help doing engine swap in my '92 eagle 2000 GTX ('92 Galant)

[Woosky117]

well, i changed out all the belts except the one for the ballance shaft... i couldnt for the life of me figure out how to get that one removed, or installed. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif

the thing is that i am a few hundred dollars over budget now, and i need this done by the end of next week.

and im STILL waiting for the rad, the ecu, the wiring harness, and now the engine mount...
i cant afford to waste any more time, and now the welder has something wrong with it also.
this is not going well.

btw, the belts that were on the engine were still good... the thing only has 35000 miles on it.
the rubber was still good. my old engine ran the same belts for the entire 16 years of its life, and it was the metal internals that gave out before any rubber did.

im still trying to save as much money as i can on this... im saving up money for school.
im sticking to the bare essentials.

 

[cspetros]

You there! Wait!!!! You have to change that balance shaft belt! Do not gamble with the gods of balance shaft fate!

Seriously. If that belt snaps, it may take the other one with it. We don't want to see that happen after all the hard work you've put into this.

To change it (pretty easy), you have to remove the crank bolt, and slide off the front crankshaft gear, and the thin metal plate with the timing mark cut into it. Then, the rear crankshaft gear that drives the shaft is fully accessible. See the VFAQ pages I posted before your last post.

If that tensioner only has 35000 verified miles on it, it is most likely still good. Other people say something about this!

 

[Woosky117]

well cspetros, i guess we were posting at the same time, cuz i already did the install.

dont worry, nothing moved.
i made sure the crank stayed in the same spot, and the same for the cams.

i did all that this morning.

you forget... i work fast. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

the tensioners were all good.
the whole thing looks like new, i mean seriously. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jawdrop.gif

would have been nice to know how to take that last belt off earlier, but w/e.

 

[Woosky117]

update.
today i installed the platinum spark plugs, and attached all motor mounts minus the drivers side mount, as it hasnt come in yet.

just bought the rad hoses, and the heater hoses.
bought the long bolts to bolt up the cross brace.

unfortunately, i put in for over time at work tomorrow on my day off, so thats one less day that i have to work on my car.

but i hope to wake up early to work on my car on sunday.
and i sure hope that my parts come in on time... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/uhh.gif
how long does it take to get stuff from the states? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif
i got my engine, and my fenders both in like 2 days!

 

[turbowop]

Relying on parts to be on time when you have a set schedule blows. I find that I usually end up getting screwed and needing extra days to finish the car due to shipping times. Even in todays world of the tracking number.

 

[Woosky117]

yeah, but come to think of it... i never got any tracking numbers from anyone... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[91GSR]

dude if u r that hard up for it i will overnight u a fwd DOHC ecu and motor mount if u pay the shipping. i know u said u r over budget already, but these are going to be free. i would like to get them back once you get the ones you ordered, or at least find someone to get them for you. basically i will loan u the ecu, you can keep the motor mount and just put the other one on your wall or something. just pay shipping. i wanna see this build get finished as much as you do so i am willing to help out. i will be going to work on my car tomorrow so let me know by 10 am EST tomorrow if u want it and i will UPS it out tomorrow then let you know tracking number and cost.

 

[Woosky117]

well, i got a package today, but i dont know 100 percent what it is yet, as i havent seen the thing yet. lol
i suspect, from what my parents told me about the box, that this would be my wiring harness! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

thanks for the offer 91GSR, but i think ill stick to my guns on this one.
they should be in by monday or tuesday (i hope).

as for the o2 sensor, im just gonna go out and buy a new one. may as well.

 

[fivestardsm]

Quoting Woosky117:
well cspetros, i guess we were posting at the same time, cuz i already did the install.

dont worry, nothing moved.
i made sure the crank stayed in the same spot, and the same for the cams.

i did all that this morning.

you forget... i work fast. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

the tensioners were all good.
the whole thing looks like new, i mean seriously. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jawdrop.gif

would have been nice to know how to take that last belt off earlier, but w/e.




I think we need a little clarification!!

Did you or did you not change the balance shaft belt?

If not, it dosent matter about what your schedule is, you need to go back and DO IT!!

If you already did, then great for you!! I have seen SOOOOOO Many timing belts that were destroyed because of the balance shaft belt snapping and lodging into the timing belt. If you want proof, I can take pictures of all the destroyed heads I have and the litteral pile of old timing belts I have removed. (I keep them for momentos /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif )

 

[cspetros]

See below the first addition to my collection of obliterated timing belts (oil leak fixed, BTW). It didn't take out the primary timing belt, but it came close...

 

[Woosky117]

i havent changed the balance shaft belt... yet.
but you have to consider, how many miles do your engines have? this thing hasnt even cracked 50k yet. probably barely even 35k by the looks of it. all the belts on there look brand new, and the rubber is still very healthy.

anyways, update!

i was right, and it was the wiring harness that came in, and it is now in the car.
got the cross member bolted up, so thats done. we have a new welder, so we were able to fix up all the remaining holes. the hold that needed welding just before the door was done, now i just need to put the fiberglass on it.

grinded off the little bit of rust that was on the new fenders, and got that all finished. hope to put them on tomorrow.

installed the antena.

am going to be buying a new o2 sensor tomorrow.

sorry i didnt get any pics today.
ill try to get some tomorrow.

 

[turbowop]

Quote:
but you have to consider, how many miles do your engines have? this thing hasnt even cracked 50k yet. probably barely even 35k by the looks of it. all the belts on there look brand new, and the rubber is still very healthy.



I just changed the timing belt on 1051 after 40k miles of use over the course of nine years. It wasn't to the 60k interval, but it was a lot of time so I did it just in case. The belt didn't look so hot and even had a slight crack in one spot. Just because a motor has only 35k on it doesn't mean you shouldn't change such an important belt. You're really rolling the dice by basing whether or not you should change it on looks alone.

 

[fivestardsm]

Quoting Woosky117:
i havent changed the balance shaft belt... yet.
but you have to consider, how many miles do your engines have? this thing hasnt even cracked 50k yet. probably barely even 35k by the looks of it. all the belts on there look brand new, and the rubber is still very healthy.





Well, actually I have seen them fail in less than 20K to be honest with you, Its not vary common, unless you develop an oil leak through one of the cam or crank seals or around one of the B.S. seals. The oil will deteriate the belts. Also, if the bearing decides to fail on the tensioner, it will also create premature wear that will cause the belt to fail. These are just 2 examples of situations that I have come across and had to fix. The lowest mileage I ever saw on one that failed was 8K miles. The Stealership that replaced the belt, didn't set the adjustment correctly.

 

[cspetros]

If you already bought the balance shaft belt, it wouldn't take long to install it. The only hitch is getting that crank bolt out. If anything, do it for the peace of mind /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif. That way you won't be worried the belt might snap and wipe out your cyl. head as you're driving to somewhere.

Anyhoo, you're moving so fast on this I can hardly keep up with what you've got done. Keep it up man!

 

[Woosky117]

update!

but first some pics from yesterday.

i got the wiring harness in.


come to think of it, that was the only pic i took yesterday.

so on to what was done today!

bought the o2 sensor, and find out its got the wrong end on it. ill have to go and get the right one.


put the antena back on. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif


applied the body filler to the repaired area in front of the door. ill need to drill holes for the fender bolts.


got the right fender almost installed, just have to put in a few more bolts.


well, thats all the pics for today. but ill get some more up tomorrow.

found that i am gonna have to do some wire splicing on harness that i got, because it doesnt have all the ends that i need that are on the engine. ill just splice in the good ends, and wires on to the wiring harness that i got. should be pretty easy seeing as its only 7 wires that i have to sodder together.

i got the ecu in today! ill be putting that in tomorrow.

now all i need is my rad, and my engine mount!
and i hope those come in at least by tomorrow.

well thats it for now, ill update again tomorrow.

 

[Woosky117]

Quoting cspetros:
Anyhoo, you're moving so fast on this I can hardly keep up




well, i am a speed demon after all.. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Woosky117]

sorry i didnt get anything up last night. i needed the extra time to sleep, as i was planing to wake up super early today to go to get some more tools, and continue work on my car.

so what i got done yesterday.
i installed the ecu.
since the case mounts were different, i just switched the back mounting plates, and installed it that way. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

i did the wiring, so thats all done now. all the correct wires are now soddered together, and sealed, and ready to plug into the engine.

im just waiting for the o2 sensor to come in today, and im still waiting on the rad.

i had hoped to get all the broken bolts out today, and have the fenders all put on, and fastened... but unfortunatly i ran into a little snag. actualy, more like i ran it over.
we have a philips screw impaled in the tire of my parents van. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif its in the shop right now to get fixed, and its gonna take like 40 mins before the get around to fixing it, and so ill probably get the van back in an hour, but thats an hour of down time for me, and thats not good.

i hope i can still get what i want done today, done.

but well see.

 

[Woosky117]

hey so i dont have the pics right now, but i will when i get home in a couple hours.
the last couple days have been so hectic, its crazy. going to bed early so that i can go to work on my car early in the morning.
well all that hard work payed off.

no, the cars not running yet...... but i dropped in the engine today!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif and its all bolted in too.

so today we packed everything up that was mine, stuck it all in the car, and towed it back to my house.

all that is left now is to wire it all on, and fix all the broken bolts. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

ill get the pics up tonight.

so, for the next week, since im gonna be down in the states (in maine), im not gonna be able to work on my car all that week.
ill miss the canada day fireworks, but at least ill get to see the 4th of july for the first time! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

when i get back, ill have tones of questions about some of the wires. i actualy found a few more differences in the wiring harness that i got, and from what is supposed to hook into the engine. ill be taking pics, and asking for support.
but well get around to that next week, cuz im goin vacation! woot!

look for the pics tonight! feels good to finaly have the car on its own four wheels now. and now in my own garage with a cement floor instead of some dirt piece of $#!+ like where i was working that i had to drive 20mins one way just to get there...
Ahhhh... i needed to let that out. i feel much better now that the car is back home. where its supposed to be. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Woosky117]

so just a couple of pics from two days ago.

this is the new (used) ecu that i got.


these are both of the ecu's.
they had different casings.
so i swapped them so it would fit.


so this is now from yesterday when i got the fenders back in place (not completely attached mind you), and got the lights, and the grill back.


and now for today!

my dad and i putting the engine in.


got the ingine in, bolted the hood back on, and packed everything into the car.


pushed the car out into the driveway. gonna be picked up by a flatbed. it looks good. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif


and the back end. finaly the tail lights match again!


finaly back home, and sitting in my garage. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Ahhhh... finaly.
now i can work on my car a little more relaxed, and i dont have to drive anywhere!



.... my car is realy dusty. lol
when im done, ill give it a good carwash.

well thats all for now folks.
i just thought of this but i should have taken a pic of the engine actualy bolted in, but ill have to get that some other time. didnt have much time to do any pics realy... i had been almost late for work by the time we were done.

so hopefully in a week, ill be able to get back to working on this thing.
thanks you guy for all your help! (but its not done yet /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif)

 

[cspetros]

Definitely post up your questions about the wiring when you get ready to do all of that. I'll go over the schematics and help you out the best I can. Other board members will be glad to chime in too. The car is looking rock awesome. You've put a lot of hard work into it, and it's definitely paying off now. We all know how good it feels to have it on 4 wheels, rather than 4 jackstands/cinderblocks/etc.

Keep us posted, and good job!