Honda engine building Q's

The motor is a d16z6.

  1. I’ve read that with my Eagle h-beam rods using a rod bolt stretch gauge is recommended if I were using another lubricant besides the arp stuff. Since I’m using the arp stuff, is it still necessary to use the gauge, or can I just torque them in and roll? I’m going to have a rev limiter so I won’t be revving past where I stop making power.

  2. Is there anyway to check to see the condition of a tranny before I go dropping it in? Can I just open it and visually see if a gear is worn?

  3. Piston rings…I’m either going with oem honda, or the hastings piston rings. A ton of people have had good success with the hastings rings on vitara pistons. As far as gauging the fitment, and filing them if needed, how is that done? I’ve read you put the ring on the piston and push it into the cylinder with another piston, but how would you get any sort of gauge in there? Did I read it wrong?

  4. Engine motor mounts… If I pick up the ES poly bushings, are they so stiff that they vibrate the whole car?

  5. Turbo oil tap. Would it be wise to have the block and pan tapped prior to dropping the motor in. Keeping in mind I will be breaking it in N/A.

More than likely more questions to come. Yes I know I have questions, but I want to be hands on with this build, and I want to learn. Not just pay someone to do it for me.

  1. IMHO you’ll be fine

  2. yeah you gotta take apart the tranny look at the teeth and check the synchros . 2 gear stick look around online to see what 100% brand new looks like

  3. for file fit rings. you use feeler gauges. put the ring int he cylinder (by itself) then push it down a little bit with a piston untill it’s level. then you use the feeler gauges to check the clearence

  4. unless you going all out … my .02 says DO NOT GET SOLID MOUNTS OR INSERTS. i ahve HASport solid mounts and there annoying as fuck. never again.

  5. it’s more or less your preferance. it dosen’t take much to take the oil pan off . clean it up then tap it when your ready. i would say wait. thatw ay you don’t ahve to worry at all about making sure it’s not leaking or causing problems . or getting in the way of head header of some such BS.

  1. I agree w/mike

  2. I would open the tranny up, just remember how you took shit apart. Play around with it until you understand how everything works, then mainly inspect the synchros, synchro sleeves, synchro hubs, and the gears. You’ll know if shit is worn, and if not, call one of us who does to give it a quick once over. I seriously get sick everytime someone says, you just need to replace the synchros when a tranny grinds. You’ll clearly see that you’ll usually need a new synchro, synchro sleeve for sure, the hubs usually look ok, and sometimes even the gear. The gear itself doesn’t get chewed up, but the other tiny ring on the gear that matches w/ur synchros usually gets chewed up too.

  3. dunno too much about em, but I’m told OEM works great

  4. As far as the motor mounts, I will kinda agree w/mike. I just used energy suspension inserts and it definately stiffens the ride. You feel everything. However, don’t be a pussy. You want at least inserts IMO. You may not need to go to the extreme of solid mounts though. You will eliminate A LOT of wheel hop with inserts. And, I’ve even tore stock mounts right up without the inserts from wheel hop. So, definately get something. Theres a guy on H-T who sells the enrgy suspension ones for like 35 shipped or so. Actually, I have some I’ll be selling, but dunno if it’ll fit ur app.

  5. I dunno, ask the turbo guys.

yeah i was going to add that about wheel hop. i completly eliminated wheel hop between the stiff sustension, the Z10 traction bars, and the solid mounts. that is the upside.

also the more power to start to make the less power will be lost through the drivetrain and such with solid mounts.

Awesome, thanks alot guys. Do the bushing inserts go over my factory inserts, or do my factorys have to be pressed out, kinda like the ones in a lower control arm?

its a sohc trans. check 3rd gear, and the shift fork. a bent shift fork is common.

solid mounts :tdown:
inserts :tup:
especially on the rear trans mount.

  1. Are the rod bolts brand new??? If so your gunna need to follow arp’s torque steps. You will need to torque and re-torque them 3-5 times (i forget). However you can take the rods to a machine shop and they can properly stretch your bolts for you so you can just simply assemble the motor at proper torque. Im sure it wont cost much money at all for a machine shop to stretch them for you.

  2. when inspecting a tranny your gunna wanna take a look at mainshaft synchros and such. what you are looking for is how far the synchro slides over the collar and whether or not the collars/ synchros teeth are worn. Your gunna have to look close because it might be hard for an untrained eye to catch. Also inspect the forks inside the tranny for any kinda of bends. ALso where the tranny linkage enters into the tranny(gear selector) has a tendancy to break/crack/bend if previous owner thought it was a super car and loved to slam gears.

  3. Ive run nothing but hastings on my last 4 oem builds and all have turned out perfect. Every time i went to measure rings inside the bore they are always well within spec and very consistant with each other. HASTINGS is by far some of the best quality ring ive seen besides oem, but cheaper.

  4. stiffer the mounts the better. your tranny and drivetrain will thank you later.

  5. yes it would be easier in the long run, but i dont think you should be tapping the block. There are plenty of spots to tee off of. Oil sender, oil pump, etc.

If you have any questions let me know.

EDIT… PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU GET YOUR ROD BOLTS STRETCHED PROIR TO RUNNING MOTOR OR AT LEAST FOLLOW THE RECOMMENDED TORQUE SEQUENCES. yOU DONT WANT YOUR BOLTS STRETCHING AND SPINNING A BEARING WHILE DRIVING BECAUSE YOU JUST THROUGH THEM IN AND TORQUED THEM.

WOW, spelling and grammar pwns me.lol

  1. You do not need a stretch guage if you are using a proper torque wrench and installing them once or twice. A stretch guage is to be used when you have torqued them in a few times as they tend to stretch after the first or second initial torque. Make sure you notch the block.

2.what zerodaze said

  1. You put a ring in and square it with a piston with NO rings. Then install use a feeler guage to measure the ring end gap. Use a ring filer to obtain proper size, do a little at a time as you cant add material. Use OEM Honda rings and make sure the machinist knows it otherwise he may put and improper finish on the bore.

  2. You will need mounts, plain and simple, whether it is inserts or motor mounts. You will need them if you plan on putting down some power.

  3. Have the pan tapped when it is off the engine and out of the car so that you can clean the metal out of it when you are done.

Keep em coming

no, they do not need to be pressed out. They are molds that go in from each side that fit perfectly to fill all the gaps.

http://www.energysuspension.com/pages/motmtins.html

Inserts were the first mod I did. Worth every penny.

im about 99% sure they need to be stretched for initial torque. If a stretch guage isnt handy then you need to torque and retorque about 3-5times prior to running motor. Ive installed these rod bolts into about 2-3 sets of rods and used the rod bolts in 2 different sets of eagles. Its says so right on the instructions from arp/eagle.

http://www.arp-bolts.com/Tech/TechInstall.html

here ya go. When using a torque wrench you must go through 5cycles. Please read this info and you will be all set for your honda build. :tup:

The bolts and “bolt” and nut are different in how they clamp and stretch