Duck

You are making me think to attempt my rebuild. Keep up the nice work.

axl911

I see the problem with the cam timing setup. You have the pressure fed chain tensioner installed. That does not provide enough tension on the chain to keep your timing from jumping around.

CRG

axl911- i didnt have the tensioner cover's tighten down, nuts were on by a thread or so. once I tighten them down I got enough tension.

new question- anyone know the length of the flexible hose portion on the filter to thermostat oil line? i had a local shop make me up a new hose and they made it too long and since i no longer have the orginal hose i have no idea how long they need to cut off? be great to know both the entire length, from hard line female end to hard line female end and the flexible hose itself.

thanks

CRG

so here's where I'm currently at..almost there.
going to try and bleed everything before i lift the engine in place. cant fire it up until i get a new oil hose from ERP (i thought I'd have a local hose shop make up the filter-thermostat line for me turned out to be a major mistake on my part, just another one of many lessons $ learned). once i get this bugger up and running i still have a little work to do on the front end, replace bushings and reseal the rack, which i'll do later this summer. hoping to get it up and running as early as next weekend
List of things I've done below, I'm sure there's more..

New Engine Parts/pieces:
Mahle P/C’s 100mm
Heads-machined, guides, Viton seals, ultrasonic clean & glass beaded, etc
SM Flywheel-resurfaced
Crank- polished
Bearings- 1 through 8
ARP bolts- case and head
Viton seals, all- Wrightwood
Cams/rockers- std grind by Elgin
Distributor-replace all bearings, belt
Beru wires, caps, rotors
Plugs
Fuel lines
Oil lines/hoses
Oil tank-cleaned
Engine tin/cam covers-powder coated
Clutch, pressure plate, TO bearings, slave, tube, release bearings, fork, etc
Injectors-cleaned, flow tested
Chains, rails, sprockets
Power steering- seals, belt, hose
Oil tubes
Starter
Valve adjusting screws
Lat/long slaves- replaced seals

Rear suspension:
Bilstein PSS10’s
ERP spring plate bushings
SS brake lines
Rotors
Pads
Halfshafts-repacked, boots
Sway Bar bushings

Front suspension:
Bilstein PSS10’s
Rotors
Pads
SS brake lines
CW bushings (still need to do)
Rebuild PS rack (still need to do)
Halfshafts-repacked, boots

Rear bumper- new all
Rear lights- new all
Disconnect A/C and cruise control…never used either
Cat by-pass and G pipe
Engine sound pad removed

Duck

Very nice!

b16gsr

will be following along, I like these threads.

CRG

finally got the oil line fixed...ERP hose and new fittings

whatever "engineer" devised the oil tank/hose/thermostat clusterfunk was one diabolical and cruel SOB

Got the engine installed this past weekend and fired it up, yeah it runs! But after about 3 mins of running I saw an oil leak right below the rear main seal..damn! I shut it down to take a look at the leak and noticed it was actually coming from topside, one of the few pieces I did not replace-oil sending unit..another yeah! (not the rear seal). ordered a new unit and sensor and will fire it back up this weekend.

Smoke- I get it it's gonna blow some white smoke for bit to burn off the assembly lube and break in the internals but whats "normal"? Would like to know what normal looks like just in case it aint "normal" and for how long will it smoke? Using VR1 20-50

btw- my "cat bypass", most go for an aftermarket but mine's an OEM cat with the guts punched out...

CRG

to wrap up my very poorly documented rebuild thread-
the car is back on the road, runs great except:
1) a small oil leak at the engine oil line into the filter (that damn 36mm nut) that drips on the G-pipe
2) I need to remove the G-pipe and put the secondary back on, it's been so long I forgot how much I disliked the Cat bypass/G-pipe sound..IMHO more american muscle car like than 911 like
3) I think I reversed the wires on the oil pressure switch, it pegs out at 5 bar and stays there
4) set the PSS10's up at 3 front/7 rear based on the Walter Rohrl article, I'm not liking it for driving on the northern Virginia roads, it's to stiff
5) need new tires and need to get the car aligned
6) had some issues with the paint shop that painted the new rear bumpers, sh*tty work and they lost the tow caps, need to square that away

All in all I'm pretty dang happy it all came together and is running smoothly, and very surprised I pulled it off! I am total proof that (just about) anyone can rebuild one of these engines if you take your time and have the dedication, time and $ to do it

John McM

Inspirational. I searched for a gutted cat and up came this thread. I'm halfway through an engine drop on my C4, my first. I'm being methodical and have had a few trips to the tool shop to purchase items, plus posing questions to mechanics when I get stuck. You'd never employ me to do it, too slow, but evidently there's no reason a half skilled person like me can't do these things given enough time.

A question on the spring plate replacement. Do you have any images of the old ones? I ask as my rubber is cracked but I'm not sure the actual functionality is affected yet.