So just out of curiosity, your original estimate was $2K to do the motor rebuild. With your machine work and parts, what is your total to date?

 

Still no progress on the engine yet but I did finally finish the 2 inch lift, new coils, springs, shock towers, rotors and brake pads. Will start engine work tomorrow.

Is is it just me or do I now need to buy bigger tires? 😜


Final assembly

Puny tire!

 

I posted all my costs in a spreadsheet which you can review here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing

The short answer is it totals about double what I had hoped at about $3928. Machine work was $500 more than I expected and I had a number of other parts that failed on me that needed to be replaced (oil gears, water pump, etc). I also had them build me a short block instead of doing that work myself.

So I am finding out, take whatever cost you tell your wife you're going to spend and double it!

Overall I am still within budget. I had estimated 10-12 for the build and I have all the parts (except new tires) so I should be able to hit the high end of my budget.

 

I made a bit of progress on the engine tonight. I installed the flywheel, flexplate, CPS and starter. Tomorrow I will move to the front and get the oil and water pumps installed.

Comments, concerns and questions welcome as always!

 

Need some guidance here. I would like to get as much installed on the engine before I drop it in. Is it practical to install the heads, oil pan, headers, SAI, belt tensioners and fan on the engine before I drop it in?

Or is it better to leave some of these off?

 

When I replaced my engine 11 years ago, the used engine I put in was a complete long block with oil pan, heads, intake, pulleys, etc. We didn't have the fan or clutch on the water pump, and the radiator was never removed. It would have been easier had we pulled the radiator, but we were able to angle it in there.

 

Made a little progress today but not near as much as I hoped. Got the new oil gears in, installed the oil pump assembly, water pump, front crank seal and cam position sensor.

I am missing gaskets for the filter assembly and oil pickup tube so I am going to wait until those come in later this week. Can’t seem to maintain any momentum on this thing!

 

Might as well install a new steering damper since I can’t move forward with the engine!

 

Is your key lined up properly for your timing gear/chain?

 

Timing chain and gears were installed by machine shop. I double-checked the timing marks were set at 12 and 6.