Motor overhaul

[lacseville]

I'm having various problems with my 4-9 now with almost 130,xxx miles on it. Most recently, my timing chain broke and my water pump is still leaking. I've got oil leaks and I burn about 1 quart every oil change (not too bad i don't guess)

I am not driving my car obviously, and do not have the time to work on it right now. I bought a 2000 ranger w/ a 4 banger+ 5speed the other day to drive until I have time to work on my car. College is out for the summer in 1 month. I'm either going to get a used engine, or take mine out and have it worked. Crate motors sure are a lot of money, but are they the way to go?

Is it possible for a average mechanic with decent tools (myself) to pull this motor and stick it back in correctly? If it's too much work, should I look for a 4-9 out of a 94 deville? Are the trannys different? Which ones are better, or can handle more power? Is the wiring the same?

Any tips on how to pluck the motor, or advice not to do it, or whatever is relavent would be much appreciated.

[lacseville]

oh yeah, and it is develping bearing thump (i know it doesn't hurt anything, but it's sooo anoying, and kinda embarasing)

[lacseville]

the cadillac dealership told me so. they made it sound like commonplace for that to happen. they had it for 2 days before they made that conclusion. i guess i need a second opinion?

Will the stock replacement bearings cure that bearing thump I suppose? What brand of gaskets do you recommend? I'll have the heads off, I"m going to have a good port job and gasket matching job done, should I have them milled slightly to make sure they're true? Would this raise compression too much? I only use 93 octance anyhow. Can the intake manifold be opened up any? Are there any better flowing exhaust manifolds for any 4-5 or 4-9 motors? anywhere to score some allante valvetrain? (they are stronger than the aluminum on mine, right?)

[cpk]

I'm sure there are several schools of thought and many depend on the tools at hand. I kept the engine and trans mounted on the cradle, and dropped the cradle out of the bottom of the car. Lots of jacks and patience required going in and coming out.

You can take a lot off the engine while its still in the car. Everything off the top including the heads. I'd try to get the exhaust manifolds off if you can, but the rear can be a PITA.

Some advice:

#1 Get a Factory GM service manual. Not Chiltons. This is the single most important investment.

#2 Read the manual before you start and refer to it often

#3 Don't even think about assembling the engine without a torque wrench

#4 Be meticulously organized. Buy a couple boxes of zip lock bags and some markers. Many of the bolts look alike, but have different lengths - make sure you know where they go. Definitely don't throw everything into a big coffee can. Segregate things by cylinder - don't mix and match them.

#5 Have plenty of room to work, and a clean area to work on the engine.

#6 Yes, if you screw something up, you can probably go back and fix it, but you aren't going to know it until the whole engine is back up in the car. Check and double check everything - clearances to the manual. Torque of all the fasteners. Take your time.

#7 If you need a tool, buy it or rent it. You'll waste more time trying to kludge something together then you would if you just get the right tool. Examples: harmonic balancer puller/installer, power steering pulley remover/installer, valve spring compressor, piston ring installer, piston ring compresser, cam installer.

#8 Plan for triple the amount of time that you think it will take, and then take your time and enjoy the experience. How many guys do you know who have rebuilt their own engines? Of them, how many have done an aluminum-block Cadillac? When its back together and running again, its a heck of a feeling knowing every single piece of the inside of that engine.

#9 Watch the aluminum parts. They're soft. Drop something, or bang it against something and you can damage a mating surface easily.

Also, this is a great time to do a lot of other things. I replaced all my suspension pieces, engine mounts, cradle mounts, replaced the wire moldings, painted the block and all the brackets, changed every piece of hose, etc. Some of that stuff is a royal pain to do with the engine in the car, but its easy with it out. It would be a great time to make sure your heater core is good and not leaking, change out the blower motor, touch up the paint in the engine compartment, etc.

One other thing. Gathering up all the gaskets, seals, etc can be a big pain. Everything's a different part number. If you can hit up the parts counter on a slow day and work with them, it can make life a lot easier. Some of the stuff is expensive. Here's a start of what you'll need:

Water pump gasket

Timing cover gaskets (cover to block and cover to water inlet)

Oil Pan gasket

Valve stem seals

Cylinder liner o-rings

Front crank seal

Rear crank seal

intake manifold seal kit

Head gaskets

valve cover gaskets

Orings that go on the oil-tube (runs up the back of the block where the trans mates)

Oring that seals the dristributor shaft

Orings on the oil filter lines

Orings where the oil filter mount attaches to the block

Orings on the oil pump mount

Piston rings

rod bearings

main bearings (may need the revised front bearing - check the clearances)

Injector orings

cap

rotor

wires

plugs

filters

RTV

engine prelube (GM sells some)

Thats on top of anything you find that needs replacing.

I had a lot of crud on many of the parts. My part store had some stuff called carb and small part cleaner in a gallon can with at little metal basket. I lot of stuff I would soak overnight in it. Really gets the gunk off (along with any paint). I probably used 5 gallons of that stuff, but all my parts were clean enough to eat off of when I reassembled the engine.

Don't bother trying to get the pistons off the rods. Just leave 'em attached.

You'll need to pump up the lifters by turning the oil pump with a drill before the engine will start. I got a long cheapo socket extension and the appropriate-sized socket for the oil filter shaft, then I tack welded them together so I couldn't lose the socket. Put that in my drill and used that to prelube everything (also toasted my electric drill, but it was worth it.)

Based on bbobynski's advice, I didn't try and port or modify anything. I did grind off a lot of casting flash inside the block, but only for my peace of mind. I did spend a lot of time cleaning - the engine had over 130k of hard miles and I was the third or fourth owner. I used some of that new polyurethane engine paint that Eastwood sells (similar to the brake caliper paint) on the block. Difficult to apply, but I liked it. So far, its held up better than any other paint I used on the other parts.

[lacseville]

What does "all" suspension pieces consist of? Main things? How do I check my heater core?

When I was trying to diagnose why my car quit, about all of the pin connectors (little box that a group of wires go into that plug into something else) crumbled in my hand. What to do about this?

What if the bolts are rusted too bad to get off? I'll start soaking them now, but what if they just won't come? Break em off?! unbolt at the collector?

can i re-use the valve and springs?

i wasn't about to try to port the heads myself, or even port match the gaskets... i was going to let a machine shop do it. anything I should be aware of before I let them do it?

i have more questions but i'll save for another post.

[lacseville]

thanks for all the suggestions so far.... sorry i have to bump, but i really still need help!

[Dan]

If you're worried about the work rebuilding the motor, just by a used one from a junkyard. You can get a low mileage one from about $500-$1000. Or buy a rebuilt motor.

http://www.car-part.com

[98Concours]

Looks like you can get a remanufactured engine here for around 1700.

http://www.remanufactured-engines.com

Jeff

[cpk]

What does "all" suspension pieces consist of?  Main things?  How do I check my heater core? 

When I was trying to diagnose why my car quit, about all of the pin connectors (little box that a group of wires go into that plug into something else) crumbled in my hand.  What to do about this?

What if the bolts are rusted too bad to get off?  I'll start soaking them now, but what if they just won't come?  Break em off?!  unbolt at the collector?

can i re-use the valve and springs?

i wasn't about to try to port the heads myself, or even port match the gaskets... i was going to let a machine shop do it.  anything I should be aware of before I let them do it?

i have more questions but i'll save for another post.

I replaced the inner and outer tie rod ends, ball joints, strut bushings, reaction rod bushings, stabilizer bushings and link bushings. Its very easy when everything's apart already.

With the heater core, just make sure it isn't leaking. Or, since they're pretty cheap you could replace it. Don't know what the Seville is like, but on the Allante its almost impossible to get a screwdriver to the heater hose clamps when you need to change the core, because of all the other stuff crammed in that corner. With the engine out, its a piece of cake.

The only bolts I had problems with on the entire engine were those fastening the exhaust manifolds to the heads. I had one that broke off and I had to drill and tap it out once I had the head off. I use anti-sieze past on all the fasteners as a matter of course, but that only helps "next time". Penetrating oil is good, and letting sit is even better. You can also try heat. Try not to break them.

With the wiring, I don't remember having anything like that. There are a lot of connectors that are available through ACDelco or the aftermarket and can be spliced into the harness. I had to replace the TPS connector and the ISC Motor connector as they crumbled in my hand. Worse case, you can always get a connector from the wrecking yard. Personally, I always solder wires and use shrink-wrap tubing to protect them. Crimp connectors easily fail in the environment of the engine compartment. Definitely don't expect the "twist and tape" method to hold up for very long on an engine control system harness.

I reused the valvesprings. Lightly lapped the valves (instructions are in the service manual).

On mine, the bearing surfaces were beautiful, as were the cylinder bores. Essentially, I cleaned it up, replaced the bearings, rings, gaskets and seals and that was that.