replacing connecting rods & pistons

[88accordSF]

i'm ready to throw in performance connecting rods, pistons, and rings into the good ol' A20a1 motor.... yeah, i gotst the lead foot and a WET kit available to go in... :)

in terms of visualizing the mechanical process, i think that I should be able to do this without takin out the motor.... just jack the car up good, drop the oil pan, and crossmember if necessary to get the oil pan out, then go to town... spin the crank as necessary.... i'm guessing i'll need to remove the oil pump, etc, before gettin to the crank area...

unless i'm missing something?

i also heard that i could use Prelude performance parts, specifically just for the connecting rods, pistons, and rings? is that correct?

[cygnus x-1]

If you're going through the trouble to put in performance pistons, rings, and rods it would be foolish to not pull the engine and do a full rebuild. You can't just "drop in" those parts and expect it to work with any kind of reliability. You need to have the block and crank inspected to make sure they are still in spec. You need to replace the bearings and get everything cleaned up so that it won't destroy itself in 1000 miles. And how are you going to compress the rings to get the pistons in from the bottom? You will absolutely have to take the crank out as well.

Before you do anything you should go find a book on engine rebuilding and read it cover to cover. Not trying to discourage you but there is WAY more to it than just dropping in parts.

C|

[ghettogeddy]

i agree lol im going throught the rebuild right now and man is there alot to do
lol
that reminds me in need to call the machine shop so i can pick my motor up

[MessyHonda]

i would read this thread. http://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=52447

[AccordEpicenter]

If you're going through the trouble to put in performance pistons, rings, and rods it would be foolish to not pull the engine and do a full rebuild. You can't just "drop in" those parts and expect it to work with any kind of reliability. You need to have the block and crank inspected to make sure they are still in spec. You need to replace the bearings and get everything cleaned up so that it won't destroy itself in 1000 miles. You will absolutely have to take the crank out as well.

Before you do anything you should go find a book on engine rebuilding and read it cover to cover. Not trying to discourage you but there is WAY more to it than just dropping in parts.

C|

Just pull the motor. I had this idea once but its stupid in the grand scheme of things.

[88Accord-DX]

Your not going to be able to use a glaze breaker all the way through the cylinder bores, or use a ring compressor. So yeah, pull the motor out. Lots of precision measurements need to be made for good results. (bores, crankshaft)

[88accordSF]

Your not going to be able to....use a ring compressor.

good info. i haven't seen the jug cavity for this particular moto... is there absolutely no way to do it? or just technically hard? because if there's a way to do it, even if it means making some quick custom rings tools at work to enable the rings to be compressed in a tight space (CNC machine)....


Before you do anything you should go find a book on engine rebuilding and read it cover to cover. Not trying to discourage you but there is WAY more to it than just dropping in parts.

my aim, for this particular process, is to swap in a few performance parts without pulling the motor. (i've got another motor and tranny for a bench-assembled hot rod block)

right now i just want to add nitrous to the current block for a little bit of fun, until I have the other motor & tranny ready for install... adding solid connecting rods and pistons would do the trick, because quite often with nitrous NA motors, those can be the weak links. then followed by main & secondary bearings, valvetrain, crankshaft (in approximate order)

i've actually built a ton of motors, and have 2 current non-honda motor builds in process. a spare a20a3 motor from a donor car with a blown head gasket is being towed in this weekend for the hot rod 4 banger build.... just trying to realistically gauge what could be added to the current motor without pulling it.

have you read David Vizard's book on performance engine building? he's one of THE pioneers of performance liquid-cooled engine building. his literature is just *packed* with whats important and whats not.


thanks the feedback, fellas! appreciated.

[88accordSF]

***

[tuxdreamerx]

If you're going through the trouble to put in performance pistons, rings, and rods it would be foolish to not pull the engine and do a full rebuild. You can't just "drop in" those parts and expect it to work with any kind of reliability. You need to have the block and crank inspected to make sure they are still in spec. You need to replace the bearings and get everything cleaned up so that it won't destroy itself in 1000 miles. And how are you going to compress the rings to get the pistons in from the bottom? You will absolutely have to take the crank out as well.

Before you do anything you should go find a book on engine rebuilding and read it cover to cover. Not trying to discourage you but there is WAY more to it than just dropping in parts.

C|

Well I read my shop manual from cover to cover before I did mine and it was really easy after that but I did skip a few parts of the book that would have helped and Follow the book on the rebuild EXACTLY I didnt and had alot of headaches. its a pain in the ass but worth it

[cygnus x-1]

good info. i haven't seen the jug cavity for this particular moto... is there absolutely no way to do it? or just technically hard? because if there's a way to do it, even if it means making some quick custom rings tools at work to enable the rings to be compressed in a tight space (CNC machine)....
my aim, for this particular process, is to swap in a few performance parts without pulling the motor. (i've got another motor and tranny for a bench-assembled hot rod block)
right now i just want to add nitrous to the current block for a little bit of fun, until I have the other motor & tranny ready for install... adding solid connecting rods and pistons would do the trick, because quite often with nitrous NA motors, those can be the weak links. then followed by main & secondary bearings, valvetrain, crankshaft (in approximate order)
i've actually built a ton of motors, and have 2 current non-honda motor builds in process. a spare a20a3 motor from a donor car with a blown head gasket is being towed in this weekend for the hot rod 4 banger build.... just trying to realistically gauge what could be added to the current motor without pulling it.
have you read David Vizard's book on performance engine building? he's one of THE pioneers of performance liquid-cooled engine building. his literature is just *packed* with whats important and whats not.
thanks the feedback, fellas! appreciated.


Mmmm, I see. Given the oddity of your question I wondered if maybe there was something you weren't telling us. :)

I see what you're trying to do but it seems like kind of a waste of performance parts just for a temporary solution. While it could probably be done in theory, it would make the job far easier to pull the head in addition to the pan and crank. That would at least get you access to the cylinders from the top. And pulling the head is pretty easy.
Or you could just leave it as is and hope it doesn't grenade.

I had one of Dave's books years ago but I forget which one now. As I remember it was pretty good.

C|

[88Accord-DX]

good info. i haven't seen the jug cavity for this particular moto... is there absolutely no way to do it? or just technically hard? because if there's a way to do it, even if it means making some quick custom rings tools at work to enable the rings to be compressed in a tight space (CNC machine)...
It's been a while since I looked at the bottom of the block, but what I was mainly pointing out, is that you'll need to use a glaze breaker on the cylinder walls. If I was going to put new rings in my car, I would make some measurements on the cylinder walls for taper/out of round to see what I want to do with the block before slapping rings in. Even slapping rings in will need the walls deglazed & your probably not going to get a good 50/60 crosshatch pattern with the head on top of the block.

[88accordSF]

Mmmm, I see. Given the oddity of your question I wondered if maybe there was something you weren't telling us. :)

that i'm a general jackass and obvious hazard to the mass populus? of course. i thought that was a known fact already....


it would make the job far easier to pull the head in addition to the pan and crank.

sh**ty. i just replaced the damn head last month. good point tho... then i could push/pull the pistons from the top. shoulda thought of that one... oops.


Even slapping rings in will need the walls deglazed & your probably not going to get a good 50/60 crosshatch pattern with the head on top of the block.

that's a good point.

guess i'm gonna just have to wait for the hot motor build to be done before the nitrous button is pressed

[88Accord-DX]

I was going to ask, are you trying to avoid pulling the head since you just re-done the head work? I know where your coming from trying to do it from the bottom, but a head gasket isn't much money. I honestly think your headaches might be less in the outcome considering all that it's worth.

[88accordSF]

exactly

pulling the head just temporarily would be way easier than doing the complete head job i just finished (w/o removing the intake & exhaust, etc), but it would still kinda be a pain in the a** to do it over again

i think you're right in saying "do the whole motor" because i won't have appropriate access to do the mechanical work the best way possible. i'll just stick w/ the hot rod motor for the turbo & nitrous, & leave the current block alone. seems like the way to go without really stickin a leaf up my a** (metaphorically, of course)