Rebuilding Starion 4G54T, Trick of the trade to know?

[DanTurboLancer]

Hey guys,
as soon as i get the EPA stuff sorted, i will be pulling my motor out for a rebuild.


I have just had a quick look around AUSTARION.com, and couldnt see much in the way of advise, and when i tried to register and ask for a link i cant register??


Im going to use the help of a mate of mine that used to own his own workshop, and rebuilt my last motor.
but he is into V8s, and so i was basically wanting to know...
Some things to look out for?
And any tricks to do in the process?
And what parts to keep and what to replace?

Im not looking for a million Hp
Just strong and reliable.
20Psi is what im aiming for,
but will be happy with whatever is recomended for reliability!



I realise i will have to pull it down and access the damage before any definite ideas can be put in place, but any advise to start me off will be appreciated.



My main concerns now, and the reason im pulling it out are:

Its sudden drop off in oil pressure.
Only running 4-6 PSI at Idle when warm.

And it has a Knock at idle, Sounds around No. 4
(Started after an oil cooler Hose blew off)

And the good old Bubbles in the Coolant...


I had planned on changing the Head to a M4,
But now that a full rebuild is necessary, i will get the current one Crack tested, and if it is fine, i will stick with it for now.



Cheers
Dan

Bloody cars hey

[TUFSIG]

well dan the motor thats in my scorpion was used as a daily for quite some time daily on 17psi
and its still going strong and hard i can send you a pm of all hte specs if you like
let me know

good to see your getting into it man
do it once do it right

[MrBishi]

Don't bother with austarion for 4G54 info. The number of factory 2.6 powered Starions in Aus can be counted on both hands, and I'm not aware of any that have had the 'treatment'. For the record I own a 2.6t Starion.
Try a yank website like http://www.starquestclub.com/forum/index.php?act=idx for info on what commonly goes wrong.

Buy parts from somewhere like; http://www.enginemachineservice.com/conquest.html. I bought a box of stuff last year and he shipped it out to me.

From what I have gleaned over the years (there are subtle differences between the turbo & N/A 2.6);
-avoid grinding the crank. They are nitrided and any grinding will need to be re-nitrided.
-no real need for fancy rods unless you go silly power wise.
-invest in a set of forged pistons although a set of ACL hyperuetectics would probably be ok.
-oil pump is different to N/A (diff oil pickup). I bought a brand spankers from the above.
-ditch the jet-valve head. If it's not cracked already it will. spend the extra now on a magna head of your choice.

Otherwise it's all pretty much the same as any other rebuild. Power is mostly made with your bolt-ons (turbo,inj, cam etc) and internals are mostly for durability.

Also check old mate on ebay selling his 2.6 parts in Sydney.

[DanTurboLancer]

Ahh Cheers MrBishi!

yeah very little helpful info to be seen on The Austarion site!
Ill check out those other sites you recommended!


As i said, the plan is to get rid of the HiJet head!
But was hoping to hold off for alittle while.

If circumstances require, i will do it now,
But after talking with afew people, I really need to address all the Bolt ons that you talked about, or i will have a head that will far out flow the rest of my set up.



Thanks TUFSIG, PM sent,


Any info is greatly appreciated!

[cheaterparts]

I had planned on changing the Head to a M4,
But now that a full rebuild is necessary, i will get the current one Crack tested, and if it is fine, i will stick with it for now.

if you are going to change to a magna head go for a M6/7 for the improved porting
if you get on to the starquest site in the states you will find that they chase up our m6/7 heads and the EFIs to upgrade there rides
the M4 is almost the same a the std head except has no jet valve and has a bigger water
out let on the rear

[astronturbo77]

all i can say mate is be pedantic about it. lol platic gauge all the bearings, made sure your bore clearances are spot on, honing pattern is right, ring gaps are perfect. also i would go for a good turbo grind cam, chuck the jet valve head, and put forgies in it and it will love it.

[DanTurboLancer]

Thanks guys,


Yes it will be getting Built properly.
Its is supposed to have a cam in it already,
But i will measure it when it comes apart and check with you guys.


Yeah mainly wanting to know the stuff to check for, and what to definitely replace.

Apartently its already had the Balance shaft removed.

MrBishi already mentioned the Rods should be fine to reuse.

Im wanting to know things like is it commmon for these Cranks to let go?
I will get it crack tested, and measured up.
Im not spinning it over 6000rpm,
So would it be worth the cost to get the bottom end Balanced?



Thanks again

[Sigmaproject]

I had my engine built by Lee Mears in East Maitland.

He has been in the engine game a long time. Used to race a 120Y with a 2.6 astron, so he knows his way around them.
Does all of the work in-house.

[DanTurboLancer]

Thanks SigmaProject.

I have a mate of mine that i have worked with for afew years now,
Paul Wilson, I think he owned a work shop in Mayfeild or Waratah area...
He is mainly into early V8s,
But he Built himself a RB30T many Years ago,
And he put together my last 2.0turbo motor.

He got all the machine work was done through a contact at 'Better Spares' in at Islington
Heard much about them?


And i have afew mates that work at Teterins... but im still unsure about using them, havent heard anything great about them,
and they arent high enough on the food chain to get any sort of discounts anyway...


But if that guy knows astron i might give him a call once its all apart and i see how bad the damage is, Cheers!!



Otherwise Justin at Blacktrack Performance (used to be RX Engineering)
is actually keen to rebuild it and tune it for me, which i was surprised about seeing the long list of cars he turns away and the high end vehicles he does work on.

But i simply dont have the cash together to pay him in one lump sum.


So i will have to do it in pieces...