College!!
Which books and which videos should I look into?
What are you building?
I miss having a block out in the garage to work on, I’ve done a build on one and a rebuild on another. Cup of coffee and some sports radio and I am good for the weekend. I think it’s way relaxing and you can really be proud when it’s in and running.
Take your time with it, and double check absolutely everything you do with rotating assemblies, no matter how trivial.
Once you pull it apart you will be able to visually see where everything goes first hand. For me i have a very good memory when it comes to disassembling and then assembling things. I can remember the next day or the next year. Take your time and if you have a buddy to help you on the first build it never hurts.
Im honestly always nervous before i take on a big project and completely over think things. But once i tear into it and see that things are not nearly as complicated as i had thought things go very smooth.
Harkness and working on small engines like lawnmowers and such when I was younger.
True that i built many a racing lawnmowers back in the day.
Wrong kind of motor. Sorry I guess I should have clarified it as a combustion engine.
The plan it to build a hybrid BMW M5X gathering parts over the course of a year and assembling it next winter. So far the plan is this:
M52 block
M50 intake manifold
X5X head (S5x and M5x all have the same heads minus the non vanos which I have currently)
S52 cams
S52 crankshaft
84.5mm Wiseco’s
135mm Eagle rods
This combination will yield ~3.015L and will be low compression for boost. I
I had posted up a couple weeks ago about a turbo plan to boost a BMW M5x based motor but my research has shown that those running stock M5x motors with a thicker head gasket and mild boost (~12psi) seem to be blowing head gaskets left and right. Most seem to be able to get ~10k out of a head gasket under daily driving conditions with occasional romping before it blows. Im trying to build this for durability and longevity. I would like to build it myself so that I understand everything and learn in the process.
Fuck torque spec #'s ( I HAVE JD ARMS)
every motor i have built/worked on i have never used any of that (true story ask mindless)
but really best way to build/learn is to just jump right in the deep end and go big or go home or dont even start doing it … there is no “slow” or “small” way to get into it… i learned from growing up with it me and my dad used to race speedway (flat track bike racing ) and really i just take shit apart to see how it worked and that is what was best for me and if i did not know what to do with all the parts i had left over once done i would ask and learn what to do ( or i would never put the parts in the motor and see if it would work just fine like “dowel pins” on a head lol oops)
but really you have a really good tool at you hands and you are using it right now possibly one of the best tools out there
NYspeed is a great tool for help and also for some real good people that are willing to take time out of there day to come and help you as long as you are willing to ask for the help and not be a dick on some of the answers you get
so with that said my son go take some shit apart
I don’t know what your into hondas/fords what have you go get something cheep and just bang it out
Building/rebuilding an engine isnt really all that hard. The hard part is finding the confidence to do so, and to not panic of something doesnt fit or come apart right away. Also it helps to have the right tools for the job. Some manufacturers require really expensive and rare tools to work on their motors. Its great if you can afford to buy those tools and even better if you can use them. But lets face it, unless you are made of money you cant afford to have everything.
As far as machine work is concerned…Make sure you have a reliable and dependable machinist with a well equipped shop. Ask around or use the interweb(your lucky to have it, when i started toying with engines 14.4k was the shit).
Also make sure you have plenty of time to do the work and most importantly, learn from what you are doing.
Ok well its work time so I will summarize.
Good shop manual with engine torque, clerence, and tolerance specs.
Dependable machinist.
Time to do the work, research, final assembly, and some time to double check the machinist’s work.
Oh ya. Make sure you know what you are building a motor for before you actually start buying anything for it.
Sounds like a cool project. I’d love to build a BMW motor. After seeing those stroked E36 M3s and Dinan M6s it seems pretty rad. Good luck.
I built mad HP, High CR, Sooper-high RPM, VTEC engines for the civic. Sure its not particularly easy, but I got mad skillz! :burnout:
I learned most from watching my gearhead father build motor after motor over the years, but when we did my LT1 all we did was buy a rebuild manual. Just follow step by step.
i learned from working on small engines n racing go-karts
me as well, i remember putting a longer stroke crank in a tecumseh and milling the head and useign a thiker gasket to allow clearence, and putting in a cam with me lift and such, oo the days, i had a badass kart that would roast the tires
maD skIllz yO
I’m assuming that is sarcastic…