My New Engine Build

[arronm]

some penrite oils have no friction modifiers, which is perfect for running in engines.

[45T-XR]

Ninka what oil did you use to run in your new engine. I have been told from a few different ppl a few different things. Like one bloke said to run it in with the same oil as what im going to run it on, then from someone else they reckon to run it in on a "run in oil like penrite". Figure I may as well ask someone who has good results from tried methods.

Brad from atomic just said to run mineral oil for run in then your choice of synthetic

[Ninka]

As 'run in oil' I used Castrol Magnatec 10W30. Currently I use Nulon 10W30 which seems to keep things happy, only issue is an oil pressure which is a bit low at idle when engine is extremely hot, but raises to normal levels before 1000 rpm.

[45T-XR]

How the engine going mate? My bits will be back from machining this friday, excited to put it all together!! I ended up sticking with the atomic/cosworth piston to bore clearances just incase. Maybe if I get a bit more courage might go tighter next time

[Slash]

Well it's been a while since I posted anything substantial, so for those of you who know me, and have followed my past technical adventures, you will know I'm a bit of a nutter for mechanical finesse, and in the quest for a VERY strong engine, with a stock level of mechanical 'noise' I.e. no rattely noises at all, I am just in the process of completing my latest engine project for my '02 BA XR6T (the one with the ZF 6 speed).

I thought I would share what I have been doing, for those of you interested in the technical aspects of the engine building process.

New engine is built with the following modifications over stock BA:

Head machined and vacuum checked

BF Cams

Titanium Valve Spring Retainers

Harder Valve Springs

Stainless single groove race Exhaust Valves

Heavy Duty Cam Chain

Hardened Cam Chain Gears

Heavy Duty Chain Tensioner

Modified Oil Pump with Billet Gears and larger passages

Engine Block checked for wall thickness and tunnel straightness, machined and bored to proprietary tolerances

Crank checked and oil passages radiused

Cosworth Forged Pistons

Heavy Duty Billet Con Rods (998kw rated)

Race Bearings

Heavy Main Bearing Brace

Crome Moly Heavy Duty Flexplate and ARP bolts

I am building engine myself, but all performance parts have been supplied by Atomic, so thanks to Brad for his help with getting this together.

I hope to get the time over the next few weeks to change the engine over with my current unit, which last we dynoed it, ran 363 rwkw, and hasn't missed a beat, but the Mahle pistons are not 100% quiet at the tolerances I used for that engine, so here's hoping the next one does the trick......

Interested to hear more about this HD Chain Tensioner Allan... Like who supplied it, who manufactured it & what material(s) it is made from? The factory plastic item is a joke, especially when planning on pushing big HP at high rpms.

[Wenier]

As 'run in oil' I used Castrol Magnatec 10W30. Currently I use Nulon 10W30 which seems to keep things happy, only issue is an oil pressure which is a bit low at idle when engine is extremely hot, but raises to normal levels before 1000 rpm.

Why are you running such a light weight oil? It kinda points to the fact your having oil pressure issues when really hot at idle. If your giving it a hard time on a regular basis should have something like a 10w50 or 60 in it.

[45T-XR]

Interested to hear more about this HD Chain Tensioner Allan... Like who supplied it, who manufactured it & what material(s) it is made from? The factory plastic item is a joke, especially when planning on pushing big HP at high rpms.

Judging by the fact the rest if his gear is atomic id say its an atomic unit as thet do their own steel tensioner, the later model ford ones are metal aswel though. The old plastic ones used to rattle when the o'ring seal failed, the metal ones are a metal-metal seal

[Ninka]

Judging by the fact the rest if his gear is atomic id say its an atomic unit as thet do their own steel tensioner, the later model ford ones are metal aswel though. The old plastic ones used to rattle when the o'ring seal failed, the metal ones are a metal-metal seal

Yes it is an Atomic Tensioner.

[Ninka]

Why are you running such a light weight oil? It kinda points to the fact your having oil pressure issues when really hot at idle. If your giving it a hard time on a regular basis should have something like a 10w50 or 60 in it.

Well, no oil pressure issues in my engine, it is a bit low at 600 rpm, but nothing which is a cause for concern, as engine is not loaded anyway, and it's not low enough to light the oil pressure warning light. It sits at about 20psi and increases rapidly to 40+psi when rpm is lifted above 1000 (at operating temperature)

In a built engine, oil viscosity choice is critical if you want the engine to be quiet and not have piston rattle, as racing pistons typically have shorter shirts, and run more liberal clearances than stock pistons. If you run a high viscosity oil like 50 or 60 (never mind the 10w its only for cold winter start anyway) I believe it makes the oil too good to remain inside the bearings (thus the higher pressure) BUT this in turn results in less bore lubrication beneath the pistons, as less oil is flung around by the crank, thus the pistons and bores have less oil film and a higher potential for rattles. Most if not all after market conrods I have seen, have also deleted the small oil squirter hole at the base of the big end bearing, resulting in a drier bore then stock.

Every engine will be different depending on specification of parts and clearances, but I have built a few of these by now, and my current engine is the only one which I have managed to get to be 100% as quiet as a unit running of the Ford production line, but the wrong oil choice (too heavy) will make this engine rattle slightly, despite the extreme care taken in choice of clearances. I have lately upped the viscosity slightly by blending a 30 and 50 oil to try to find the optimal viscosity, and this work will continue.

[turbowelshy89]

Interested to see how the blended oil behaves. Maybe a silly question but if you blend 30 and 50 won't that just give you a 40 or is there something I'm missing. Unless you can't get the desired brand/make of oil in the desired weight?

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