Tightmopedman9

Awesome, interested to hear how it drives.

I got a bunch of parts in today so I started putting everything back together. First up was cleaning the subframe and putting in some delrin I'm waiting on the transmissions and bulkhead mounts, all of which are going to be urethane. This is what was left of my engine mount I started putting the head on was curious about two things. The valve stem seals aren't fully seated, their position on the valve stems is seemingly random. I also found this pool of crud near the freeze plug on the passenger side, is this amount of buildup normal?

Nice clutch! Is that the EZ-LOCK PRO? That the was the clutch I was looking at, but decided against for no particular reason. I have a feeling I'll be taking the transmission out again soon enough...

I didn't want to replace the rod bolts so I didn't pull a piston to inspect. The block does have windows though. I'll try and measure the rod length. Unfortunately I wasn't logging when I think the damage happened, so it's hard to know exactly what happened. I had it tuned so that I never got more than a single sporadic knock event. I'll be pushing the 2.3L just as hard, and using stock rods. We'll see how it fares.

Cool, looks like 30637066 it is.

Bit of trouble with the headgasket... Anyone know what part number I need to get? I was just going to go with the old MLS gasket I got that came on my 2.5 B5254T2, but would the 83mm bore of the previous engine cause any problems?

Got the new block apart and found it had the older, heavier crank. Based on the speculation I've heard from others I guess I'm happy. To offset the weight I'm going to get ~7lbs shaved off my flywheel.

Since the rod was bent the skirt hit the cylinder wall and caused the gouges, I assume. The weird thing is it ran pretty damn good when the oil smoke started; it seemed just as powerful as ever. I drove it around for a few days and then did a leak down test. After putting everything together I went to start the engine and it started for a second and then seized. I assumed I had dropped something in one of cylinders, but when I took the head off I didn't find anything. I'm not sure if the gouge was because of the bent rod or the other way around. The first time I noticed the smoke was after passing 6 cars in a row, up an 11% grade at 11,000ft with 4 people in the car.

I used 6061 aluminum since that is essentially what the block is made of. They were an interference fit, just slid in. I took the block apart today and was surprised at how bent my #4 rod was.

It was shimmed with 6061 aluminum, with about 2 mm of empty space at the top. I wouldn't say they're trash, but I will say it is a weakpoint in the motor for sure.

Not cracked all the way through.

Anyone know if part #30731538 'big-end bearing kit' comes with bearings for all pistons, or do I need to buy 5?

The shop got back to me with an estimate, and it's a little higher than I had originally thought. They want $810 for: Hone Head deck (if needed) Crank polish Balance assembly Clean block and pistons Engine assembly Basically, I can't afford the $810+$330(rods)+$170(rod bearings)+$220(piston rings)+$210(main bearings)=$1800. The short block only cost me $100 and the walls look fine. I'm thinking I might just install as is. BUT, with the engine out and rod bearings and piston rings already on order, I can save some money by only getting the block honed, rod bearings and piston rings replaced. That should save me ~800. I'm just wondering if I should even break into the engine at all.

When I saw the large intermediate bolts I saw that they looked very similar to headbolts. Good to know.

?? I ordered OEM rings. BTW, does anyone know if OEM rings are moly or steel?

While at idle the values in the main ignition map are not referenced. Therefore, your adjustments to that map for startup shouldn't make any difference for those conditions. 'Idle ignition angle correction by coolant temp' is the amount of ignition advance added to your idle advance at a given coolant temp. 'Idle ignition angle characteristic' is your ignition angle at idle load. There are a few maps that change the ignition angle based on keeping the cat healthy. On a cold start these maps will retard your ignition to warm up the cat quickly. You should zero these out, that is if you're not running a cat.

Because I'm optimistic We'll see what's what when they get the block apart.

I just ordered Volvo OEM main bearings for the intermediate section since I got a look at the block code, 1BBBBBB. I'll order the lower mains when I get the crank code. For the intermediate section to block, can I reuse the bolts or do I need new ones?

Block just got dropped off at the machine shop, they said they'll break it down on Monday and tell me the main bearing codes on the crank and the piston wrist pin size.

Does anyone know the right small end bore size for the rods I need? Engine is a B5234t3 from a 2002 S60, engine #2146294. CXracing has both the 23mm and 21mm on ebay now.

Doesn't seem to be, I'll be taking the block out this weekend and I'll give it a thorough check. The 2.3 is loaded in the van ready to go to the machine shop. I'm going with sputter rod bearings, and OEM mains, CX racing rods and OEM rings. For the mains, I know about the color coding system, but along with the color is an O.S. designation, .25 or .5mm. I would only need to go with the O.S. mains if there was damage to the crank, right?

I don't know, I haven't taken the block out of the car yet.

Looks like I'm done with this bottom end: Thankfully the head is fine, pristine in fact. I'm picking up a 2.3L RN shortblock and dropping it off at the machine shop tomorrow. Forged rods, rings and bearings are on the list. Can anyone recommend somewhere to get rings? I can't find anyone who stocks them...

Well, looks like it's time to source another engine, yay! Now the hunt for a new engine begins. I'm looking for anything with an 81mm bore, 147mm rods and lightened crankshaft. I can get these CX Racing rods for $349, but they have the 21mm small end bore. Therefore, I think I'm looking for a 2001-2004 B5234T3, right? I'm looking to spend less than $1000 on the engine, rods and light rebuild, which should be doable since I have a good head already. I'm shooting for 400WHP so I'll be upgrading the turbo too.

Does this hold true for normal ME7 coils? If so I'll reduce the dwell time.