AE86 pt3: Prep and reassembly

Just a warning in advance that this is going to be a very long post.

After a few weeks the block was ready to pick up.

I had the following work done:
- Hot tank block, head and components along with a final wash after machining
- Bore cylinders .5mm
- Decked block surface (Dario advised it was like a banana)
- Decked head
- Crank tunnel line bored/honed (Necessary after fitting ARP studs as they tighten to a higher nm than STD bolts which changes the tunnel size)
- Valve and seats cut
- Honed rods to fit Piston Pins
- Clearances measured (Figured someone with decades of experience will do this more accurately than me)

Dario himself didn't do balancing but referred me to the mob that he sends his work to.

After a few days it was done. I had the rotating assembly balanced along with the flywheel and clutch.

I installed the new welch plugs and then masked up the block ready for paint. I also discovered there's a painters tape designed to stop bleeding used I used to have bleeding issues on edges with blue regular painters tape. I can also confirm that it worked.

I used VHT Satin Black engine paint though I'm not sure if I should've used a heat gun to get the finish more satin.

This is probably the freshest this block will ever look again.

A quick light reoil to prevent any corrosion then bagged up while the rest of the parts get prepped for assembly.

I decideed to assemble the head next which consisted of the following parts:
- HKS Valve Springs
- HKS Cam Gears
- Tomei IN264/EX264 Poncams
- OEM Valve Stem Seals
- OEM Valves
- OEM Retainers
- Shimless Bucket Conversion

First task was the valve stem seals. A little bit of oil and the proper tool made these a cinch to go in.

Valves, springs and retainers fitted.

Since I was converting to shimless buckets I had to measure each shim and bucket combined and note down the overall measurement.

Then refit them to the valve they originated from.

And also fit the cams.

I then rotated the cam to the base circle to measure the clearance on each valve. I should also note that I learnt the hard way these clearances can change once the head is torqued down as that happened to me.

After documenting all the clearances, I used excel to calculate what the new size shimless bucket would need to be then ordered replacements through Streeter.

Comparison between the shim on bucket setup and the shimless. The two benefits are that there's no shim to spit at high RPM and it's also lighter.

I put in a SQ Oil Pressure spring which in hindsight was probably unecessary.

I primed and retorqued the oil pump also ensuring it still span freely.

Quickly measured the ring gaps. Luckily OEM replacement rings are meant to come the correct size which they did (Dario mentioned this to me when I asked if he could gap the rings for me). This saved me the effort of filing.

I used the old piston with a ring in it to set the new ring to the correct dept and alignment.

Also to note I originally ordered Hastings branded rings but was advised by MRP that they had issues of them being all inconsistently gapped (bigger than OEM specification out the box). MRP recommended NPR or TP rings which I managed to track down through Partsouq.

All the rings measured to the OEM specifications.

Who else better to watch build an engine while you build one yourself.

With the OEM pistons you need to heat them up to get the gudgeon pin to slide in. This can be achieved by sitting it in boiling water.

There's tricks for getting piston rings on without a tool, but the tool itself is pretty inexpensive and avoids the risk of damage.

Next was to give the block a final prep for reassembly. I used an ARP Thread chaser to give all the threads a final clean then blow out with brake cleaner and compressed air.

The thread chaser is meant to not recut the thread, just chase any grime/dirt/corrosion out.

I gave the block a final clean with a lot of brake cleaner (lost count of how many cans I used during this rebuild) and reoiled all the exposed surfaces. Next to be installed were the oil squirters, lower bearing halves and main studs in.

I then gently lifted the crank in like a faberge egg making sure I didn't knock the journals on anything.

Main caps all torqued. Crank spun freely which was a relief for me.

Checked the end float which was in spec.

Flipped the engine over and quicly refit some accessories while I was there.

Next part was to fit the pistons. This actually took me quite a few goes as I kept getting stuck on the ring.

After a bit of sweating and stressing I finally figured out the pressure/speed required. I must say this fixed size piston ring compressor made life a lot easier as I would've been there for days if I had to keep resetting after each failed attempt.

Rotating assembly spun smoothly so it was time to fit the oil pump and progress.

I fabricated up a mount for a dial indicator then checked TDC as this can change after the head gets decked.

Used Hylomar on the rear main cover gasket (and the oil pump gasket too).

After I installed the rear main cover (turns out it's a bit of a pain on an engine stand) I installed the pickup and laid RTV for the sump.

I went for a MRP sump for the baffling to hopefully help save this motor from oil starvation which it originally died from. Forgot to take a photo without the windage tray in.

Sump fitted. Bit brave installing it before assembling the top end. Just had to make sure to not drop anything down the engine during the rest of the assembly.

Engine looking more complete.

Time for the head to go on.

The car came with a MRP belt tensioner so I notched the cover to fit it.

The original head drain hose was torn and taped up. Toyota discontinued this part but thanks to a random internet person they recommended to use push lock hose with an anti kink cover. This was such a pain in the ass to get on though since the hose was so stiff.

At this point I double checked the valve clearances and discovered that they had changed from when I measured it on the bench. Fun times...

I was able to swap a few around to correct it but had to reorder a few more which delayed progress.

All done ready to go back in.

Looking back the 4age is a pretty simple design though it would make sense being designed roughly 40 years ago.