. You'll learn some along the way and you can always ask questions here. So now, get off your butt and get started! It's gonna be fun! Post pics as you go. Good luck!

[7_Zero]

Yes I am as green as they come! I like to think that I am a bit more mechanically inclined than some though. Maybe I just try and think that to make me feel better. lol

So aside from some of the apparent things, like you will have to remove this part before you can access this part, there is no suggested method of working on this part over this part. Pretty much just work on what I feel like working on?

Is removing the clutch really as easy as unbolting it and pulling it off? Any springs or parts going to come flying off that I need to be aware of?

I have a Chilton manual, would that work as my book or is there something that would be more beneficial then that combined with the internet?

I am in luck as the odometer only had 80181 miles on it, if only lol. It didn't have space for more than 5 digits so it could be 180k or 280k. Considering some of the mods, it could have been rebuilt too. I guess we will see in a little while.

My friend mentioned having the pistons balanced as well as adding a fluid filled harmonic balancer, is this a good idea? When the bottom end is rebuilt, what exactly does this entail? New pistons, rings, bearings?

This is going to continue being my DD so I want to maintain the decent mileage I have now but at the same time have more power then what is currently available. (Which from what I have read so far is possible, right?) So if you could keep in mind any mods, or work on certain parts that will help with power without sacrificing mpg, that would be great! (This last paragraph kind of sounds contradicting. lol)

[evintho]

Just start tearing it down. Work slowly and make note of how everything comes apart 'cause it goes back together the same way. Remember, pics, bag and label. Make notes too. Removing the clutch is simple. Nothing is gonna come flying out at you. It's all pretty much self explanatory.

The Chilton's manual is very generic. It should work though. Something better would be a factory service manual.....................
Factory service manual
It has exploded drawings and photographs and tells you exactly how to do it.

We'll hope for 180k! The difference between 180 and 280 should be real easy to tell once you get down inside the shortblock.

I wouldn't give a lot of credence to what your friend says. In the first place, you don't balance just the pistons, you balance the entire rotating assembly - crank, rods & pistons. Secondly, 2.3's don't have a harmonic balancer so a fluid filled balancer wouldn't do you much good.

When you rebuild a bottom end, it's a complete rebuild. Cylinders bored, maybe an align bore or hone of the crank journals, new pistons, rings and bearings, etc. However, if you've only got 180k, chances are you can get by with a seal-n-shine. That means basically leaving the bottom end alone. Just clean everything up, maybe throw in a new oil pump, new gaskets, freeze plugs and paint. You'll know more after you get it torn down.

More power is always going to be offset with less gas mileage, but in our case, not too much. On these motors, horsepower is in the head and exhaust systems. A good goal for you would be 300 hp, which you should be able to achieve easily. LA3 computer, large VAM, headwork, header or Bob's log, 3" exhaust and a good tune, ought to do it!

[7_Zero]

Yeah, I have found my friend to be wrong about quite a few things. He seems to know quite a bit about engines, but obviously not when it comes to these 2.3's. I am glad you guys are here to keep me steered in the right direction.

Do you really think that I could get 300 hp? I mean I have heard of a lot of people doing it and more, but won't that require a lot of higher performance parts and a lot of $$? What are you running enintho? And sleeper, if I may ask, if 300 is easily obtainable, then why did you stop at 180?

What kind of headwork are we looking at? Port & polish, and some milling? Is the large VAM better than doing a CAI? I am hoping that I will be able to find some time to work on the engine tomorrow.

[sleeper_inc]

300hp is easy to reach on these engines. A little cam, boost, exhaust, and a FMIC then you should be close.

I've got the following done to my car
2.5" exhaust
T3 turbo running 15psi
FMIC
bobs log
14* timing
RR cam
pk computer and small VAM
and I think I'm around 200 rwhp, so maybe 250-260 crank? IDK for sure, no dyno's around me lol