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Engine & Solid Axle Swap Build

Discussion in 'General Truck Info' started by greg0187, Nov 3, 2008.

  1. Mighty Milt

    Mighty Milt Active Member

    looks good greg, i'm going to post this on the jeep forum i'm on (no not pirate, those guys are brutal over there) and watch them drool....

    just one question tho... what are you going to do to finish up the link brackets?

     
  2. greg0187

    greg0187 Moderator Staff Member

    Yeah... Ya know... my neighbor asked me that same question today. I know they need something but I'm just not sure yet... I'm thinking about doing a lower cross member but I just don't know at this point. Any ideas???
     
  3. Mighty Milt

    Mighty Milt Active Member

    if you have a straight shot from frame rail to frame rail i would run something straight across that spans the gap fore and aft and top to bottom to hold. if you have to bend tube to clear drive train components i would make sure you have the mounts gusseted to the frame as well. those brackets will take a lot of abuse and have to be REALLY solid or they will shear.
     
  4. greg0187

    greg0187 Moderator Staff Member

    yeah... Thats part of the reason I re-inforced the frame rails. I need to get the motor where I want it and go from there I think. Damn axles are so narrow... makes it hard to deal with the link mounts. The whole plan from the beginning was to keep the truck small and narrow. It makes it difficult once I start to see how its turning out to keep it small. Like you said. Those mounts are gonna take some abuse... all the torque is focused to the center of the frame. I also need to gusset the hydro cylinders on the axles.
     
  5. Acerguy

    Acerguy Moderator Staff Member

    Looking very cool. Is your plan to keep the pickup bed functional (keeping the engine below the deck)?
     
  6. greg0187

    greg0187 Moderator Staff Member

    Most of the Bed will be usable. :D
     
  7. minydigger

    minydigger Member

    Still kinda hard to tell what kinda ground clearance you have, I am trying to set mine up so I avoid getting high centered.
     
  8. greg0187

    greg0187 Moderator Staff Member

    Just measured. Bottom of the oil pan is sitting at 19". Motors going down a bit all said and done it'll be about 17".
     
  9. DeMag

    DeMag Member

    Body lift to help clear the engine greg ? .. good looking job on what you have completed so far, can't wait to see the finished version.
     
  10. greg0187

    greg0187 Moderator Staff Member

    Nah. Bump in the bed floor. :D Thanks!
     
  11. woodsrat

    woodsrat New Member

    Wow! That is a great looking job you are doing, Can't wait to see it done.
    Keep us posted.
     
  12. greg0187

    greg0187 Moderator Staff Member

    Engine ran good for about 2 minutes before it threw a rod through the block. Got what I paid for. LOL!
     
  13. Acerguy

    Acerguy Moderator Staff Member

    Aw crap! :frustration: :frustration:
     
  14. greg0187

    greg0187 Moderator Staff Member

    No ****! Stangest thing happened. Got all the wiring connected... went to crank her up and only one cylinder was firing. Got the timing light out and checked for spark on all the wires. They were good. Disconnected the ignition and cranked it over a few times, pulled the plugs, 1 wet 3 dry. So no fuel. Checked the injector pulse. Good. pulled the fuel rail and injectors and found that 3 of the injectors were seized (Assume from dried fuel). Freed them up and reinstalled. Cranked over and got a pop and the engine just freezed. tried to crank again and nothing. manually rotated the engine and found that it would only rotate about 175* in either direction before stopping abruptly (metal to metal). I though that maybe it jumped time and was interfereing with valves. Popped the timing belt off to see and still nothing. Pulled the plugs again to inspect the cylinders to make sure nothing fell into the intake. All good. At this point I'm thinking bottom end. After fiddeling with it for a while (and hour) it stopped and would rotate again. put it back together and tried. Fired right up. Let it run and bumped the throttle a few times. Let it idle some more and bumped it one last time and .... Bang! Shrapmetal across the garage #2 cylinder con rod through the block. Kinda strange because it didn't have a knock or anything. Mission now is to find a new one. It will give me some time to tidy up the wiring.

    -Greg
     
  15. slimbad

    slimbad Member

    Greg, sorry to hear about the engine. That gremlin came in from left field. 60,000 mile on that Honda engine - just shouldn't have done that. Maybe you'll luck up on an even better one. Good luck - don't lose the faith, it's just a minor setback.......later, slim
     
  16. 93mit

    93mit Member

    Damn the bad luck
     
  17. greg0187

    greg0187 Moderator Staff Member

    I didn't believe the mileage. I kinda had the feeling all along the motor wasn't going to be any good. I can't think of anything that I would have done to cause it. Just seems kind of odd. I havent torn it down to see what exactly went wrong but the crankshaft end of the rod came through the block. Look like the bolts broke because there was no bearing cap on the rod.
     
  18. greg0187

    greg0187 Moderator Staff Member

    New motor on the way. Got to see the car run and drive before they pull it. :D
     
  19. damccain

    damccain New Member

    hey man i love this little thing. it i was to do it i woulda used the wide tracks too. im thinkin 33s would look awesome on a kei. has anyone ever thought of using a street bike motor like an r1 motor or a busa in a kei? you could use a FNR box like on a sand rail and connect the cvs to the axles with custom driveshafts.you could also gear the crap outta it with whatever spockets you use.just a thought.
     
  20. greg0187

    greg0187 Moderator Staff Member

    Thanks! The 33's would be nice but IMO only good for the newer trucks where the front wheels are way up front. I have yet to see a truck with a busa motor, the 4wd style with a bike motor you speak of is an expensive concept. FNR box is high dollar.
     
  21. greg0187

    greg0187 Moderator Staff Member

    Got my muffler today. Its a SpinTech IN/OUT on the same side, typically found in side exhaust cars and vettes. Put a bit of thought into this... My original concept was to use a 270 degree bend and plumb it out the rear but there isn't alot of room for the 2 1/2" pipe to snake around and have a decent size muffler out to the back. So here it is. Idea is to flange a 90 bend out of the header into the muffler and the output will just have a standard turndown or possibly a resonator tip if its too loud. New motor/tranny is here too BTW :D. I heard this one run and drove the car... so I know its good! LOL

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  22. damccain

    damccain New Member

    http://www.stak4x4.com/1_mini_buggy_fnr.htm here is one for 1500. but i guess if your doing a motor swap and sas its gonna be expensive regardless. just a thought
     
  23. greg0187

    greg0187 Moderator Staff Member

    I tell you what... I'm up to my ears in wires and at this point I'm thinking this is a heck of a contraption I'm building! :D
     
  24. renchjeep

    renchjeep Member

    No doubt! That thing is BADASS!!! Can't wait to see how well it performs!:cool:
     
  25. greg0187

    greg0187 Moderator Staff Member

    Yeah! I can't wait either! Got the wiring complete. Everything is interfaced with the existing truck harness everything should work except for the speedo (mechanical vs. electronic). The one thing I don't want to happen is have the check engine light come on but I'm a little concerned that it will. From my research honda has a complex, unforgiving EVAP control system that incorporates a Fuel tank pressure sensor. The ECU monitors this pressure with complex control tests to check for vacuum/pressure leaks along with a purge valve which means a varying pressure during test periods that I understand take place during various driving conditions. There are a lot of unkowns on what the tests actually are trying to do. I found a resistor trick on one of the Honda forums but as far as I can tell its hit and miss. There are a lot of smart Honda tuners out there with a ton of information... the outlook doesn't look good for fooling the ECU on this one. I guess I'll see what happens.
     
  26. Wyothing

    Wyothing New Member

    I have been watching this build and it is just awesome. I love the clearance. With that motor, large tires are reasonable. That is a big obstacle in maximizing potential of these little trucks. I have taken mine into some pretty amazing places.

    Just wish I could get a little more motor and 15" wheels with aggressive tires under it! So, do you wanna rebuild mine next?
     
  27. greg0187

    greg0187 Moderator Staff Member

    You have the truck I should be doing this to! More potential for this on the long wheel base trucks. Update: With any luck I should have the new engine in and running this weekend. Driveshafts, steering and brakes are the last major hurdles to overcome. Woo Hoo! Obviously I'm going take her for a spin without the steering and brakes! LOL
     
  28. greg0187

    greg0187 Moderator Staff Member

    Exhaust mock up...

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  29. greg0187

    greg0187 Moderator Staff Member

  30. starpuss

    starpuss Member

    nice work!
     

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