What tools to rebuild an engine?

[PoorOwner]

I am thinking of rebuilding an engine, it's toyota 4 cylinder (4A series)
I plan to get a long block from a dismantler and put in some different pistons maybe rods too. Refresh the head with new valve job and I have some valve springs and camshafts I want to put in.

Before I begin I want to know what tools would I need and if it would cost way too much, I have most of the common hand tools, 3/8" torque wrench, air tools etc.

What can I do myself and what should be brought to a machine shop?

 

[Deafautotech]

valve compressor, camshaft bearing remover and installer, lube for engine assembly.

 

[jimvannoy]

Toque wrench, ring compressor, valve spring tool, ring groove cleaner, plastigauge, cylinder hone. Get the block cleaned/hot tanked, magnifluxed, bored and line bored, if needed, valve job, crank ground, rods resized if reusing, not sure about a Toyota block but maybe cam bearings installed, freeze plugs.

 

[Canadian Charlie]

Don't forget an engine stand, plastiguage, ring filer, feeler gauges,, and so on

 

[-lecroix-]

if you have to ask what tools are needed then this just might be a job that is beyond your capabilities.

 

[eschoendorff]

if you have to ask what tools are needed then this just might be a job that is beyond your capabilities.

Bunk. This is how you learn to do these things. Arm yourself with a good Toyota engine manual and find some Toyota forums online. Best of luck.

 

[jimvannoy]

Bunk. This is how you learn to do these things. Arm yourself with a good Toyota engine manual and find some Toyota forums online. Best of luck.

Thats how I learned. Got a 327 Chevy and a manual, tore it down and rebuilt it.

 

[ColdDuckTime]

I found a pair of carbs for your engine if you want to make a go of building an intake manifold.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Carb...013QQitemZ230178189819QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.



Editors note: Of course I'm just kidding...but you know...that price looks pretty good to me if nobody else were to bid, and how many people need a big Autolite inline (much less two). Hamana hamana, man, would I ever ever use one of those things?

 

[Detroit Diesel Man]

The best tool you can buy..you already have..your brain...use it to read everything you can on the engine you are going to rebuild..library may have manuals etc you can get..also wouldnt hurt to check out some general engine rebuilding books for some tips on keeping parts organized and marked for re-assembly...be sure to have a clean place for re-assembly..also make sure you have all of your supplies right their..nothing worse than not having something you need,,Good luck with your re-build.

DDM

 

[PoorOwner]

That's why I am building a little toyota engine, they are simple to install as well, don't have sensors everywhere. There is a first time for all auto repair jobs.

I have the factory service manual for my car, it has instructions on engine rebuild but kind of vague in some areas. I am sourcing a spare engine so I can take my time to learn. At this stage I just want to know what (general) tools I need to get.

 

[Danglerb]

What you should do yourself depends a bit on what you plan to do with the motor?

For a Toyota, with no special goals I would buy a cheap used low mileage motor from one of the many importers. Japan has a HARSH inspection and fee structure for cars more than just a few years old, so MANY low mileage motors are shipped over here and sold cheap.

My own plans are to pull it, remove the intake and accessories on my Porsche, but if it needs to be opened up, a real mechanic is going to be doing it. If I am slow and careful I think I could do just fine myself, but why? The real mechanic is going to be handling the parts, and won't spend much time at all doing it right at the same time as he takes measurements etc. or sends it out for machining.

With heads I will pull them and put them back on, if thats useful, but somebody that works on heads all day will be doing the rebuild.

Plenty of time consuming bone head work like putting on hoses etc. that I can feel good about doing myself.

 

[Danglerb]

Doesn't the service manual have a list of tools you need? Special tools anyway.

There are also the if you mess up tools, like bolt extractors etc.

I stocked up on WD40, and PB Blaster, but haven't even started on all the different assembly lubes.

 

[jimmycrackcorn]

These jap motors are not hard at all, great cars to work on in my opinion just to give you an idea

What year is the car? and what model?

Just plan it out well......

 

[toolfreak]

Here are a few basic tools that are neccesary:

thread chasers
harmonic balancer puller
good gasket scraper
die grinder with roloc wheels for surface prep

 

[PoorOwner]

These jap motors are not hard at all, great cars to work on in my opinion just to give you an idea

What year is the car? and what model?

Just plan it out well......

85 4A-GE Corolla. I don't mine taking months to build the engine, the car runs pretty good with the old engine except it uses some oil. But I do think it's good one to work on to get some experience. I see the long blocks with low miles from Japan they are easy to find around here and very affordable. I want to rebuild it with more compression and springs and camshafts for higher RPM power. Maybe I will not even change the bearings if it is low enough miles.

I have the full surface prep kit and porting kit from standard abrasives and want to give it a try, but probably just make the block pretty and paint it and clean up all the cast flashings etc

 

[Uncle Buck]

Everyone has given good ideas on what tools to use but I will make a suggestion a bit different. The last engine I did I did this way. I farmed out the heads for everything, sent the block crank, cam, pistons and rods to the machine shop. I had them machine, grind, inspect everything, they installed all freeze plugs and I think I may have had them install the cam bearings saving me buying or renting the tool. I assembled the rest. (It was a good thing I had them inspect the pistons, rods etc cause they found a crack in a rod that I probably would not have caught!) anyway that is my suggestion.

 

[BartPeace]

I have rebuilt a few Toyota motors using a manual. It can be done. Let me know if you have any questions. Good luck

 

[george4]

Thats how I learned. Got a 327 Chevy and a manual, tore it down and rebuilt it.

Ditto but it was chevy 265 in 1963.

 

[Junkman]

A pencil and notebook will be your best friend. Keep notes of what you did, and where you left off. That way, when you come back to work on the engine, you will not need to be thinking..... "did I tighten that last bolt", you will know exactly what you did last, and what you need to do next. I have seen many a good mechanic go for lunch and when he comes back, forget to put oil in the engine that he just finished working on, or tighten a wheel lug nut, etc.. Keeping a good record of your progress will help to eliminate these type of failures of memory. Learn from others mistakes, rather than making your own. It will save you a lot of aggravation in your life, and money also...

 

[ImportTuner]

Ditto but it was chevy 265 in 1963.

Mine was on a Chevy 283 ...

 

[george4]

Mine was on a Chevy 283 ...

I did a little overbore when I put it back together an ended up with a 283 I think. Could 125/1000 be right? It ran very well and with only my Dad's Cman tools.

 

[rockwithjason]

The pencil and note book is a great idea. When I did my 390 ford in my old pick up i took pics with the digital camera. I took pics of everything and a few of them made my life much easier. I also used a bunch of zip lock bags for the hardware. I wrote on the bag with sharpie where the hardware came from ie exhaust manifold etc. that made things much easier too. I didn't know very much about engine building until I did one. Don't let it daunt you. If you need a tool, go buy one. if you don't need it, don't buy it.