I am begining my engine rebuild and I have a couple questions. First off, when everything gets balanced will the rings be on the pistions when this is done? If so, I should assume that they need to stay with the pistion they were balanced on, correct?

And what oil should I use? My machine shop told me I need an oil with Zinc already in it and that adatives might not mix correctly.

And one last thing, what thermo-switch should i use to control my main cooling fan (that is now also electric) and where should I install it?

I'll also have some good engine parts for sale soon, so look for them in the classified sections in the coming days.

Thanks for any help you can give me. Never did a complete rebuild before so any tips or suggestions are appreciated.

 

wether or not the rings are installed on the pistons is between you and your machine shop. alot of machine shops will do complete assembly for you, some will agree to leave a few things for you to do for a little less money.

Yes, you need an oil with zinc in it for our flat tappet lifters. You can either get a zinc additive, or some comp cam break in oil, or some valvoline vr1 racing oil.

 

Depends on what your going for. You can have everythin internally balaced. Or you can just have the crank balanced. Internal balancing is done with an assembled engine and is more for high performance engines.

I would use a break in oil. Or a break in additive with standard oil. Look at summit at jegs.

As far as the coolant temp switch...look for an adapter that will go in between the upper radiator hose. That will be the better option as opposed to the temp probe you stick in the radiator fins

 

Follow the instructions from your cam supplier exactly.

Chevron Delo 400 (15w-40) is a great choice for initial start up (15-20 minutes @ 1500-1800 rpm). Drain immediately and replace the filter too. re-fill with the same oil.

Some light reading for you:
http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/e...l_summary.html

 

Great tech guys, thanks so much for the support.

One other question, what do you think would be better to use- a cast valve cover from an earlier engine or the stamped steel one from later engines? I've heard people sometimes have trouble with the later style oil fill cap, but is there any other reason one is better than the other? I do realize one of the openings is in a different place, but I think I can modify the hose to fit.

 

On stock rebuilds, the machine shop just uses the pistons out of the box.

No balancing.

Use regular 10W-30 oil for break-in. Change it at 250 miles and again at 2000. After that, go to synthetic if you want to.

Use the proper valve cover for the year of the engine. No issues or modifications needed.

These aren't complicated, high-tech, high-strung engines.

 

yea, I was just trying to confirm some things. The pistons, rods, crank, H/B, and Flex Plate were all balanced. rings were checked for consistancy seperately. Everything except the crank and rods is brand new inside. Valve cover questions is maybe just a matter of looks. Next week I'll begin assembly.