I figured you guys have had to put up with my million questions and giving me all sorts of help, the least I could do was fill you in on how things are going on the re-assemble 
Again, if you guys notice anything I've done wrong, or forgotten to do, please feel free to chime in
Today I was hoping to make a lot of progress, but at the last minute I got a call from a professor I work with. Turns out he's been awarded a Nat'l Science Foundation Grant of $300,000+ to do some research on electro-wetting and its applications into TEDs (thermoelectric devices) and micro- and nano-scale self-assembly techniques. I had to run over to campus and spend most of the day talking to him, but it looks like I'll be part of his team now!:biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin:
When I got back home, all I had time to do was get the heads back on, but it was very rewarding to see the motor start to come back together. I had already cleaned out all the bolt holes with a chasing 'tap' and cleaned off the block deck surface with a razor blade till it was smooth as glass. I did one final wipe down of all the bores to remove any grit that had gotten in at the last minute, leaving behind a light coating of motor oil (except for the cylinder with the new rings, which I wiped down with ATF as per the recommendations of several on the board to help the rings seat more quickly). I cleaned off the mating surfaces on both block and head with lacquer thinner. I sprayed down my OE GM steel shim head gaskets on both sides with 2 coats of aerosol hi-temp copper gasket sealant, and placed them on the block. I set one head on, and placed the bolts in finger tight. Each bolt (new ARP) got a healthy coating of ARP's moly lube under the bolt head and under the washer, and a coating of Permatex thread sealant with teflon on the threads. I called ARP to verify torque values and techniques, since I have read a TON of different suggestions on the board. As they said, I torqued the bolts to a total of 75 ft.-lbs. in increments of 25, going in an 'X' pattern from inner bolts to outer. The whole process was repeated on the other side. After letting it all settle overnight, tomorrow I'm going to re-torque them, though I don't expect the head gasket to compress much since its not one of those composite jobs.
Everything check out okay? Did I miss anything obvious that its not too late to fix? Thanks again for all the help and guidance so far!
Again, if you guys notice anything I've done wrong, or forgotten to do, please feel free to chime in Today I was hoping to make a lot of progress, but at the last minute I got a call from a professor I work with. Turns out he's been awarded a Nat'l Science Foundation Grant of $300,000+ to do some research on electro-wetting and its applications into TEDs (thermoelectric devices) and micro- and nano-scale self-assembly techniques. I had to run over to campus and spend most of the day talking to him, but it looks like I'll be part of his team now!:biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin:
When I got back home, all I had time to do was get the heads back on, but it was very rewarding to see the motor start to come back together. I had already cleaned out all the bolt holes with a chasing 'tap' and cleaned off the block deck surface with a razor blade till it was smooth as glass. I did one final wipe down of all the bores to remove any grit that had gotten in at the last minute, leaving behind a light coating of motor oil (except for the cylinder with the new rings, which I wiped down with ATF as per the recommendations of several on the board to help the rings seat more quickly). I cleaned off the mating surfaces on both block and head with lacquer thinner. I sprayed down my OE GM steel shim head gaskets on both sides with 2 coats of aerosol hi-temp copper gasket sealant, and placed them on the block. I set one head on, and placed the bolts in finger tight. Each bolt (new ARP) got a healthy coating of ARP's moly lube under the bolt head and under the washer, and a coating of Permatex thread sealant with teflon on the threads. I called ARP to verify torque values and techniques, since I have read a TON of different suggestions on the board. As they said, I torqued the bolts to a total of 75 ft.-lbs. in increments of 25, going in an 'X' pattern from inner bolts to outer. The whole process was repeated on the other side. After letting it all settle overnight, tomorrow I'm going to re-torque them, though I don't expect the head gasket to compress much since its not one of those composite jobs.
Everything check out okay? Did I miss anything obvious that its not too late to fix? Thanks again for all the help and guidance so far!
