2.3 Lima assembly...tips?

[n2xlr8n]

I looked around for good books on the 2.3 Fords, but didn't find anything I thought would help me.

Searched this and many other forums. Nuttin.


Anyone here have tips/reminders for assembling the little 2.3 Lima Ford engines? 30 psi / 65 lb/min on E-85, 7k rpm daily driver.

Thanks for the input.

[ap72]

That'll be one fun 4 banger! What head/block are you using?

[Dave Flanders]

I do a few little things with mine that taken individually might seem unimportant but as a whole they might help and my labor is free anyway.

Full deburring of crankcase.

Disassemble oil pump and radius the (very) sharp edges on the inlet side.

Surface grind oil pump sealing surface - the Mellings are usually out a couple thou here.

Match feed hole in block to the larger oil pump outlet hole. Seal pump to block with copper spray.

I'm a big believer in Hard Block half way up for street cars and bored with a plate, even then it's hard to hold round cylinders.

I run rod bearings normal (about .0015-.002") and the mains kind of loose (about .004-.005"). You probably won't see much issue at your power level but eventually (maybe around 700+ hp) the main webbing starts squirming around. Could be the crank flexing too but I have my reasons for thinking it's more the block.

Stock main caps and bolts up to around 600 hp and 7000 rpm, straps above that.

These motors are tough enough that they don't really require any fancy prep work, I guess it's a question of how involved you want to get.

[roc]

I do a few little things with mine that taken individually might seem unimportant but as a whole they might help and my labor is free anyway.

Full deburring of crankcase.

Disassemble oil pump and radius the (very) sharp edges on the inlet side.

Surface grind oil pump sealing surface - the Mellings are usually out a couple thou here.

Match feed hole in block to the larger oil pump outlet hole. Seal pump to block with copper spray.

I'm a big believer in Hard Block half way up for street cars and bored with a plate, even then it's hard to hold round cylinders.

I run rod bearings normal (about .0015-.002") and the mains kind of loose (about .004-.005"). You probably won't see much issue at your power level but eventually (maybe around 700+ hp) the main webbing starts squirming around. Could be the crank flexing too but I have my reasons for thinking it's more the block.

Stock main caps and bolts up to around 600 hp and 7000 rpm, straps above that.

These motors are tough enough that they don't really require any fancy prep work, I guess it's a question of how involved you want to get.

Yikes, 600/700hp out of good ol' OHC 2.3L!! That's turbo, right?

[pamotorman]

you will have to rubber mount the carbs as the vibration will turn the gas in the float bowl into foam. been there worked on that with 4 cylinder ford race engines

[n2xlr8n]

I do a few little things with mine that taken individually might seem unimportant but as a whole they might help and my labor is free anyway.

These motors are tough enough that they don't really require any fancy prep work, I guess it's a question of how involved you want to get.

Exactly what I was looking for- Thank you Dave!

[n2xlr8n]

That'll be one fun 4 banger! What head/block are you using?

The block is out of a 88 Turbo Coupe.

The head is an early turbo head done by Boport. It flowed well, but the proof is in the pudding. I'm using his hyd roller cam spec, too. War Horse Fabrication in Ohio is building my twinscroll header, external wastegate dump (into downpipe).

I consulted Pipemax (and Larry) before biting this off.

My 90 Ranger weighs about 2990 with me in it, so hopefully I'll be able to hold my own with the new model crowd.

[n2xlr8n]

you will have to rubber mount the carbs as the vibration will turn the gas in the float bowl into foam. been there worked on that with 4 cylinder ford race engines

130lb/min injected.

[n2xlr8n]

Yikes, 600/700hp out of good ol' OHC 2.3L!! That's turbo, right?

Old school, brother

Yep. Courtesy of Cummins / Holset HX40.

[ap72]

With that much cylinder pressure on a stock block I would also run a short fill on the block. There really isn't any benefit to not running it and it'll help with cylinder sealing. I run that stuff on even mild engines though so I'm a little biased. I don't know how much your head was milled but make sure you have a clear oil feed in the back of the head.

Also, these engines vibrate so don't be afraid to put loktite on whatever you can. The red stuff seems to work well enough for me.

[n2xlr8n]

With that much cylinder pressure on a stock block I would also run a short fill on the block. There really isn't any benefit to not running it and it'll help with cylinder sealing. I run that stuff on even mild engines though so I'm a little biased. I don't know how much your head was milled but make sure you have a clear oil feed in the back of the head.

Also, these engines vibrate so don't be afraid to put loktite on whatever you can. The red stuff seems to work well enough for me.

I'm all for the half fill, but the block has already been bored/honed. Problem?

Stock 60cc chambers.

[ap72]

With that much cylinder pressure on a stock block I would also run a short fill on the block. There really isn't any benefit to not running it and it'll help with cylinder sealing. I run that stuff on even mild engines though so I'm a little biased. I don't know how much your head was milled but make sure you have a clear oil feed in the back of the head.

Also, these engines vibrate so don't be afraid to put loktite on whatever you can. The red stuff seems to work well enough for me.

I'm all for the half fill, but the block has already been bored/honed. Problem?

Stock 60cc chambers.

The chamber size doesn't affect oiling. There's a triangle that connects the oil feed in the back of the head, i usually just go over it with a stone to ensure it's not restricting the head oil flow. It's at the head/deck surface.

Good grout is expansive so it will shift the cylinders some but even non expansive grout would be better than nothing. Or splurge and run epoxy which is also non expansive. The epoxy is the best solution but not cheap.

[n2xlr8n]

The chamber size doesn't affect oiling. There's a triangle that connects the oil feed in the back of the head, i usually just go over it with a stone to ensure it's not restricting the head oil flow. It's at the head/deck surface.

Got it I was wondering where you were going with that.

Good grout is expansive so it will shift the cylinders some but even non expansive grout would be better than nothing. Or splurge and run epoxy which is also non expansive. The epoxy is the best solution but not cheap.

(Padawan mode on)

Any suggested brands of epoxy?

How would one go about half filling the Lima? e.g. in a SBC, I'd know where to stop; on an engine I'm not familiar with, I'd be guessing...and I'm not guessing

[ap72]

The chamber size doesn't affect oiling. There's a triangle that connects the oil feed in the back of the head, i usually just go over it with a stone to ensure it's not restricting the head oil flow. It's at the head/deck surface.

Got it I was wondering where you were going with that.

Good grout is expansive so it will shift the cylinders some but even non expansive grout would be better than nothing. Or splurge and run epoxy which is also non expansive. The epoxy is the best solution but not cheap.

(Padawan mode on)

Any suggested brands of epoxy?

How would one go about half filling the Lima? e.g. in a SBC, I'd know where to stop; on an engine I'm not familiar with, I'd be guessing...and I'm not guessing

I'm assuming your running a stock type water pump? Can't go higher than the bottom of the water pump hole in the front of the block. For epoxy most guys run Devcon. Ive never used it though as it isn't cheap, about 3-4X the cost of grout. It is the best block fill out there but out of my hobbyist price range.

[Leftcoaster]

Which Devcon epoxy are you referring too?