Rebuild a 4AGE myself, to do or not to do.

[Golberg]

The story goes I want to have a fresh rebuilt JDM bigport 4AGE for my AE71. Its not meant to be anything special just completely standard bigport just fresh.

My main question for anybody who has done it before is weather I'll be able to get through it with my current skill levels. I've done 2 4AGE conversions to AE71's and 2 reshells of sprinters. I taught all of that to myself by reading the Toyota manuals and didn't really encounter any problems I couldn't easily get around.

Haven't touched any engine internals yet though because I wasn't sure if there was certain things one really needs to learn in an apprenticeship or and engine rebuilding course that I really need to know to do it.

I'm seriously contemplating taking the plunge, do people think its a good idea?

Oh, one note, I barely have any money as usual so hence why I want to do it myself. And of course, I don't really trust others to work on my own car. Seen WAY too much bodgy work.

[--Redwork--]

It all depends on how good a condition your engine comes apart in...

If it requires only the basic new rings and bearing then this is quite easy to do.
No measuring clearences ect.. ( still have to gap the rings though)

As long as you clean everything. blow out all the holes for head studs ect and put oil on EVERYTHING when you put it back together then its an easy enough thing to do... If you have a 4age manual that should tell you everything you need to know...

There plenty of ppl here that can give you tips.
No doubt theres probably some one local to come help you if you get stuck.

[84AE86]

do u have a set of micrometers, vernier calipers and fealer guages and do you know all the specification on clearances and so on. it all has to be presise (sorry for my spelling). but other then that i dont think its to hard. do you have any mechanically minded mates who have done engine rebuilds? cause they can always be good to have around for any questions. remember to mark everything as you pull it apart that way you can remember where it goes, there is nothing worse then having a heap of vacuum lines but not know what they go too.

[Konakid]

Also interested in this, what are micrometers, verniers and feeler gauges worth?

[slide86]

ill help you out cause your local, you can use my stuff if you need to

goldberg, i think you should have a go at it. you have prety good knowledge and its pretty obvious that you have a mind for mechanical things...

its not really that hard....i have rebuilt my GZE when i was a second year apprentice. i had never done it at work before tho, i just took it slow and steady.

i have the 4age workshop manual if you need things scanned and uploaded

the golden rule is CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN, keep everything clean and in order and you will be right

[Konakid]

That would be sweet dude, seeing as i dont have a car for the motor now, may as well build it up for something later.

[slydar]

its dead easy. but you want to start with a runner. not something someone spun a bearing in or broke a ring ect.

the bores in 4age's are HARD as. they will never need anything but a hone and standard sized rings/bearings, unless someone actually broke something.

the crank, as long as its been semi looked after, might not even need touching. i didnt touch mine. a linish might have been nice but it didnt look/feel like it needed it.

if your crank needs grinding or your block needs boring this is where it gets expensive and REALLY starts to be a pointless exercise as the costs start to overtake more expensive engine conversions (or come very close). also with the crank, no engine builder i have spoken with will use a damaged crank if they can avoid it. grinding cranks is a last resort, they will always try to source something that doesnt need grinding. when you grind a crank you lose that nice fillet in the corner of the journal and are left with a sharp edge which is weaker.

to do my build, i bought

feeler guage metric only. cant remember the price, less than $20.
micrometer 0-25mm $60. you wont even needs this unless you pull the head apart to put cams in, or lap the valves. i put wade cams in, but if i didnt, i wouldnt have needed this as i didnt bother to replace valve stem seals, as my head was hand picked from the wreckers and very obviously had been recently reco'd.
roll up pads for die grinder for cleaning deck and head surface. less than $20. you dont 100% need to do this at all, you can clean the surfaces by hand with the knife blade ect.
used some left over copper spray to aid HG sealing (cost me $20 ages ago) this is on the advise of a mate who has done a lot of home reco's, probably more important when not finishing the head and block with roll up pads. ive used it on both engines ive assembled, once using roll up pads once without, and never had any HG leaks.
you will need a nice straight edge to go with the feeler guage to check the head/block it straight.
youll need a torque wrench. just borrow one or buy one from super cheap. their "good" one is good enough. you want the pop off style one not the guage.

other things to note.

ive always used 2nd hand head bolts.

i cleaned my block with a case of super cheap degreaser, a garden hose, and an air blower.

that said, youre better off just buying the jdm 4age that KZG has for sale right now, its a great motor.

[Jip86]

I found that a couple of those organizer box's in a couple different sizes are really handy. Especially if you pull the valves out as you can keep the springs, retainers ect in order by writing on a piece of masking tape stuck to the lid and i always label EVERYTHING. Those cheap freezer bags and a niko can be handy too.

[jet111]

I think you should give it a go, my mate recently built a 355 stoker for his commodore.. he is very mechanically minded, he works as a mechanics hand on Saturdays but is not a mechanic himself. It was the first time he has touched the inside of a engine and all went well. Plus he learned a lot and saved heaps of cash too. I think the trick is just to do it slowly. I have a JDM Bigport that you are welcome to have if you come and pick it up... I did a bearing in number 3 so it might need a new crank but its free to a good home

[Instigator]

If he doesn't take you up on the offer jet111 can I have it please?