It Begins!

[Xtortion]

FINALLY, i can post some progress, even if it is just me getting my parts back.

i DO have a question tho, ill have to pick up my own (probably digital) micrometer to find out what size bearings i need now, correct?

heres the sauce:
Pistons


Old rods, bored/honed to be full floating (turns out they had to be, the pins for the wiseco pistons were just under 1mm larger than stock) with large end freshly honed.


Cleaned/polished factory crank


And last but certainly not least, hot tanked, bored/honed 40 over block.


does anyone have any idea if wiseco rings are chromoly? (i think thats what they are called) they are harder than my block = not a good idea in case something goes wrong, they will fuck up the cylinder walls rather than break like normal graphite...? carbon...? ones...its been a long week, im a little out of it.

EDIT: a little info for anyone buying Wiseco pistons in the future, the XX series that come with the pistons, are just steel, no worry about them being chrome moly rings.

[Xtortion]

so...thinking more and more and am going a slightly different turbo route, will still be two turbos, but im going to run a compound setup using my stock z31 t3 for the small one, and i just bought a holset h1e off ebay, both will need a rebuild (eyes iggy). Ive NEVER even seen anyone try this with a vg, much less a single cam or in an s12 for that matter.

im stealing ideas and pipe layout from boostedvg most likely, will run one turbo for now (the holset) then with next years tax return buy the other parts i need and change up the plumbing a bit to fit my smaller turbo in...

i already know its gonna be tight, ill prolly lose my power stearing, and my battery is going in my trunk anyway...wish me luck!

OH! and i bought all my bearings to start assembling everything, just gotta wait for them to show up. ACL race series for rods, and some brand from autozone for main (acl doesnt make main bearings for the single cam vg for some reason) theres ONE guy down there that knows what the hell hes talking about, and he stands by them. i guess alot of muscle car/hot rod guys use them.

[IggyEGuana]

sweet

honestly i think u might end up being happy with just the single turbo.  either way its gonna be ballz fast.  GL

[Xtortion]

ok, so some advice would be great. i cleaned the block off in the spots where the bearings go, being sure that there was absolutely NOTHING in there, put my bearings in, i noticed the no. 4 bearing (the one with the little wingy things on either side that goes in the back of the motor) was a little snug going in, like it didnt just go in like the others did, seemed like it rubbed a bit going in.

anyway, put the crank in (i oiled all the contact surfaces with fresh motor oil) did the same thing for the main bearing cap (cleaned, put bearings in, again the no 4 was a little snug (i had to use a deadblow hammer to get it to lay in all the way) torqued it down in 3 steps (30lbs, 50lbs, 74lbs)

anyhoo, my question is this, how hard should the crank be to turn? i can turn it with one hand, but not from the ends, i have to push on the counterweights to get it to move, and even then it feels like its being squeezed (it will only turn in quick little bursts, not a smooth motion)

and when i went to check the end gap clearance, not even the 0.05mm would fit where my hanes book said it would, at either end...im assuming something is buggered up with the no. 4 bearing?

[Xtortion]

so, waiting on new bearings, a friend should be bringing them by today for me given that i have no car to drive and pick them up myself >.< turns out the upper (lower?)...the one on the main bearing cap, thrust bearing was machined ever so slightly too large giving me no end play and making the crank a little tight to turn.

on a little bit different note, partially due to cosmetics, and also to grant more under hood room ive been thinking about going distributorless, has anyone heard of... http://www.electromotive-inc.com/products/tec3.html

been poking around their site a bit and trying to figure out if its a standalone system or not. ive seen a vg510 with one, but its just a picture of the engine bay so its hard to tell...i dont know much about ICP's (is that even an acronym?) do they ALWAYS have to be used with a standalone system? i really have my heart set on NIStune, but i REALLY hate the distributor on my damn motor...(ugly AND terribly placed)

[Xtortion]

ok, so ive gotten the main bearing cap back on, and am currently trying to put my new pistons on my rods, but i cant remember which direction is supposed to face forward on the rods themselves...are the letters and numbers that are cast into the...neck?...portion of the rods face the flywheel/rear of the motor, or the front.

From what i have been able to gather from searching a few dozen pictures through google, going off these ones
http://nissannut.com/maintenance/vg33e_upg...ain_caps_on.JPG
http://nissannut.com/maintenance/vg33e_upg.../oil_pickup.JPG
and then looking at the ends of mine (assuming all the rods are created from the nissan plant in the same matter *machined from the same direction*)

it LOOKS like the lettering should face the rear of the motor, with the oil squirters pointing towards the passenger side  (left side when looking from the front towards the back) of the motor

[nismologist]

i just scrolled through this thread and now i have a smile on my face, you make me want to trade my s13 shit box for a turbo z or something with a vg.

[Xtortion]

lol, thanks. TBO im in pretty much entirely uncharted water as far as the compound setup in a VG is concerned, and most definately the it being in an s12 part. Doin the best i can to keep people updated and keep it a full writeup so people can track progress and see the results. with any luck it should be a pretty unique build not only in our world, but the import world alltogether.

so far im about $1400 in, i know i have about 300 more for getting the heads done, another 100 for cams, 200ish for valves, all the tidbits (gaskets and other misc things) $350 for the turbo rebuild(s) done by iggy (H1E coming tomorrow) prolly another 100-150 for exhaust piping, however much NIStune is, an IC with all the piping, wideband O2, a new rad with electric fans. Just to name SOME of the things i know i still need to get money together for, and thats not even going into suspension/handling.

part of why its a slow build, i dont have lumps of money lying around, so i buy what i can, when i can, and will continue to plunk along steadily.

Speaking of which, heads should be going off to the machinist this week to get re-decked and he should be able to give me a better idea as to the condition of my current valves and whether or not i need new ones (or springs for that matter)

[Xtortion]

THE BEAST IS HERE...pics when i get home...again.

[Xtortion]

allrighty, well currently im pissed off because i cant get any of my rod caps off from when the machinist tightened them down to hone out the large ends. so the work of beginning to put the rods/pistons back into the block is at a standstill until i take all my rods BACK to my machinist tomorrow morning, possibly to have a few heated comments made about how they are torqued down at least 2x more than they should be...i hope they arent fucking stretched out  

ANYWAY, on a bit of a better note i guess, heres some more pics for you guys...

Crank in and torqued to spec


Small turbo (stock t3 from 84t Z)


Holset H1E


Twin Scroll


Side by side of the future cohorts in destruction


Another side by side of the two (this one is a bit better show of just how much bigger the H1E is, and yes, thats a 4" outlet)


OH! one quick question for Iggy, how much will that ugly ass exhaust housing be able to get cleaned up? Theres also some sort of hard silvery/aluminum looking build up mostly on one of the two scrolls, its in the exhaust outlet as well...ideas?

[Xtortion]

yup...bolts are stretched out. well, the bolts arent any longer, but the threads arent nice little ^^^^^^ anymore, now the points all favor the end of the bolt instead of being centered....AARRGH...anyone know where i can even source new rod bolts? i only ask because autozone and any other auto parts stores are closed now. and the dealer is closed til monday.

on a positive not, my pistons and rods all fit very nicely in the one cylinder ive put it in...i just cant torque it down for obvious reasons.

[Johnny_boi]

shouldnt the shop replace them for fuckin them up?

[IggyEGuana]

^+1.  make em buy u a new set

I can media blast the turbine housing or both housings if u want.  $20 per side unfortunetly but thats cuz its not my blast cabinet being used.  The compressor housing would def look brand new after blasting.  IDK bout the rust on the turbine housing though.  I'll do what I can.  If rust is a problem up there u might consider ceramic coating it.  I can have that done here in town but I'll have to get a quote on it.  Should be something like 60 or 80 bucks but not sure.  lol at aluminum build up.  Previous owner melt a piston?  Might be a concern for the turbine but turbos that size are usually pretty tough.

[Xtortion]

i have no idea what it even came off of, much less what happened to the (most likely) truck that it was gutted from.

If a new set isnt too expensive i dont mind eating the cost (like, under $50) cause i like the machinist, good guy and he does do good work. im just not sure wtf happened to my bolts. like if they have some apprentice there or something that thought 'tighter is better' or what, but id prefer to stay on good terms with him, given he has my heads currently

On a bit of a different note, would the media blasting get rid of the buildup crap? if so im more than willing to pay the $40 to have it looking as good as it no doubt will perform

[IggyEGuana]

just tell him about it.  show him if u have to.

don't know 100% until I try to clean it.  Stuff on the inside is usually pretty had to clean if it doeasnt come right off but I can get the rust off.  But rust spots usually come right back supr gay.