This should help
04-25-2012, 02:14 PM
#101
I would like to add a comment about lubrication, no, not KY, I am talking about engine oil.....
Different brands of oil do NOT mix well, even different weights of the same brand do not always mix well. They have unwanted and sometimes very bad chemical reactions. There are differences in base crude and huge differences in detergents and chemical additives. These chemical reactions are what caused the gunk and crud in your engine (from the previous owner). The sand-like crystals that you scraped out, these crystals are caused by heat & chemical reactions due to incompatible oil compounds.
If you want your engine to have the best chance at a long life, choose a quality brand and weight of oil to start with & always use the same, never mix oils. Even when you change the oil there is 10+ oz of old oil left in the valleys & oil galleys, so you never change "all" the oil. That is why it is important.
I've torn into engines with only 35k miles on them that were all gunked up almost as bad as yours. The owners always purchased the cheapest oil on sale & changed brands on every oil change.
Personally, I would go with a heavier oil since your bottom end is older & worn. In my high performance engines I most always used 20w50 Castrol GTX with great results. I changed valve cover gaskets on one of my engines with 200k miles on it and it was just as clean as new with no gunk, so it does make a significant difference.
Today there are extremely good synthetics available too.
Pick a good oil to start and stick with it, that will give your engine the best chance at a long life.
Different brands of oil do NOT mix well, even different weights of the same brand do not always mix well. They have unwanted and sometimes very bad chemical reactions. There are differences in base crude and huge differences in detergents and chemical additives. These chemical reactions are what caused the gunk and crud in your engine (from the previous owner). The sand-like crystals that you scraped out, these crystals are caused by heat & chemical reactions due to incompatible oil compounds.
If you want your engine to have the best chance at a long life, choose a quality brand and weight of oil to start with & always use the same, never mix oils. Even when you change the oil there is 10+ oz of old oil left in the valleys & oil galleys, so you never change "all" the oil. That is why it is important.
I've torn into engines with only 35k miles on them that were all gunked up almost as bad as yours. The owners always purchased the cheapest oil on sale & changed brands on every oil change.
Personally, I would go with a heavier oil since your bottom end is older & worn. In my high performance engines I most always used 20w50 Castrol GTX with great results. I changed valve cover gaskets on one of my engines with 200k miles on it and it was just as clean as new with no gunk, so it does make a significant difference.
Today there are extremely good synthetics available too.
Pick a good oil to start and stick with it, that will give your engine the best chance at a long life.
04-25-2012, 03:22 PM
#102
I like mobil 1 synthetic. I put it in my SRT-4 and I beat the crap out of that car. When I parted the engine out after the accident the engine was like brand new. I thought that was impressive because the turbo was oil cooled.
04-25-2012, 06:30 PM
#105
Got alot done today. Took care of the jammed up oil pump drive shaft. Glad I found that when I pulled the cam. New cam is in, timing chain on, lifters are in, and have the passenger side head and header installed. I know weird way to do it. But I still have to bolt up the oil pan and you had to remove the steering coupling and drop the rack and pinion to do that. So that crap is still in the way on the drivers side. should be ready to start in a week or two. Still have to do the exhaust, rest of the engine and put the gas take back in place.
04-28-2012, 10:35 AM
#107
Are you going to add mechanical gages so you can keep a close eye on everything? On past projects I used to "T" the fittings and use a mechanical and idiot light gages for the oil pressure to make sure it got my attention if anything went wrong. Cheap insurance.
05-11-2012, 07:18 PM
#109
Little progress today. Torqued the heads. Installed the new roller rockers and adjusted the valve lash. Installed the oil pan again. Installed the new starter. Bolted up the rack and pinion. And the full exhaust is on. What a pain in the *** that was. Heres a few new pics.
