3.75L Build thread

I decided to remake my thread, here is a little of the old info along with some updates:

my old build:
3.1L forged pistons, rods, and crank... 3sx built bottom end
19t's
550cc's
blow through with 3.75" z06 maf
tuning with maf-t and safcII
built transmission
spec stage 5 clutch


my current build:
bottom end:
6G74 block (94mm bore)
6G75 crank (90mm stroke)
oliver rods (from pampena)
ross pistons (from pampena)
thick wrist pins (from pampena)
clevite bearings

3.75L
short-block was assembled and balanced at pampena's


top end:
DR stage 3 heads with everything done to them
webcam 272 cams (i believe same thing as DR street grinds)

dual td05 20g's... td05 hotsides, td06 compressors
3sx td05 manifolds

1200cc injectors fed by dual aeromotive stealth 340LPH pumps
aeromotive afpr


driveline:
pampenas bell housing brace
SCE billet shift forks
upgraded output shaft (sadly idk what brand...)
LSD (quaife i think...)

my doubts with the trans are because i bought it from gene years ago before his reputation went to crap, and ray told me the output shaft was not 300M as i was told, so i have my doubts on the LSD as well.

stock driveshaft
stock transfer case
stock radiator and fans

has heat, ac, and powersteering. a STREET car with lots of power
*edit* my "goal" was to have a 4L engine. after talking to ray about it, some things were not realistically doable for me, and other things were not reasonable financially. ill live with my 3.75L

for those that are considering this, you cannot go bigger than a 94mm bore with the 72 heads because you get into the water jackets, which is obviously not a good thing. i was planning on having my crank offset ground so i could gain about 5mm of stroke, but financially it was unreasonable because the power gained would be minimal and it is not cheap to have done.


some old info:

turbos, mani's, oil and water lines, wastegates, and plug wires
https://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hp...b8&oe=554A8D3D

old vs new:
https://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hp...e8&oe=55875D9C

setrab oil cooler:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.n...6b48359d5c8d63

my block:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.n...6b2c075089ce21

piston:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.n...13be6e2c44b391

can see some of the balancing on the crank here... more on this later:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.n...74f76c369910a0

box o' gaskets n' stuff:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.n...b3968b0f63cf04

tires at the ready:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.n...7db92d71889843

TGE pump hanger:
https://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hp...d9&oe=554A5DC6
https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.n...152d50ee1739d2

billet oil pump gears (for higher revs):
https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.n...5d79f36c1507b1

my heads are Jrods old heads, and im not 100% that they are "DR" stage 3, because i think he had his own guy do these and had them flow tested etc. they are very well done. they have the titanium valve spring retainers, double beehive springs for higher reving, obviously ported and polished, 99 lifters, +1mm oversized valves, and the 272 cams:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.n...44de09339402c4
https://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hp...ba&oe=55966214
https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.n...75ebf04bea4160

i also had the headlift fix done to the heads by ray pampena. here is some info about the headlift fix:

"like ive said in the past, its not the head lifting rather the deck of the head is not strong enough to handle X cylinder pressure. that number gets lower the more the heads are milled.

there are 2 areas where the deck is not strong enough to keep it from bending. that is the deck surface near the center of the intake valves AT the gasket ring and the same on the exhuast side. if you look in the coolant pasages under the deck of the head you will see that this area is hollow and relies on just the thickness of the deck for strength. the rest of the sealing ring area is solid aluminum and has no flex.

if the studs were not strong enough and the heads were "lifting" there would be also leakage in other areas of the ring area ie. between cylinders and other areas where the head is also solid. the deck itself is not strong enough to stop from flexing in these 2 hollow areas.

my fix... machining out those hollow areas and installing aluminum stantions in those areas just benieth the head gasket ring and welding the areas back up. this leaves no more hollow area under the gasket fire ring that will flex out of the way and still has room for coolant in the area."

so that covers a lot of the random parts that anyone can buy. the next section i will cover is some of the more specific 74 parts that made this build slightly more challenging. first, i will mention that i bought a 74 block, 75 crank, lower intake, a water housing (was told the correct one, i will show otherwise), and a crank pulley all for a package deal from a guy for $1000. after many months and countless hours of research, i ended up buying the following parts from cherry hill mitsu... they were ordered straight from japan:

i cannot promise all of these are labeled correctly, but i think most are correct
MD178139 $90.96 (power steering bracket)
MD173506 $142.89 (water housing)
MD184357 $116.48 (power steering belt tensioner pulley)
MD191579 $68.17 (alternator mounting bracket)
MD174264 $59.72 \
MD189482 $97.49 / i think these two were the cam gear covers
MD189484 $48.68 (timing cover)
MD192394 $69.22 (water crossover tube)

here is a pic comparing a 72 water housing to the housing that came with my block and everything i bought. the 72 is on top, the bottom one is the correct width, but thats all that is correct about it. i think its a kia water housing. DO NOT try and use it.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.n...8be8dc92038135

here is a pic comparing the CORRECT water housing (part# above) on bottom to the kia(?) housing i got in the package deal on top. they are both the correct width, but you can see how the thermostat housing cover would be backwards on the kia housing, and also how a lot of the bungs are very incorrect on the kia housing. i had to drill and weld on a bung or two onto the correct housing (for the throttle body coolant lines IIRC) but i don't have any pics of that.
https://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hp...c8&oe=558AF2E4


here is a pic comparing the 72 rear main seal to the 74 rear main seal. use the 72 rear main seal if you are using the 72 oil pan like i did (had to get the girdle machined to make room for it).
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.n...6ac2cf86c0e328

i will also note that i had to file down the passenger side of the girdle (as the engine sits in the engine bay) A LOT to make the oil pan fit correctly. idk if this was a mistake by ray (yes he makes mistakes) or maybe it was just merkles fault, but it was not machined correctly. it took a full afternoon of filing because the girdle is really hard metal. it wasnt a huge deal, but frustrating nonetheless.


here is a pic comparing the power steering pump bracketry and another pic showing why the 72 wouldnt work. 72 is on left, and 74 on right in first pic:
https://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hp...57&oe=5548BFB4

fitment issues with the 72 p/s bracket:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.n...64414a17bca8bd

correct one bolted up:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.n...1aa66064142fbf

this is a pic of the ac bracket i bought bolted up. i dont have one comparing the two i guess. the new one is longer, pretty basic:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.n...cc0d3f61ab2eb2

the timing belt is a montero sport timing belt

a mock up:
https://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hp...d3&oe=5548E389

second mock up (timed):
https://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hp...ec&oe=5581863C

fitment of everything
rear turbo downpipe:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.n...c69707cd041914

rear wastegate to valve cover (from bottom looking up):
https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.n...93f72b020158fb

final mockup:
https://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hp...b8&oe=557AC5D8

i just realized i dont have any specific pics of the lower intake manifold, but it looks dead nuts like stock, but its wider (for the 18mm extra deck height on the block). everything else you use on the engine from oil, to water, to... well... anything is all 72 parts.

so at this point, i bought intercooler piping and mufflers and got everything ready for a local fabricator to help me out. i went with 2.5" piping off each turbo into the dual core intercooler, then merged when it came out to a 3.5" and ran that up to the throttle body. it was planned for the future when i go to a q45 throttle body (90mm... 3.5" for those that are no good at math haha).

my exhaust is a true dual 3" exhaust with N1 knockoff mufflers on the end. its loud but sounds good. will get resonators welded in eventually.

pics
https://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hp...b0&oe=5587AFB5

https://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hp...49&oe=558C69EC

https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.n...325fdd9b5d85b6

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.n...818988762d7dd6

https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.n...f7ecfd01c59758

fitment of the intercooler pipes is very tight:
https://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hp...5a&oe=5594B42A

if you cant tell, the intercooler pipes sit too close to the fuel rails to run a loop. i ended up making a temporary loop out of some 6AN fittings and line that ran around the intercooler pipe. you can see this in my pic of getting the engine in the first time.

everything more or less went together smoothly. surprisingly NONE of the parts i ordered from japan were the issue and all fit like factory! however my lower intake is quite different than the 72 lower intake when it comes to the injector spots. the holes for the injectors were not the correct diameter, and honestly the step is not deep enough either, so i had to get the holes machined. if you ever run into this issue please be aware that that you CANNOT just drill them out. they are at a specific angle so they flow into the heads and airflow just right.

here is how the injectors and rails sat before the lower intake was line bored. WAYYYY too high. the upper plenum wouldnt fit on.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.n...d5b540b91b7f1e

72 lower intake with the injectors. notice how far "down" the injectors sit. they are almost flush with the "inside" (i have no better words to use for these words haha) of the lower intake:
https://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hp...a9&oe=557D9B20

and here they are in the 74 lower intake after getting it line bored:
https://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hp...56&oe=554BE1E9

you can see that they are like 3 - 4 mm higher, or more inset, into the lower intake. this was a concern because of the conical spray of injectors. i didnt want it to hit the sides of anything and puddle. i ended up going with it, but its always been a concern of mine about this build.




so i guess ill talk about putting the engine in the car. it went SURPRISINGLY well. seriously fit better and easier than my 3.1L build with 19t's haha. my only issue i had was the rear turbo was sitting on the ac hardline against the firewall.

putting it in (giggity):
https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.n...e6c6662064d2f3

rear turbo issue:
https://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hp...6b&oe=559371F7

fixed:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.n...f9b34e3775dab7

the stock radiator fan housing took a little trimming, but it all fits very well (dont have a pic of me trimming it, but its easy to see the issue):
https://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hp...ac&oe=558B6A30

fitment pics:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.n...cbc108064a7cc8

https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.n...87dc1436b59c93

so generally this brings me to starting the car the first time. when i put it all together, i turned it over by hand many many times, and never found any issue. well turns out one of the welds that was on the crank for balancing was hitting the oil pan JUST BARELY. it made my first startup sound like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFmk3oReZC8

so needless to say, i thought i had spun a bearing and was devastated. well, after some thinking and talking on the chatbox, i was convinced that the crank was hitting the oil pan, and tore it all apart and voila, it was fixed. i make that sound very easy, but because of the tight squeeze, the transmission had to get pulled and all kinds of crap so i could get the oil pan off. here is a pic of the weld and the oil pan too. it was just barely grazing it.

the culprit (notice the flat spot):
https://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hp...64&oe=558023F7

the pan:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.n...f8d35e5b43c546

after that ordeal, life was generally good with the car. i had some issues with the wastegates that i got figured out and a couple other small things, but nothing too crazy.

here is a final installed pic:
https://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hp...81&oe=557F8E5B

a vid of the first startup after it was all fixed:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lK47LN7xaCk



so after breaking the car in and driving it for a while, i had what i thought was an oil issue. i THOUGHT i was running 10w-30 in the car... well because im a freaking dunce i had actually put 5w-30 synthetic in it. for those that are unaware, that is REALLY thin oil. and because of how my bearing clearances are (on the big side... very common on race built engines) my oil pressure was really low at warm idle. on top of that, i made a video of me being a hooligan in the car, and it just so happened in that video that my oil pressure wire got ripped off if the sensor.

video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdcmUS_iaTk

you can see at the end, the oil pressure dash light came on. well in my last build thread i made, everyone wanted to give their 2 cents as to what had happened. i figured out the reason, but still people kept on about how i was gonna blow up my engine. i got frustrated with that and deleted the last thread.

for those that were looking closely in that video, you can see how slowly my boost was coming on as well. this was back before my wastegates were working correctly... the car is SIGNIFICANTLY faster now :)

the issue with the oil light ended up being because the oil feed "y" that comes off the back of the block was flipped upside down, and the axle hit the oil pressure sensor tab, which is why the connector got ripped off. easy fix. you can see a pic of how its upside down in a pic on the second post

after the oil pressure ordeal and driving the car for a long while, i switched to a flashable setup. i had bought everything about a year ago so i just had it sitting around ready and waiting. i did the flashable setup sometime around christmas, and it all went VERY smoothly. i installed that, and learned the bare basics on flashing. the car started right up and ran with zero changes really (except injector size and latency). this was all still on my 550cc injectors. it ran pretty lean up top but overall, i was extremely pleased.

the car ran for a few weeks like that until i hit 2 step showing off for a friend and fouled out a plug (or so i thought). so i took the car off the road, changed plugs, and the car still ran like crap. i got annoyed with it and took it off the road to do my fuel setup, figured i would figure it out then.


so i guess that brings me to the more recent updates. the car has been running great from like september or october --> january. I put a couple thousand miles on it, and just made sure everything was kept in check. in january i took the car off the road (by choice) to redo my fuel setup. the plan was to take the car to TX2K13 (which i just got back from last night) but the car didnt make the trip. more on that later.

I had 2 aeromotive stealth 340LPH pumps along with the TGE fuel pump hanger ready to go in. while the car was down, i also put the rest of my interior together (the PO really effed up a lot of stuff). the ac/heat controller, the center console, and the radio were the main things that i focused on fixing this round. i also finished up tucking all of my wiring for the wideband and a few other things.

after all that was completed, the fuel pump lines and wires were run and hooked up.

i bought deatschwerks 1200cc injectors:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.n...e80765f30fec59

i deleted my cruise control because it didnt work anyhow, and i am just tired of having to troubleshoot everything. i dont mind not having it, and it really cleans up the engine bay as well as gives a much more responsive feel to the pedal. in place of the cruise control, i made an adapter plate and mounted my aeromotive afpr there.

my fuel setup goes something like this:
2 pumps --> -6AN x 2 --> -8AN --> russel fuel filter --> -8AN --> -6AN x 2 --> ek2 fuel rails --> -6AN x 2 --> aeromotive afpr --> -6AN return line all the way back to tank

i have a slight concern with the flow a -8AN line can support, but i think ill be alright.

here are some pics of the engine bay with the new fuel setup:
https://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hp...af&oe=558ABA62

https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.n...2652d99477cb4b

https://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hp...2f&oe=558FD16E

i need to get a new spark plug cover...


so as i said earlier, before i took it off the road, i thought i had fouled out a spark plug. so i had put new plugs in it, tried to start it, didnt work. got annoyed and did fuel, then flashed on a new tune and tried to start it. besides the fpr being set to 70 base fuel pressure (yes 70!) i didnt have any other issues as far as leaks or anything goes. the engine didnt want to run at all (only on 2 cylinders) and i thought it was because of the 70psi base pressure. so i fixed the pressure while the engine ran like balls, but i had figured i fouled out the plugs because of so much fuel. so i took them out, cleaned them off real well (they are brand new plugs because i replaced them from before) and tried again. no go.

this brings me to the day of ridiculous trouble shooting. i had a bunch of friends come over that are all smart about cars as well, and we decided to figure this out. again, we were trying to get the car ready for texas (and the deadline was coming QUICKLY). i knew my tune was good, i knew the plugs were good, so besides a loose coupler that we found, we were thinking it was still spark related. we checked all of the coils and wires, tested everything. took us all day. eventually we found that the ptu had somehow come loose (i dont have that metal clip for it... i want one though). even after fixing that the car still wasnt running well. well i noticed on the logs that the airflow signal was reading zero. uggh... so off to do more trouble shooting we went. we thought it may be my maf, but long story short i again wore the dunce cap. after troubleshooting all day and the car still not running right, i went to bed and slept on it. woke up in the AM and realized DUH! i cut out the SAFC i used to tune with while doing wiring, and never wired back together the airflow wires! wired those together and VAROOM the car came back to life.

in the middle of all of this, i adjusted my coilovers to give me a better stance:
https://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hp...66&oe=557C9714

i also bought some wheel spacers (5mm for front, 15mm for the rear) to get the wheels more flush with the fenders:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.n...f28ec7c8f6bb67

https://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hp...73&oe=558B9888


my overall goal is 800+ awhp on e85 and 30psi. i guess we will see :)

thats how the car sits right this minute.

subbed

Hey I got a question for you. Does the jackhammer dual hanger come hotwired or do you have to wire in a hotwire kit ??

it comes with a hotwire kit, but you have to wire it all up. he provides all of the relays and wires though

That all looks very familiar:) What were the issues with your wastegates?

i honestly dont know why they were not working correctly. i had everything hooked up correctly, but they were not responding as they should. i think it has something to do with the boost controller, or maybe because i was running such a low level of boost. i may hook them back up how i had them when i turn the boost up and see what happens, but i dont expect a different result.

for reference, i had them hooked up as follows:
top port: line running from boost controller
bottom port: line running from charge pipes (boost pressure)

the boost controller should put enough boost on the top port to keep them closed, and it takes away pressure so they crack open and it gives you the most control, but they were just blowing open as soon as boost came on, and it was just giving me wastegate boost.

even tho the crank was banging in the oil pan you still drove it and beat on it a little? weren't you worried about metal debris damaging your freshly rebuilt engine?