7.3 IDI Turbo Knock -> Engine Pull and Rebuild

[MICHAEL MICHAUD]

So , for all practical purposes, that's zero expansion. Thanks Wes!

You can buy adjustable pushrods. I'd bet that Summit racing would have them, among others. Maybe these are the ones that Wes was talking about since he has a background in racing engines. Yes. I did forget to mention it in my last post. Also, the diameter of them doesn't matter since you're not going to actually run the engine with them installed. I say this because I believe that they are usually 5/16" and our are 3/8".

Personally, I'd try the tap method first. Especially since you already have the cover off. A 3/8" bolt in the right length will be easy enough to find. You may have to drill the hole in the water pump out larger too.

Hell yeah. Im positive ill get these threads repaired or tapped. Ill see if i can buy 2 adjustable pushrods and if i cant Ill shoot you a peddler message for those pushrods Wes.


Going on Sunday for a month to get my FAA certification to work on airplanes and jet engines. Then I get out of the Marine Corps Nov 1. this engine has to haul me and 6000 worth of my stuff plus my car. Cant wait to get it back together.

 

[Thewespaul]

If you are using stainless steel valves, it’s probably less. I’m pretty sure stainless has a lower expansion coefficient.

Most grades of Stainless are about 17% less than mild steel, but the factory turbo valves are an alloy so it’s really hard to say exactly what the coefficient would be[/QUOTE]

 

[MICHAEL MICHAUD]

Gentleman, hope all is well. I got home 2 days ago after being gone for a month and the hurricane didnt destroy my truck or blow all the front end parts out of my bed. Cant say the same for the neighborhood or my fridge but I got very lucky. I finally got my certification from the FAA to fix any airplane that flies within the USA so thats neat.

Anyways I got to working on the engine yesterday I got two adjustable push rod "length checkers" (comp cams brand from summit i believe 9.5 to 10.5 inches)but I just used them as adjustable pushrods to check the valves clearances with solid lifters and zero lash with a typ4 cam.

With 7 thou off of each head, no grind on the seats, and comp valve springs shimmed to 1.8" the clearances came in at ~55 thou.

The comp cams instructions are easy to follow. But heres what I did.

1) Put 2 small balls of playdough on top of the pistons where they will get mashed by the valves when they unseat. Make sure the playdough wont stick to the pistons by lightly oiling the piston top and the valve faces with your preferred engine oil.
2) Using a sacrafice head gasket that has been torqued at least 1x, install the head using a handful of head bolts to keep it down tight in the front and back.

NOTE If you havent torqued the gasket yet or dont want to you can get the difference between torqued and untorqued thickness by contacting the gasket manufacturer and subtract the difference from your clearance measurement(youll get that later)

3) Rotate crank while watching the solid lifters to see when they are lowest and not moving for a single cylinder(valves both seated)
4) Once the lifters are both at their lowest points put the pushrods on top of themand install/ torque the rocker arm assembly with the adjustable pushrods long enough to not seat against the rocker arms.
5) Once the arms are torqued unscrew the adjustable pushrods until they just make contact with the rocker arms then lock them into place by hand srewing the lock nut to the bottom put a wrench on it, then put a wrench on the top one and unscrew it 1/6 to 1/3 of a turn until it is snug and you cant freely spin the push rod or move it at all.

NOTE: To er on the safe side the more sug the push rod is the better because you will be slightly lifting the valve from the seat giving you a slightly smaller clearance, if this smaller clearance is within limits then you are good to go and its better than having a re larger clearance and hoping for the best.

6) once both push rods are adjusted to zero valve lash rotate the crank clockwise 2x so the valves will seat and unseat a full cycle
7) Repeat steps 3 through 6 for each cylinder
8) Try to go to your happy place. Prepare for an unlikely trip to the machine shop, prepare to tell your wife that even though you promised you wouldnt spend anymore you just have 1 more trip to the machine shop and thats it.
9) Remove the head. Look at your squished playdough. Its pretty anticlimactic isnt it.
10) Recommended clearance is 30 thou but you can get away with 15 thou. You can just compare the squished playdough to a feeler gauge bit if it looks close let the playdough dry out and measure with calipers.

I makde a video on how to make solid lfters. I can make a single post for the stickys on checking valve clearance

Any tips for break in procedure besides filter and oil change at 500 miles? I should have this thing in this weekend but beteeen putting the front end back together and messing with my downpipe, bleeding the power steering, timing the IP i dont know if she will be rolling down the road till next weekend.

Lastly my arp studs worked great, except for one. There seems to be a machining error in the block which causes the stud to shoulder about 3/16 to 1/4 inch higher than the other ones. It doesnt affect the head bolts though. Instead of using my brain and adding an additional washer, my excitement got the best of me I tried to modify the stud and needless to say I contacted ARP and were going to sort something out on Monday. I just torqued the 1 head down with a head bolt for now. Ill replace it with a stud when I get the new one in.

Stupid mistakes. Count on them happening.

I look forward to sharing and hearing from you guys.

 

[Hydro-idi]

Tips for breaking in a new engine:

Bring engine to normal operating temp, while checking everything over. Take it for a quick spin for about 20 minutes and check everything over again. Some people change the oil/filter after first 20 minutes of run time, I would advise that you do.
After that, hook onto something heavy or find a long steep hill and make that engine work hard while keeping an eye on engine temp and egt’s.
If you baby the engine, it’ll be an oil burner for life.
When I rebuilt my engine, I was very ******* it. Maybe even a little too hard. Made multiple full throttle passes with rpms wound up to 3900 from 0-65mph. This was all with an engine that had about 10 miles on it lol. I was not easy to that engine, and too this day it has zero blowby, no oil burning & is a very strong runner.
I intend to do the same when I get my new 2019 f250 powerstroke in a few weeks.
Just my .02.

 

[Thewespaul]

Hey congrats on getting certified, good to see the project coming along nicely

 

[MICHAEL MICHAUD]

Tips for breaking in a new engine:

Bring engine to normal operating temp, while checking everything over. Take it for a quick spin for about 20 minutes and check everything over again. Some people change the oil/filter after first 20 minutes of run time, I would advise that you do.
After that, hook onto something heavy or find a long steep hill and make that engine work hard while keeping an eye on engine temp and egt’s.
If you baby the engine, it’ll be an oil burner for life.
When I rebuilt my engine, I was very ******* it. Maybe even a little too hard. Made multiple full throttle passes with rpms wound up to 3900 from 0-65mph. This was all with an engine that had about 10 miles on it lol. I was not easy to that engine, and too this day it has zero blowby, no oil burning & is a very strong runner.
I intend to do the same when I get my new 2019 f250 powerstroke in a few weeks.
Just my .02.

So how long should I beat on it for just the intial ride or for a week. I dont have anything heavy or any hills but i have a pretty good lead foot. And some overpasses about 20 miles away. I have to buy a trailer so maybe ill try to buy one as soon as it runs.

 

[Macrobb]

Not sure on "proper", but I was told to just fire it up, drive it around for about 500 miles by itself(just highway and roads; no heavy strain on it), then hook a trailer to it and give it a workout.
I think as long as you keep good oil in there(15W40, not break in oil or anything like that) and don't hold it at one RPM for a long time, you'll be fine.
Getting it hot sooner or later is a good idea though - seems to help old engines a /lot/ as well.

 

[MICHAEL MICHAUD]

Just need to put it on the sling and put my clutch and flywheel on. Ill install all the belt accessories once shes mounted.

I still have to fabricate that down pipe which sucks! I guess it will put my welding skills to the test.

I am dreading putting this front end back together. I was a little less organized than ideal during the beginning of this teardown.

I resealed the turbo and all the adaptors, that makes me happy. There was just one little washer that was half rubber half metal in the turbo seal kit that I bought from typ4 that im not sure wher it goes.

I am unnecessarily nervous that the the oil cooler or the water pump or the oil pan are going to leak.

My dipstick doesnt have an oring and im not sure but i dont think i saw one in the seal kit. Can I use ultra grey or black rtv?

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[IDIBRONCO]

With 7 thou off of each head, no grind on the seats, and comp valve springs shimmed to 1.8" the clearances came in at ~55 thou.

You lucky SOB. I'm SO jealous.

My dipstick doesnt have an oring and im not sure but i dont think i saw one in the seal kit. Can I use ultra grey or black rtv?

Yep. That's what I do.

 

[saburai]

The metal and rubber washer is for the turbo snail seal. Engine is looking good

 

[MICHAEL MICHAUD]

The metal and rubber washer is for the turbo snail seal. Engine is looking good

Oh right on. It goes under the one lonely bolt that holds on the nautilus. Thanks alot!

 

[Dirtleg]

Regarding the downpipe flange. Could you grind down flange so it fits in the vband clamp on the turbo outlet?

I ask because when I made my downpipe I found a header flange that was larger than the turbo outlet and just ground it to fit. Been working perfectly for years.

 

[MICHAEL MICHAUD]

Regarding the downpipe flange. Could you grind down flange so it fits in the vband clamp on the turbo outlet?

I ask because when I made my downpipe I found a header flange that was larger than the turbo outlet and just ground it to fit. Been working perfectly for years.

Yeah that was honestly how I originally thought to do it. It just ****** me off that they sell this thing saying it fits my truck but it is useless. They gave me $25 bucks off but if i hade more time id put a nasty note inside and send it back. How did you grind it down evenly. Just kinda got it close enough?

 

[Dirtleg]

Yeah that was honestly how I originally thought to do it. It just ****** me off that they sell this thing saying it fits my truck but it is useless. They gave me $25 bucks off but if i hade more time id put a nasty note inside and send it back. How did you grind it down evenly. Just kinda got it close enough?

I held it up to the turbo flange and scribed it with a sharpie then ground it to the marking. Kind of fast and loose I know but as long as you can get it to seal on the outlet you're good.

 

[MICHAEL MICHAUD]

So imgetting the engine bay prepped and i noticed my clutch fork is in the depressed position...with the clutch out. If i push it in the fluid goes back to the cylinder but when i let go it comes right back out. Is this normal? I honestly dont remember what position it was in.

This is it at rest. How do I give it the old switcheroo? Push the fork in and let it bleed? This must have happened from the clutch being depressed with no pressure for the fluid to return?

You must be registered for see images attach