Installing engine & trans...what to replace

[chadzeilenga]

So I pulled my engine & trans due to a wasted clutch & a bad head gasket. I got the warped head resurfaced and the valves reseated & new valve seals put on it. My question is what else should I do to the engine & trans while it is out to save myself problems down the road?

So far I have:
Clutch Kit
Trans input seal
Trans output seals
Front & Rear Main Seals
Oil Pan seal
Head gasket kit (Head, exhaust, intake, valve cover, timing cover)
Timing belt
Water pump

Is there anything else I should inspect or replace on the engine while it is out? Trying to keep the costs of the beater down, but don't want to spend all of the cold winter fixing it on the weekends. Should I get the flywheel resurfaced?

[chadzeilenga]

Main Cap Torque & Rocker Arm Bolt torque

I also need to know the torque specs for the main bearing caps, cam bolts & cyl head.

[ejp2fast]

according to haynes:
main bearing cap bolts is 40-43 ft lbs
camshaft sprocket bolt is 36-45 ft lbs
camshaft thrust plate bolt is 69-95 in lbs
cylinder head bolts step 1 is 35-40 ft lbs, then step 2 is 56-60 ft lbs and remember to do the cross pattern for tightening.


as far as other things to do, i'd say you pretty much have it all covered. your piston rings should be good.

[festivaWES]

If your going to have to do the oil pan and front main seal.....might as well do the oil pump. I'd hate to see someone do all that work and the oil pump for some reason craps out.

[FestYboy]

at the very least, mic the pump out and check for wear. remember, pressure doesn;t come from the pump, but rather the bearing clearances.

i'd do the journal bearings (rod and crank) if i was in there, but that's just me.

[Banana Bonanza]

Enlighten me please. Isnt this head same as most OHC aluminum heads, namely the cam runs directly in journals machined into the casting rather than separate bearings? If so I believe you cant just mill a warped head, it has to be heated in a special machine that reshapes/straightens it under extreme pressure. If you just machine a new flat surface, then the cam just wipes out the journals in short order cause they arent in perfect alignment.

At least this is way it was back in the days of my ancient VW Rabbit. Back then cheapest/best to just exchange old head and a few pictures of ben franklin for factory remanufactured one. Or if low on cash could get guarenteed used junkyard head for $100. Now old American OHV cast iron heads, you could just mill them and reinstall, they were much more forgiving. After the Rabbit, for me, if some aluminum head engine went bad, easier/cheaper/quicker to just find good used one to R&R rather than try to do internal repairs.

[chadzeilenga]

Thanks for the great info guys

Thanks for the responses, this info is invaluable.

Banana: I think this head is ok, I took it to a machine shop familiar with AL heads and they didn't express concern regarding the resurfacing of it. It was 0.012" warped.

Festyboy: Do you know what the spec is for the pump? What needs to be measured? When the head was at the shop we pulled the mains and checked the bearings there. All seemed ok with no adverse wear. The rods also felt tight on the crank. I won't know if this was right or not, but based on the cost of things figured I'd take the chance since the car ran well beforehand, just had a bad head gasket.

WES: Does the crank need to come out to do the oil pump? I removed the pickup to check the mains but am not sure what is involved in replacing the pump or removing it.

There is a minor lip on the top of the cyl from the rings but per the advice of the shop I left it alone. The shop said that if I wanted to do the rings "right" I would need to take the lip out of the cyl and it was probably more work than it was worth. If the engine goes south after all this I'll probably just replace it and scavenge the new parts I put on it.

[ejp2fast]

I don't mean to steal the answer address to festyboy, but here is what the haynes says:
oil pump rotor tip clearance- 0.0078 inch max
outer rotor to housing clearance - 0.0087 inch max
endplay - 0.005 inch max

i've never had the oil pump out in the festiva before so in my mind i can't picture what this looks like..

[FestYboy]

stealing answer for Wes: no the crank can stay put for removal.

[chadzeilenga]

Head Bolts Re-useable

Does anyone know if the head bolts are re-useable on the Festiva, or do they stretch beyond yield when torqued down?

[lanemeyer14]

Does anyone know if the head bolts are re-useable on the Festiva, or do they stretch beyond yield when torqued down?

You can re-use them

[chadzeilenga]

Flywheel Orientation

Is there a specific orientation to the flywheel when installing it back onto the engine? Don't want to have it out of balance.

[chadzeilenga]

Rocker Arm Torque

What should I torque the caps for the rocker arm shaft to?

[GenevaDirt]

Is there a specific orientation to the flywheel when installing it back onto the engine? Don't want to have it out of balance.

Not that I know of....did one before and am in the middle of another right now.

What should I torque the caps for the rocker arm shaft to?

Sorry I am sure there is a spec but I do not have that info....I did mine on my 91L by just tightening them down...never had an issue.

[ejp2fast]

send in pm: rocker arm shaft bolts: 16-21 ft-lbs.