Any of you guys ever put forged pistons and rods in your cars by yourself? I would like to forge the rest of my 98 motor but I want to do it myself. I was wondering if it is a wise idea. I am pretty good with a wrench and have the time. Let me know what you guys think.
Anyone ever tackle forged pistons and rods install?
- Thread starter 98cobraRx
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make sure you have all the measuring tools nessesary and I would suggest reading a few books/chapters on doing this specific task and then judge for yourself. I wouldn't say it is out of the question for you to do. But if your going to I would suggest having the block honed by a machine shop while the motor is torn down. and thats at the very least
not hard to do at all, if u can take it apart then it should go back no problem, just make sure u know how to measure ring clearances and torque specs. not hardto do imo.
i plaN on doin this next summer but my friend who has extensive knowledge building motors is gonna help and make sure i dont mess anythign up, just read up on it and call some shops and ask a lot of questions
i would say to go ahead and try it, but if you have doubts and no friends that could "bail you out" i would suggest taking it to a shop.
The key is getting someone to machine your block correctly...The rest will be based on how much experience you have putting together a rotating assembly..If this is your first time doing this, an aluminum 4.6 modular motor would not be the best block to practice your first time assembly skills....DA snake boy!!!!
Got to start somewhere though, right.
Rob
Rob
This would be my first time however, I might have someone who could help me out. Thanks for the help guys. Any suggestions on the best rods and pistons. I would ultimately like to run 15lbs of boost at some point in time.
Eagle, World, Dart, Probe... Just a few
Rob
Rob
Why would you need anything on your block machined? Can't you get forged parts to the exact factory specifications to match. I would assume the reason for going forged is to strengthen for a higher boost supercharger?duane v said:
you can get stock bore pistons, but you will at least want to get it honed to get the correct piston to wall clearance. Also, the stock bores are not 100% round.Hersheyman said:
the correct thing to do is get the block torque plate bored and honed to .020. Get a nice .020 piston like Diamond, CP, JE, Ross, etc and some eagle or manley rods.
meaure your crank journals to see if an align hone is necessary. Also check to make sure the decks are flat and even side to side.
from there its just assembly with micrometers and ring filers (which is a pain in the ass).
also, since these pistons have full floating pins, you need spiralox which are a whore and a half to put on.
my suggestion?
buy a junkyard 4.6 from a crown vic and rebuild that with just new bearings and gaskets. You shouldn't be out more than 250 bux, and you could sell it afterwards.
that way, if you screw up, you aren't out a lot of money.
yes you could rebuild a crown vic motor and sell it but.....
you may be screwing over someone else who thinks the motor will be good (not something I personally would do)
and you could put it together w/o micrometers and other nessissary tools, and it would go together, doesn't mean it will run correctly. so just rebuilding it for the sake of practice isn't going to help ya much. you need to see if ti runs well
my .02
you may be screwing over someone else who thinks the motor will be good (not something I personally would do)
and you could put it together w/o micrometers and other nessissary tools, and it would go together, doesn't mean it will run correctly. so just rebuilding it for the sake of practice isn't going to help ya much. you need to see if ti runs well
my .02
You can bet the cylinder bores will be out of round, especially after 63k miles and an aluminum block..Also line honing is very critical...Granted, I have done a couple of budget 4.6 cobra rebuilds for two of my pals, where I re-machined the stock rods so they could be fitted with ARP fasteners and used forged Ross factory spec pistons. But I still had the crank balanced and micro polished, and I bottle honed the bores. I'm surprised those two motors are still running today after 7 years, but I don't recommend doing budget rebuilds with these motors, especially when you can get a quality short block from VT at a great price..DA snake boy!!!Hersheyman said:
i guess it would be just as intensive to just change out the pistons on an already forged motor?
96cobrakid said:
it will at least give you some practice. you will know how to measure clearances properly, know how to put it all together etc. If you are careful, it should run great. You won't know till you start it, but if it blows up right outta the box, at least you aren't out about 3k.
If you are spending the money on pistons/rods, send the block to a reputable machine shop get it bored with torque plates and honed, as well as get main journals align-honed and the decks checked/squared, then assemble it. You may have to get the crank journals ground for an oversized bearing as well, since you may have scoring on them. I am getting all my machine-work/balancing/shortblock-assembly done for under a grand, even though I've built multiple pushrod V8's and OHC 4-6 cylinder motors before. I am planning on building my motor to withstand 1000 horsepower, so 200 bucks for assembly seems reasonable to have someone who has built hundreds of motors do it. If you don't plan on making more than 500 rwhp, then you could build it yourself and just a bottle-brush honed and chamfer the other parts. Make sure to pay attention to oil-passages in the crank journals and get them good and clean/honed.
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Where in PA are you located? And when are you planning to do the build? I'm doing the same build this fall on a 97 car.
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I live in downingtown about 45 minutes away from Phili. Are there any good books out there that can help me out with this. By the way thanks for the input guys it is great info.
Too bad you arent a little closer to Wilkes-Barre. One of the best builders in the country has a shop in WB. If you are looking for someone good to do the machine work, he would be a good choice.
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