N54 ENGINE TEAR DOWN READY FOR FORGED BITS?

[@geordiegibson1210]

Andrew, you've got my Jekyll and Hyde email address, I will do what I can to hook you up with parts to rebuild the bottom end with new parts as cheap as possible, and give you a few sources for good quality parts. It shouldn't cost $2k just to pull the crank and upgrade a few things, I'd just about bet it can be done for half of that, using OEM quality gaskets, seals and bearing. Oh and don't know if anyone told you, the cams and heads have to be undone in a specific order, otherwise there's risks of breakages and warps. Cams are hollow, so you need to relieve pressure slowly from an cylinder that has pressure on the valves, then on the surrounding ones. The head is typically undone in the reverse order it is tensioned in, it stops warping issues. I've never had a problem just undoing them like you did, so you may have been lucky as well. Next time, just go slow (yes time lapse makes it look way faster) and do them by hand. A pain in the d1ck as you say, but cheap insurance. Cyl 4 is the one with the cracked ringland, you got it right that that's what's caused the low compression. When stripping the rods, you got the cylinder numbers reversed.

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Thank thank you. Checking my filming now….

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Ohhhh also yeah cheapest I can find the gerdle bolts, mains, main bolts, crank hub bits, sealant etc was just under $2k aus landed. Ecs was the cheapest for the lot. But the $250 frieght, and gst and import duty kicks you right in the feels.

[@geordiegibson1210]

@@ZeroTo60Tube Email my Jekyll and Hyde account with a parts list, I'll have a play and see what I can do for parts cost for ya. Just keep safe for now guys, go worry more about the weather and protecting what you've got instead of building cars, they will still be there.

[@Zalle335]

@@ZeroTo60Tube Hit me up and send me the parts numbers and quantity and I'll see what pricing is in Sweden/europe, shipping shouldn't be too bad, otherwise I'll check through my work.

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Just a huge shout out to Geordie, with all the weather madness going on and my 17t car being extra leaky, not to mention chatting to woody from Skid Factory while filming, i wasn't paying enough attention when i stripped this motor..... LOL. I read this comment last night just as i turned the genny off, but it was awesome to see and realise i got the motor back to front somehow during filming, then never noticed in the edit either. it was a sigh of relive to see cyl 4 piston was the one with the hairline crack in the ringland. Needless to say i slept well knowing we have found the problem with cyl 4 on this motor.

[@MrElectrify]

Hey Andrew, you pulled cylinders 2, 3, and 4. "3" (which was actually 4) has that cracked ringland which is almost certainly your compression problem. I didn't notice at first either :P

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Man i was quite relived when i read the comments pointing this out. Too much going on lately, doing too many things at once, not to mention woody was in chatting while i was filming this, completely lost track of which way round the engine was and also how to count it seems. Rushing the edit out in the strom didnt help either. ahhh well, back to primary school i go

[@BaldBozo]

No power and he still gets us a video. Hell yeah.

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

However, so, so I blame the beers or the celebrity visit from woody, but I managed to get the cylinder order mixed up while filming and then never noticed when I rushed the edit out #muppet it is cyl 4 that’s got the crack in the ringland

[@B0JACK]

love the music choice haha vibing hard to the timelapses

[@JustOrangeTTV]

This is so helpful for my future build I got 19ts right now need a trans good luck on the builds.

[@glennarnold3970]

andrew take the 2 top rings off cylinder 4 and put them in the bore one at a time and use a feeler gauge to see the ring gap then do the same on cylinder 1 and see if the ring gap is smaller if so rings on cylinder 4 will have less compression. you can check to see what factory gap should be you will need to do this for your new compression rings anyway cheers glenn

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

I was trying to get a bore guage today but can do this in the mean time for sure!

[@ilesoft82]

@@ZeroTo60Tube Were all rings on their proper places and not aligned?

[@ichoozjc]

@@ilesoft82 As in the ring gaps spaced apart? Mak s no difference. Rings rotate.

[@Andrew_moto]

Gets home from work at 5am opens a beer makes some food open yt sees ztx uploads. Hell yeah.

[@mwh2412]

Measure the ring end gaps when installed in the top of the cylinder on 4

[@benn6969]

put the plugs in and flip the head upside down and fill the bowl with water, then use compressed air and blow on the valve to check for valve sealing.

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Ok so so I blame the beers or the celebrity visit from woody, but I managed to get the cylinder order mixed up while filming and then never noticed when I rushed the edit out #muppet it is cyl 4 that’s got the crack in the ringland

[@anthonywhelan8373]

I’d be looking at worn valve seats for loss of compression due to hitting the limiter quite a lot they are a disposable part

[@Nico_335i_DCT]

Very stange guys! Good luck, Dutch regards, Nico.

[@swagfest2k144]

If you have it maybe use a Digital caliper that you can fit down the bores and see if there is any warping down the bore?

[@TML34]

Andrew cornering the market on used N54’s!

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Some even work ok... haha I have blown 3 now so i feel this stock really isnt enough.

[@seanissomething]

excited for this build

[@SuperHbkforever]

how did the gasket look? i wasnt paying too much attention

[@Pho6oZ]

This may come as completely useless info, a few years ago I saw 2 starlet engines with similar problems, it turned out being in 1 of them the valve was not sealing anymore caus e the springs got effed with boost and in the second one (which could apply to here) the piston looked perfect but turned out to be completely effed with microscopic tears, we threw some uv reacting liquid on it and it was amazing that the piston was still one piece. Also on a subaru engine (just rememebred), the ringlands were effed somehow and when you tryed puting them in feeler gauges or in another piston they would not have proper sealloing, I think iwas told to use a feeler gauge to be sure about it but cant remember it was like 8 years ago Anyhow, interesting content!

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Ok so so I blame the beers or the celebrity visit from woody, but I managed to get the cylinder order mixed up while filming and then never noticed when I rushed the edit out #muppet it is cyl 4 that’s got the crack in the ringland

[@robingroeneveld4169]

I've seen some leakage on valves due to turbo-damage: tiny bits of aluminium and plastic were squashed between the valves and seats, causing compression loss... You can check by pouring some fluid into the combustion chamber and see if it leaks away....

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Leaky valve was the problem with the motor that replaced this one believe it or not. I will try the water test and then might even get a tool to put the valves under vacuum to check them.

[@robingroeneveld4169]

@@ZeroTo60Tube And do some serious portwork on the head: you can gain 30% flow quite easily as there is a nasty casting edge that reduces flow..... Good luck!

[@scarface16134]

What about the head? Bent valves?

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Dude i missed this comment. Not sure why its popped up now as unanswered. So far it all seems ok.......

[@justinp2993]

It has been mentioned but maybe more comments will help it get noticed. Check your cylinder order, #1 at the balancer #6 at the flexplate.

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Ok so so I blame the beers or the celebrity visit from woody, but I managed to get the cylinder order mixed up while filming and then never noticed when I rushed the edit out #muppet it is cyl 4 that’s got the crack in the ringland

[@igotaction]

10:52 "LETS PULL CYLINDER 5." THAT IS CYLINDER 2, ENGINE IS UPSIDE DOWN, THEN YOU PULLED CYLINDER 3. PULL THEM ALL. In the next video please use the word muppet.

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Ok so so I blame the beers or the celebrity visit from woody, but I managed to get the cylinder order mixed up while filming and then never noticed when I rushed the edit out #muppet it is cyl 4 that’s got the crack in the ringland

[@donwingchun]

Might have been the injector seal. Don't forget to properly gap the rings on the forged pistons(not to factory spec which is much too small)

[@geoffreyyezersky1476]

from my experience with worn injector seals they don't lose any compression during a standard compression test and the car runs normal until wot misfires(kinda easy to check if you have a spare injector lying around see how snug the fit is. Should not just slide in)

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Ok so so I blame the beers or the celebrity visit from woody, but I managed to get the cylinder order mixed up while filming and then never noticed when I rushed the edit out #muppet it is cyl 4 that’s got the crack in the ringland

[@bradleywright666]

Been waiting for this

[@trevorsonnenberg5268]

So would you do that quick cylinder hone with the crank still inside the motor? Sucks about your import duties

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

I would do that if there was damage on the bore, but it’s fine to go again I think.

[@MistakenMedia087]

How big is the shop space? Also how do you like tha steel building? Thinking about going that route on the house I'm hopefully going to be purchasing.

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Its 12m x 6m. Which sounds huge, but with the single roller door its a proper pain to get a car in. If it had 4 doors you would be able to park 4 cars in here, but you wouldn't be able to work on them. 6m depth means a car is pretty much touching front and back walls when you drive in straight. We are only renting too, so cant make any changed too it. The steel walls and roof are insulated, its actually really good with the AC, loud as when it rains tho.

[@alexandrucaragea3820]

Fastenal or McMaster Carr for nuts and bolts

[@ben7020]

Hi Andrew, do you think small carbon bits come off and stick on the valve seat on these N54s ? Cheers, good luck 👍

[@swagfest2k144]

ITS HAPPENING LETS GOOO

[@FriendlyIntentions]

That ringland crack is more then enough to loose pressure in my opinion. It makes the rings not be able to do their job of keeping compression in. Maybe I am wrong but I think its enough to not have compression

[@geoffreyyezersky1476]

but did that crack occur from him dropping the piston tho?

[@FriendlyIntentions]

@@geoffreyyezersky1476 i don't think so. It takes a lot to Crack a piston. I dropped my volvo s70 t5 piston 3 days ago on a metal edge and it bearly had anything. 600 grit sandpaper made the edge like new

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Ok so so I blame the beers or the celebrity visit from woody, but I managed to get the cylinder order mixed up while filming and then never noticed when I rushed the edit out #muppet it is cyl 4 that’s got the crack in the ringland

[@FriendlyIntentions]

@@ZeroTo60Tube Makes sense, How do you figure the ringlands crack? They look pretty thin TBH. My 98 volvo s70 t5 ringlands are about 2-3 thicker for the top two. Its interesting that the bottom two are cracked. There is not as much pressure on those as the top two....Maybe it has to do with piston slap. They seem to be cracked near the heaviest wear portion of the piston skirt. Do we know where the cracks usally occour?

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

@@FriendlyIntentions A few theories on the cracks. I used to think it was bent rods twisting the pistons then the rings lean on one side of the ringland and not the other. but it could also just be as simple as rings getting hot butting up and rubbing the cylinder wall.

[@watafomyfren8213]

someone got lost after turning the engine around lol 🤭

[@milanuddin]

Yeah buddy!

[@scawthorn13]

Yes!

[@bimmertec]

finally time come God bless

[@milehighboost5521]

Clearly something in the head. Hoping you just need to lap the valves and it fixes that compression right up. Either way, building it stronger and worth taking apart to upgrade the pistons especially cylinder 3 with cracked ringlands.

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Ok so so I blame the beers or the celebrity visit from woody, but I managed to get the cylinder order mixed up while filming and then never noticed when I rushed the edit out #muppet

[@B_Vuv]

Hi mate, please tell me you are going to have the cylinders sized and honed for the new pistons.... Also the rods checked and sized for the crank journals? Shit is going to go real bad if you don't. The whole bottom end needs to to be pulled down and rebuild. Would be a shame to waste all of those new parts. Nothing is cheap when you open an engine and throw new internals into it. Everything needs to be a perfect fit if the engine is to perform and survive. Please listen or at least talk to an engine builder you know and trust before proceeding.

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Nah. It’s simply too expensive down here. Turns in to a 15k build real quick. I wouldn’t hesitate to throw a second hand piston in an engine and neither will any mechanic that’s been around the block. It’s not the right way to do things if your are charging a customer but it’s been done a million times before. We’re not shooting for 50% more than a stock engine. Just 10% more than we get out of a stock motor, will meet the goals. I said in the gofundme vid, I’m not sure this will work, but let’s find out for sure. I know a few people that have done them this way with no issues, shops and diyers, but they keep to themselves when they work it out.

[@B_Vuv]

@@ZeroTo60Tube Fair enough. I get it I’m in Vic. Prices for parts are bullshit here. Good luck with it. I say what I say because I’ve built many engines over the years, want nothing but all to go well for you

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

@@B_Vuv dude I really appreciate it! I do. I don’t know how this is gonna go with these particular components they are particularly “cheap”. But hey in the spirit of experimenting I’m keen to have a crack. It will either work or it will make some content. Haha.

[@igotaction]

17:37 MIXED UP CYLINDERS AGAIN

[@stavrosgreen4143]

wow amazing

[@marcwonnacott3286]

Hope you get to the bottom of it mate.

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Ok so so I blame the beers or the celebrity visit from woody, but I managed to get the cylinder order mixed up while filming and then never noticed when I rushed the edit out #muppet it is cyl 4 that’s got the crack in the ringland

[@bigbytritac1722]

Maybe the Zylinder is oval because you still have open deck?

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

I thinking that may be the case, hopefully it’s the valve?

[@kencooper8636]

You have totally confused me with this video and the cylinder numbering Andrew. Looking at the top of the engine, you had cylinder 1 at the front of the engine but than you removed cylinder 2 piston but said it was cylinder 5 and likewise with cylinder 3 & 4. I am tired and probably missed something so I will go to bed and have another look at the video tomorrow.

[@michaelstanbrough8143]

Was going to say the same thing. Cylinder 1 is closest to the timing chain

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Ok so so I blame the beers or the celebrity visit from woody, but I managed to get the cylinder order mixed up while filming and then never noticed when I rushed the edit out #muppet it is cyl 4 that’s got the crack in the ringland. I too was running on not enough sleep and too many other issues going on I my life…. But hey that beer was going down real nice

[@kencooper8636]

@@ZeroTo60Tube Totally understand Andrew. It has been a wild time in SE QLD over the past week weather wise with the rain, floods and storms. I guess we have to be thankful that we are not amongst the thousands that have lost everything in the floods. Did piston 5 look ok when you removed it?

[@AndrewAstley]

@@kencooper8636 all the other looked perfect. Filming again today!

[@bimmertec]

I guess ma v volve have leaks

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Ok so so I blame the beers or the celebrity visit from woody, but I managed to get the cylinder order mixed up while filming and then never noticed when I rushed the edit out #muppet it is cyl 4 that’s got the crack in the ringland

[@N037O]

Aussie Shia LaBeouf spotted on this video! J/K!

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Woody?

[@N037O]

@@ZeroTo60Tube yes 😅