4.0L HO Jeep Engine Build
More progress today. I got the stat housing and it was stamped "China" and I thought "Oh crap, here we go". Suprisingly the sealing surface was flat BUT.... The casting internally was a little thick and it interfered with the two braces on the thermostat. I looked at the gasket it came with and was much it thicker than stock so I used that gasket and everything fit. Zero problems with the Flow Kooler pump.
The oil pan gasket is a one piece rubber with a steel core, very nice. This came in the Fel-Pro gasket kit. The kit wasn't cheap but it has everything and all the paper gaskets are the premium blue stripe stuff. I've never had an issue with the blue stripe leaking on me. Anyway, got the oil pan on after frantically searching my picture folders for a picture of the oil pan bolts. Some are studded for brackets for wiring harnesses, trans lines, etc. I couldn't find the picture (I swear I took them) but I figured it out with a quick look in the engine bay.
Next was cleaning the new used '99+ intake manifold. As you can see in the pictures below, the later manifold is a much nicer piece with a larger plenum and smoother turns. I had to put a little love dent in the cheapo header I bought but I would've had to do the same with the early manifold too. I was going to paint the manifold but it came out so nice I decided to leave it be. I used a brass brush and some purple crap I bought on sale at VatoZone. Let me tell you, there is nothing quite as much fun as crouching down in crushed rock scrubbing down an intake in the blazing sun...
Since I can't leave well enough alone, I did a deep gasket match as well. I'm aware that there are different burrs for aluminum vs. cast iron but I just buy the cast iron ready stuff and lube the carbide burrs. I did it this way 20+ years ago and by goodness, lo and behold it still works and no issues with clogged bits. As you can see, quite a bit of material needed to be removed. There's quite a bit of meat but always what you're doing and how far you're going just as with any porting job.
Tomorrow I'll paint the header. Even though it's advertised as stainless steel, the nickel content must be really low 'cause that sucker is starting to rust and I live in the arid Southwest. Oddly, my Dynomax plain steel exhaust doesn't have a spec of rust and they were all piled in the corner of the garage together. WTF. So, I got a can Rustoleum 2000 F paint. So far I've been really impressed with their 500 F engine paint as its super tough and covers really, really well. I put 3 coats on my cylinder head and still have over half a can left and it took only a can to do the entire block. So far I've been impressed by any super high temp paint I've ever used and I've tried them all with the exception of the Eastwood stuff. No matter how well I've prepped (sandblasting and multiple solvents plus heat to de-gas) they always blister and peel. I'll let you all know this works out.
Pardon the gratutious dog picture but Maxi always want's to get in on the hot rodding action. No, I didn't pose her there, she just thought she was going be in a "Ms. Manifold" contest. :-D She is truly the quintesential shop dog.
More progress today. I got the stat housing and it was stamped "China" and I thought "Oh crap, here we go". Suprisingly the sealing surface was flat BUT.... The casting internally was a little thick and it interfered with the two braces on the thermostat. I looked at the gasket it came with and was much it thicker than stock so I used that gasket and everything fit. Zero problems with the Flow Kooler pump.
The oil pan gasket is a one piece rubber with a steel core, very nice. This came in the Fel-Pro gasket kit. The kit wasn't cheap but it has everything and all the paper gaskets are the premium blue stripe stuff. I've never had an issue with the blue stripe leaking on me. Anyway, got the oil pan on after frantically searching my picture folders for a picture of the oil pan bolts. Some are studded for brackets for wiring harnesses, trans lines, etc. I couldn't find the picture (I swear I took them) but I figured it out with a quick look in the engine bay.
Next was cleaning the new used '99+ intake manifold. As you can see in the pictures below, the later manifold is a much nicer piece with a larger plenum and smoother turns. I had to put a little love dent in the cheapo header I bought but I would've had to do the same with the early manifold too. I was going to paint the manifold but it came out so nice I decided to leave it be. I used a brass brush and some purple crap I bought on sale at VatoZone. Let me tell you, there is nothing quite as much fun as crouching down in crushed rock scrubbing down an intake in the blazing sun...
Since I can't leave well enough alone, I did a deep gasket match as well. I'm aware that there are different burrs for aluminum vs. cast iron but I just buy the cast iron ready stuff and lube the carbide burrs. I did it this way 20+ years ago and by goodness, lo and behold it still works and no issues with clogged bits. As you can see, quite a bit of material needed to be removed. There's quite a bit of meat but always what you're doing and how far you're going just as with any porting job.
Tomorrow I'll paint the header. Even though it's advertised as stainless steel, the nickel content must be really low 'cause that sucker is starting to rust and I live in the arid Southwest. Oddly, my Dynomax plain steel exhaust doesn't have a spec of rust and they were all piled in the corner of the garage together. WTF. So, I got a can Rustoleum 2000 F paint. So far I've been really impressed with their 500 F engine paint as its super tough and covers really, really well. I put 3 coats on my cylinder head and still have over half a can left and it took only a can to do the entire block. So far I've been impressed by any super high temp paint I've ever used and I've tried them all with the exception of the Eastwood stuff. No matter how well I've prepped (sandblasting and multiple solvents plus heat to de-gas) they always blister and peel. I'll let you all know this works out.
Pardon the gratutious dog picture but Maxi always want's to get in on the hot rodding action. No, I didn't pose her there, she just thought she was going be in a "Ms. Manifold" contest. :-D She is truly the quintesential shop dog.
