2.8L M20 build - Now with 2.7L!

[MR 325]

Clearances and machine work are very important things. Sorry to hear.

[acolella76]

Well not really sure what to say.. I wish I knew what caused it? Haha. I looked at the oil and there are no metal shavings thankfully, however there are a few very very tiny flakes. Imagine looking at cosmos schwarz metallic paint. That is what my oil looks like. I've heard that this is normal for a recently rebuilt engine but can anyone confirm this?

[Cinnabar325is]

Sure sounds like a rod knock in that video. Sorry to hear this, something clearly wasn't right.

[Bearmw]

That sucks. Did you verify oil pressure upon initial start up? Curious as to what happened.

[JeremyE30autox]

Well that sucks hard

[acolella76]

I am afraid I have some bad news.

About a day ago I started hearing a little knocking or rattling but paid no mind because I thought it was due to someone not tightening my motor mounts down. Still drove great even at highway speeds.



Went to go get the motor mount nuts to tighten the motor mounts down and on the way home the knock got louder. Like really loud. All of a sudden I had no power whatsoever. Came to a light and the engine just died on me. Started it up, still knocked loud, came to another light, died.

Pretty sure I fried something. Engine is probably toast. No idea how or why this would happen, but it did. So that seems to be the end of it. Fun while it lasted.

[dinanm3atl]

So cool Alex. Glad I could sit and watch you do some of the work in the VIP section at House of FullRace.

[CarsSuck]

The only problem i can see with studs would be the increased clearance to get the pan around the subframe and rack. You'll need to raise the engine even more to get it in.

[Sagaris]

If you have ever done an oil pan gasket job on an M20, you will know why I put those studs there. It's pretty hard to line up and install at times... this just makes it a lot easier.

Yep. I had no luck getting everything aligned with a windage tray and 2 gaskets. Im just running RTV + no gaskets instead, still wasn't completely easy to get lined up.

[acolella76]

If you have ever done an oil pan gasket job on an M20, you will know why I put those studs there. It's pretty hard to line up and install at times... this just makes it a lot easier.

[5Toes]

What was the reason for the studs?

Kind of like the idea, but it seems like there are no gains, except tat lining up the pan is way easier.

[acolella76]

Not the firing order! Thank god :) I traced the unloader relay wires and everything checked out fine. Everything I could think of was fine. Replaced the starter and believe it or not... IT WORKED! Must have fried the starter somehow.

Another story! I found out more things that need fixing: Coolant leak, brakes need to be re-bled cause they feel like shit, the throttle cable is loose on the pedal so I can't quite 'floor it', the exhaust mount broke off, oh AND my alternator is toast and my car died twice on the way home.

But, on that ride home the new motor felt great. Even on a stock tune, it felt like it had a very smooth power delivery. Can't wait to button it up and tune it. So excited!

[Bearmw]

Firing order is off?

[acolella76]

Well, got the clutch line fixed last night and went to town bleeding the coolant. At first it wouldn't turn over, but with a whack of a hammer the starter fired it right up. It was idling really rough, kind of like a vacuum leak. It would dip down to 250rpm, catch itself and rev back up, then dip, etc. But would be relatively fine with the throttle held open. The car started to overheat because the fan never kicked on... Let it cool down for a little bit and it won't even turn over. So I need some ideas what I should look at... Here is the gist of what's going on.

- E. Fan only works at the same time as the windows. If one works, they both work and vice versa.
- Starter will not turn over
- Ran pretty rough, may have had a misfire. Could be related, might not be. Just throwing it out there.

Anyone have any ideas?

[acolella76]

Congratulations I bet you feel like your first son was just born.

It feels good :)

Dude, is it me or does that thing sound like an old fighter plane from WW2 firing up?! Bitchin'!

Well it had no exhaust on in that video, just open headers haha