7-bolt 4G64 buildup and swap with 1G head 4

DSM 7-Bolt 4G64 swap w/ 4G63 1G DOHC head in a 2G

My main bearing cap alignment kit from Concept Racing finally came in. As you can see in the picture below the kit is nothing more than small dowels that fit in between the stud/bolt and the hole in the main cap. When I was installing the kit I found that some dowels would simply fall down into the hole of the main cap, and other would need to be lightly tapped into the hole with a bronze hammer. This is not because the dowels where different sizes its because the holes where different sizes (that's horrible).

This is to show the dowel kit, the arrows point to the dowels.

You can see here again how the dowels sit down into the holes of the main cap. Without this kit installed you can see how the studs/bolt can move around in the hole of the main cap, try it out put one of your old bolts down into into one of the holes of your main cap you can easily see how it moves around. You rely on these bolts to help keep your bearings aligned. How can they be expected to do that if there is so much play?

Some more pictures of the dowels one installed and the other just sitting on top.

Putting together the bottom end correctly is a very important procedure, if done incorrectly you can find yourself back on the jack stands. You have the option of using new main bolts or a set of ARP main studs. If you use the stock bolts you should get new stock bolts not reuse your old ones. If you plan on using ARP main studs you will want to have your block line honed with the ARP studs and dowel kit installed and the studs torque to 55 ft-lbs. You should also have the head or a torque plate on the block and torqued down to the torque you are using with the same head bolt when it gets honed. You want to make sure that the machine shop that does it knows what they are doing, if it isn't done right the bearings can end up in more of a misalignment then if you wouldn't of had it done in the first place. The reason you need a line bore done is because when using the studs they will distort the block in a different way than the stock bolts do.

This is where I was putting the bolts on the studs. Remeber to apply the moly lube to every surface that will cause friction.

Once the block is done with the line bore you can install the bearings and lube up the crank with assembly lube. Place the crank carefully down into the block, the studs should already be installed they should only be finger tight but be sure that they are all the way down the hole and not just stuck on some sand or something in the threads. The threads should be fully lubed with the moly lube that came with the stud kit or a high quality moly lube. You should also lube both sides of the washer, bottom of the bolt, and the threads. You want lube on any surface that may cause any friction during the torque process. With the main cap seated completely use a rubber mallet to hit the crank back and forth several times to align the bearings, then torque the nuts to 20 ft-lbs in the factory order while applying a force on the flywheel side towards the front of the block. Then check that the crank turns and that it is not binding in anyway. Once again use the rubber mallet to hit the crank back and forth. Then continue to torque the nuts in the order outlined in the manual in several steps each time checking the crank to ensure that it is turning freely. I used 35, 45, and 55. If your using the stock studs follow the outline in the service manual.

***Note***: It has been suggested that you torque down the mains after the head has been installed and torqued down. The reason for this is because when you torque down the head it will cause the mains to distort if the mains where done first, causing possible thrust bearing misalignment. If the head is done before the mains the distortion is already there and is corrected for when you install and torque down the mains. The easiest way I found to do this is to only make the mains finger tight when you assemble the engine, then when it is installed in the car torque them down. You can also have someone in the car push down on the clutch while you torque down the mains. This should ensure that the thrust bearings surface is in line with the cranks thrust surface.

If everything was done correctly then it should help prevent the possibility of crankwalk from happening. Now I can put on the front case and torque everything down. All I need is the pistons and rods and I can complete the bottom end. I will also be getting the head back from the shop shortly. Stay tuned!!!

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