Motor Rebuild – (hot-to-trot)

[Dave M]

...he then told me I should be running a non-synthetic for the break-in.

My engine guy had me do the same thing. I ran Castrol GTX 10W30 for the break-in, then swapped back to Mobil 1.

He also had me do an oil analysis after the break-in. As I drained my oil, I got a sample an sent it here:

http://www.blackstone-labs.com/

They checked to see which materials (metals) were in the oil to make sure it was breaking-in properly. You get a report back from them telling you what they found and if the range is acceptable.

[Doc Fizzix]

He also had me do an oil analysis after the break-in. As I drained my oil,

Wow, I guess that is when you are doing a serious rebuild

I did my analysis last night as I drained the Moble One, looked real clean. I also checked thhe magnetic plug and I did have nice build-up of iron slug on the maganet. I wonder how much of the build up was stuff that was not cleaned out of the block after all the mill work

[Doc Fizzix]

Another update

- On Sunday after my fist 10 mile run I discovered some oil between the head and the block below the CAS (a common location), I was sure that the oil was coming from the head gasket since there is an oil passage right there and it looked very convincing that the oil was coming from the gasket. By Monday I had talked with Dave M and after that discussion I also remember reading that this same problem (oil leak) was a common problem from other owners and they also thought the oil was coming from the head gasket but is reality it was caused by the CAS seal leaking. After searching LEC and reading several posting from other Elan owners that had the observed the same oil leak problem I felt better knowing that the problem was not with the head gasket but was with the CAS oil ring seal. I pulled the CAS on Monday and noticed that the backside of the CAS was dripping in oil BUT the oil was not coming from the CAS seal it was coming from the valve cover. The valve cover had some seepage on the sides of the humps that go over the cams. I decided to pull the valve cover and check things out more carefully and is when I discovered that the gasket (new) was not sealing very well at all and had split at two locations. I believe that there are three things I did wrong:

1. I over torqued the valve cover,

2. I used the wrong sealant at the hump locations,

3. I did not properly clean the head surface to remove all traces of oil before adding the sealant and the valve cover. Do not get me wrong, I did wipe down the head surface but I did not use a strong solvent in order to make sure the head surface was clean.

I replaced the valve cover gasket, cleaned the head surface with lacquer thinner, placed a smaller dab of high temp silicon orange on each side of the humps, and then torqued the cover to the correct setting taking my time to check each bolt over and over again until all bolts were at the same torque setting. I can safely say that after my 50 mile run yesterday and my 100 mile run today that there is no trace of an oil leak anywhere and I am confident that I have solved the problem.

[Dave M]

Great to hear the oil leak problem is solved now, too. Way to go Doc! Go truly enjoy that bad boy now!

[Doc Fizzix]

One more update from today.

Yesterday I took the car on a very hilly 50 mile run with a lot of up and down hills and was on and off the boost in order to work the rings, I worked her hard over the run just as my mechanic advised me. Today I "upped" the boost to .9 atm and then took the car out for a 100 mile run. Here is what I can share:

The car ran like a dream! Very responsive and she wanted to run and run fast. Any time I got on the boost the car took off and the boost shot up and held strong. About 45 miles into my run and doing about 90 mph on I-35 on my way to Waco I hit the boost hard and the car had a major stumble and then the boost was gone, DAM! I pulled off the road and discovered that I had blown both ends of the intake off the throttle body and aluminum pipe coming from the inter-cooler. It was lucky that I had a screw driver with me so I could re-attached the intake and then I was back on the road, again the car ran like a dream, fast, responsive, held the boost, and drover like a rocket. The rest of the trip went great with no problems and I was smiling from ear-to-ear. I have to say that the car now feels "broken-in" or as I should say, the rings feel "seated". The car runs and idles great, she is as smooth as can be and very responsive with no missing or stumbling of any kind; my old motor would stumble a bit and felt sluggish compared to the new motor. More to come....

Ooops, one more thing, when I got home from the trip the intake clamps were again loose and this time instead of tightening the clamps with a screwdriver I tightened the them with a rachett. This helped get the clamps much tighter than before. I took the car out for another run and the clamps held great and this time I even got a bit more boost on the needle than before.

Lesson here: Tighten the clamps with a ratchett if you plan on running high boost, you just cannot get as much torque with a screwdriver.

[Ekapol]

and I was smiling from ear-to-ear.

Good to hear another Elan happy story

[Doc Fizzix]

Good to hear another Elan happy ending

Well, not the end yet

Now I have to upgrade the turbo and then make the new exhaust from the turbo back.

[Doug]

Well, not the end yet

Now I have to upgrade the turbo and then make the new exhaust from the turbo back.

Now isn't that the ORIGINAL plan of this whole project

[Doc Fizzix]

Now isn't that the ORIGINAL plan of this whole project

That is the plan, that is why I was letting him know that more is yet to come

Getting the motor running was, of course, a major part of the deal but now for the real fun

[Doc Fizzix]

Another day another hard run

Today I took the car out to the hill country and ran her hard on some of the coolest and smoothest roads around, this is my warning, if you do not have a quaife limited slip differential then youu should stop reading right now, the following information may cause you to spend money or feel that your Elan is inferior

It was on my run today that I truly understood the difference in performance and feel between a normal differential and a limited slip differential. There is no comparison, the feel of the limited slip differential is unbelievable, when accelerating in a turn the car pulled itself through the turns unlike anything I had ever felt before, my Boxster never came close to this positive feel and the old Elan's original differential is just plain junk (sorry to sound so harsh). I hate to say it but I do not think I could ever drive another Elan unless it had a quaife installed, anything else would be a letdown after the feel of the quaife. There are many great upgrades for the Elan but this is a MUST DO upgrade, save your money, beg your better half to buy you one, do what ever it takes to get a quaife, you will thank me

[algirdas]

Dear Al:

How much of a performance gain do you attribute to the aluminum flywheel?

Sincerely,

Algirdas

[Doc Fizzix]

Dear Al:

How much of a performance gain do you attribute to the aluminum flywheel?

Sincerely,

Algirdas

Not that much

I hate to say it but I do not feel much of a different from the aluminum flywheel, the motor might spin up a little faster but not as much as I was hoping. I feel no difference when starting from rest (in other words I do not have to give the car anymore gas than normal or risk stalling the motor as other had suggested or commented)

If you followed this thread then you should recall that I massed the old and new flywheels and found that once you attach the pressure-plate on the aluminum flywheel the total different in mass was only 20% less from the stock flywheel and then, you can calculate, that once you attach the new flywheel set-up to the crankshaft and finally place the front pulley on the crankshaft the total change in mass is most likely around 12% or less (I have not done the actual calculations but I bet that is a close estimate) ... so in the end, the performance gain from just the aluminum flywheel is not that noticeable BUT if you are making a bunch of changes to the whole system then I am sure it plays a more contributing part, I do plan on attaching lighter weight pulleys on the front very soon.

If this was the only upgrade you were planning on doing to your motor then I would have to say "save your $350.00 and use the money on some other upgrade" BUT if it was part of a much larger project then in the end you will see a small perfomance gain from this upgrade but just not as huge performance gain from just the aluminum flywheel alone.

THis is just my own thoughts after driving the car but others may feel different.

Do not get me wrong, the car is still a rocket but I just do not feel the aluminum flywheel plays as big a part as I thought it would.

[Dave M]

It was on my run today that I truly understood the difference in performance and feel between a normal differential and a limited slip differential. There is no comparison, the feel of the limited slip differential is unbelievable, when accelerating in a turn the car pulled itself through the turns unlike anything I had ever felt before, my Boxster never came close to this positive feel and the old Elan's original differential is just plain junk (sorry to sound so harsh). I hate to say it but I do not think I could ever drive another Elan unless it had a quaife installed, anything else would be a letdown after the feel of the quaife. There are many great upgrades for the Elan but this is a MUST DO upgrade, save your money, beg your better half to buy you one, do what ever it takes to get a quaife, you will thank me

I liken it to the feeling of being pulled through a corner vs. being pushed. You feel attached to the road instead of "hanging on". A must do if you are thinking about more power, too.

[joeisuzu]

I have to say, I noticed a HUGE difference in my SOHC 95 HP motor in my base geo when I put the eluminum flywheel, higher # PP, and larger organic clutch in. The engine revvved WAY easier, but um, that motor does have a different head on it, and no turbo, and higher compression, so maybe it is apples to oranges, will let you know how it is in my RS once I get the turbo back on it I have to say. I totally rebuilt one of these turbo motors and put it in my old Geo storm, I redid everything just like you, painted everything brand new, and you engine sir, makes mine look like crap! Excellent job, I only wish I was as skilled as you, and I am OCD!

[Doc Fizzix]

I redid everything just like you, painted everything brand new, and you engine sir, makes mine look like crap! Excellent job, I only wish I was as skilled as you, and I am OCD!

Thanks much

We will see how it looks after a year or so

Well, the news for today is not good. The new alumunim radiator has two pin-hole leak along welds at the bottom of the radiator. Looks like I have to send it back, now I will be down for another month I bet

[isuzuimark]

why dont you just get some hacker to tig the pin holes up locally?

[Doc Fizzix]

why dont you just get some hacker to tig the pin holes up locally?

If I did not pay over $600.00 and only put 250 miles on it then that would be an option.

[joeisuzu]

Is your aluminum radiator two row or just one row? Does the company you got your radiator and intercooler from also do custom work? As I'd like someone to make an intercooler similar to the stock one on my impulse but wider and thicker, and then I'm going to mount a fan on it...

[Doc Fizzix]

Is your aluminum radiator two row or just one row? Does the company you got your radiator and intercooler from also do custom work? As I'd like someone to make an intercooler similar to the stock one on my impulse but wider and thicker, and then I'm going to mount a fan on it...

After their great customer service that I got today from Steve, I would suggest that people stay away from Tod End Performance

I have bought a ton of stuff from these guys over the years but never again. Just let this be a warning

Where is Isuzu Bill, he might be the lesser of two evils

[Dave M]

Where is Isuzu Bill, he might be the lesser of two evils