the reason i am asking is because im thinking of building my own engine. has anyone every built their first engine and came out right? im debating if i should pay 500 bucks for some one to assemble it or for me 2 do it,

 

Alot of people here have built their engines sucessfully and will tell you to go ahead and do it. But from my personal experiance I would advise you to take the engine to a reputable builder and have them do it, why? Because there are too many variables in performing a good build and without the proper tooling some of these things can not be done acurately, the professional shop will have all of the top dog machining and measuring equipment that ensures you get the proper clearancing on every component of the engine + they have the experiance and knowlige that you don't.

I have built 5+ engines for myself and a few friends and with the time I take with every build measuring everything 10 times just to make sure its right I could have put a few more hours in at work and just payed someone else to do it and know that its done perfectly and it eaven comes with a spec sheet of all the measurements and clearances you couldn't have done your self without the proper tooling. If your spending money on expensive parts you might as well buy some insurance (experianced builder) to do the job right for ya and not risk something going wrong on ya only to have to go back and do it all over again.

But if you wanna do it and learn just make sure you go ***** out on research of every component and how to do a proper build, there are plenty of posts here on honda-tech on how to do it and those are a good place to start.

Enjoy!

 

if you have good mechanical ability, the desire to learn, and the ability to read, research, and follow directions, build it yourself!

If you lack any of those items, just pay someone to do it.

I built my 1st motor this year and it went very well, runs great, good compression, and I obtained a rediculous amount of knowledge in the process.

 

We do offer assembly service for our customers and I have personally works on many motors. We charge $ 500 per short block assembly fro all 4 cylinders motors.

It's not a rocket science, it's not easy but it's not hard either. I personally likes to assemble motor rather than doing a turbo kit

If you want to try it for the first time, I'd say go for it..but make sure you have the following:

- helms manual (I still use it for every motor that I do, even though I have the whole manual memorized)
You need a good and the right tools for the job;

- Piston Ring Compressor (use the ARP static versus those multi size ratcheting style)
- Good ring gap filer (anything diamond stone is good)
- Use a mic to check all rod and main journal for the right bearing clearance.
- Use Graphite Moly Assembly Lube
- Use ARP Moly bolt lube
- Piston rings expander

If you need more help, I'd be glad to help...

stan

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Flamenco-T &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If you need more help, I'd be glad to help...

stan
</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's the 3rd best way to learn - ask. The 1st isn't as easy - to help an experienced builder with a few motors. I started helping with a few pontiac 400's, a bunch of 350/383/400 chevys, and a ford bigblock once, all at age 14. Built my first 350 solo at age 16. Only issues were a lifter tick (rhodes lifters are adjusted in a different way) and the 1/4 the threads on a main cap for the oil pickup literally fell off in my hand . Other than that, works perfect.

Obviously even a 1.6 honda is more complex, but a helms works wonders. I tend to mess up my first time around for most stuff, so I figure my 1st shot might be a failure. That's the 2nd best way to learn - failure. Don't be too ambitious at first - try your hand at a 1.5 if you can (nobody wants them), and don't put $$$$$$ into your first build.


It also helps to have connections - like a friends who are machinist, mechanics, and/or engine builders.

 

Personally I would never let someone but one of my engines.. You never know what the tolerances are, and also you never know if the builder fucked you in any way..

 

i built my own motor... it was a piece of cake... but then i agian im pretty mechanically inclined, build race bikes, cars, etc

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by notoriousB &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I built my 1st motor this year and it went very well, runs great, good compression, and I obtained a rediculous amount of knowledge in the process.</TD></TR></TABLE>

same with me

You should go ahead and do it, just make sure you take your time and dont cut corners. .. ask questions

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by vtec’n &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

same with me

You should go ahead and do it, just make sure you take your time and dont cut corners. .. ask questions </TD></TR></TABLE>

Even if you tried the process on a sohc motor, how much is it going to cost???

$100 for bearings
$45 for rings
$50 or so in head gasket and other gaskets..

If you wanted to see just for the fun of it just reuse the bearings if they are in good shape and rehone the block.. Basically get away as cheap as you can but still do the rebuild process for the experance..

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by notoriousB &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
I built my 1st motor this year and it went very well, runs great, good compression, and I obtained a rediculous amount of knowledge in the process.</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

well im pretty mechanically incline, i have priend that are tech at porche, toyota, mercedez, they have all the tools i need. i been reading alot, boosted hybrid gsr build is very educational, its pretty much clearance by the way im building an ls-vtec 400 hp is goal after my turbo blew which i had for one day only i didnt even feel boost....ah

 

i built my first engine and its still running strong.

 

I've built one engine. A B20B with crower 404's, 12:1 compression pistons. I was real stupid and tried to take a layer out of the headgasket....that didn't work too well, and it ran like ****. I took the head back off and put a stock headgasket back in. I got about a year out of it before the headgasket blew. I'm sure the reason it blew was because I was in a rush to do it the second time and did not seat it correctly. Had I put the right headgasket on it as first I would have been OK.

I used a Helms and a Haynes (good to have two view points sometimes). The Helms is must have.

Like mentioned by others, I screwed up and it cost me....but I learned a ton. By the time I took out the B18B, put in the B20B, took that out and put the B18B back in I really knew what that engine bay was all about. All the vaccum lines and wires made sense to me when I looked at them, not confusing like at first.

Oh, one thing that was super helpful was the Moroso crank pulley wrench thing. I did not use any air tools either if that helps out. The crank pulley was the only thing that was a real pain, but that Moroso tool fixed that.

I used a standard piston ring compressor at Pep-Boys (the one that looks like a huge hose clamp), and for the valve springs I had to buy a Snap-On valve spring compressor. It was about $100, but it did the job very well and very stable.

 

i had a friend put my pistons and rods in, and then i put the rest of it together and put it in my car. no smoking and good compresion so far, so im happy. definately take you time with it, and double check things constantly. it is a very good learning experience as well as a good sense of accomplishment when you finish.

 

i wouldnt pay 500 just for assembly...

 

$500 for engine assembly is fairly standard- if your getting a blue print showing all clearences. $300 for just a build with out clearences measured is standard and a recipe for disaster.

I would do it myself. I started building Chevy motors also. B-Series motors to me are even easier. Just take your time and follow directions from the HELMS and you can't really mess it up.

If you get stuck snap some photos and post it up here and we can all help you out. You'll be fine.

 

if i wanted to i could have had a good shop around my house assemble my shortblock for $250, but i chose to take the time to learn and do it myself. It was a wonderful experience, the knowledge gained is priceless. too bad i didn't tune the car myself becuase it would probably still be running....

 

trial and error

 

how many hours did it take you guys to build your motors?

 

I just built mine in about 2 hours. But everything went together very well. Bearing clearances were fine and the rings were fine.