Basic ls/vtec Build

ASSISTANCE Hybrids & Advanced Aftermarket Engine Performance
1

I’m just finishing up with my ls/vtec project and decided to share

Block:
B18A1 Block (honed, hot tanked, inspected)
LS crank (inspected, micropolished)
LS rods (shot peened, big end resized, ARP rod bolts stretched)
ACL main, rod, and thrust bearings/washers

New OEM B16 pr3 pistons
Hastings piston ring set

LS Flywheel (cleaned and lightened 3 lbs)
Block work: refinished deck, main bores line-honed, rotating assembly balanced

New GSR oil and water pumps, timing belt
New LS crank pulley

ARP head studs
Golden Eagle LS/VTEC kit

Head:
B16 head
OmniPower complete valvetrain (valves, dual springs, retainers)
Stock Cams for now
B16 Intake Manifold/Throttle Body

Some pics:

Parts back from the machine shop. Sorta like Christmas… cept I paid for it

main bores line honed

ls pump on left, gsr on right

pistons, rods, rings, and bearings ready to go

crank and bearings ready to go

lubed bearings for crank install

soaking main bolts in oil before install

crank is in!

pistons installed. fit like a glove

2

rear main seal with ultra grey gasket maker

installed. yeah, i know theres rust on the baffle

oil pump with gasket maker

installed

TDC marks

baffle, pickup, and oil pan gasket in

all sealed up

water pump in

breather chamber components

water pipe and thermostat components

oem thermostat vs anything else you buy

coolant will flow

more to come later

3

I’m still waiting on a set of valve seats for the head, and then I will complete that build and post with new pictures.

4

awesome, i’m doing the same thing cept my B1 block is bored over .40, so i need custom pistons…

but keep it updated. nice set-up

5

Props on your immaculately clean work area and the job you have done so far. The Main seal looked alittle crooked in the one pic, but that might just be my eyes and is there something you used between the oil pump seal and the crank, that white stuff?

Your parts list is exaclty the same as what I have for my block, but I am going to stick with the LS head and 404’s for now. When I get bored with that, I will join the dark side and run low boost with 10.8:1 compression, should be nice.

Are you going to tune with crome by any chance?

6

i take it your not going turbo?

7

90IntegraC1 - Thanks for the compliments. Did you choose to bore it over, or were you forced to?

Sam92Teg - It looks a little crooked because of the angle I took the picture at. The inner metal lip of the seal case is blocking the lower part of the seal. I made sure the seal was seated correctly before installation, but thanks for the good eyes. Yes, I used the same stuff on the oil pump that I did on the main seal. Permatex Ultra Grey gasket maker. If you look at the closeup shots you can see the grey line along the mating surface. I got a p28 chipped with chrome by phearable.net. Thanks for your compliments!

redex04 - nope, staying na on this one. I expect around 11.3:1 compression, maybe a bit more because of the decked block.

8

update

pictures of the head work

valve train components

valve seats, valve seals, and LMAs in

springs and retainers

rocker arms installed

arp head studs

head where it belongs

camshafts in

timing belt, back cover, and mouting hardware

doing my valve adjustment with vice grips, a 10mm deep socket, long screw driver and feeler gauges

cover on

water jacket, sensors, and spool assembly

sandwich adapter and oil feed in

intake manifold on

9

tent structure put up for the rainy weekend

old engine out

new engine in

engine runs great, lots of power. I’m just into the break in period now, so it’ll be a while til I get to rip on it some more.

10

very simple, yet very nice buildup…congrats man

11

Can this be archived? If it does get archived it will stop alot of the ls-vtec threads. Very nice build tho. its a basic step by step walk thru of the ls-vtec.

12

archivethis

thanks for the compliments. and yeah, that was really my purpose of making this thread. Aside from ALL new gaskets, seals, hoses, etc., the list at the top is pretty much everything I used. Hope this helps some people.

An update: I’m losing a lot of oil from around the vtec solenoid/cam plug area, so I bought an aftermarket billet aluminum seal with a couple rubber rings. I’ll also use some high-temp gasket maker on the solenoid (even though helms doesn’t call for it). I basically ran through 4 quarts in 200 miles. :uhoh:

13

thats VTEC for ya. Haha sike know what you meant by that.

14

oops double post.

15

Nice build will come in handy when/if I decide on to go just turbo or ls/v-turbo.

16

Just curious, you used the B18A block, but I think the newer style oil pump. Did you need to buy the newer style lover timing cover, or did you modify the one that came with the B18A to fit?

I like the fact that you replaced all the little seals, like on the oil breather tank and water pipe. These seals are cheap and much easier to replace while engine is pulled. That head looks to be in very nice shape.

Congrats on your new powerplant, and I hope it treats you well. Oh, did you use the run and gun break in method on Non-detergent oil?

17

Nice job!

Congrats on the install! I was just wondering how much you spent on it though (if you don’t mind)? I would like to do the same rebuild on my '92 GSR and I’m trying to budget? I’m new into the “Honda” world so I’m trying to learn all I can!! Of course I don’t need the VTEC head or anything just a good start to a rebuild!? Like the ARP bolts, Omnipower valvetrain, etc… Thanks a lot!!!

18

what is the run and gun for breaking in non detergent oil? why would you do this?

19

sam92teg - yes, i did buy the oil pump from the 94-01 series, but the lower timing belt cover fit perfectly. The oil pumps are physically the same size on the outside. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of the run and gun method, but to break it in I ran it hard through 1st, 2nd, and 3rd gear about 3 or 4 times each on 5W-30 castrol gtx. Now I’m running easy for about 1500 miles, nothing above 3500 rpms.

1992gsr - i didn’t total everything together exactly, but if i had to run a guess, i’d probably say at least $4000. The arp rod bolts are a must, but i only replaced the valvetrain with omnipower because the existing one had a lot of bent valves, and a full oem valvetrain replacement is more expensive and of lesser quality. Getting all the machine work cost me around $800 alone and I would say that is one of the most important things to spend your money on.

Thanks for both of your compliments, and good luck to you or anyone else on a rebuild.

20

what is the run and gun for breaking in non detergent oil? why would you do this?

Against most conventional wisdom about breaking in a new engine with new rings on honed cylinders, the ‘run and gun’ method is actually referring to running the engine hard right off the get go to seat the rings. The rings supposedly do around 90% of there seating in the first 50 miles or so. By using more throttle, like maybe 75% or so, the cylinder pressure actually forces the rings into the cylinder walls, seating them more effectively than babying the engine. At least this is what I remember from long-ago research. Many Honda engine builders, both motorcycles and auto engines, all motor, and turbo applications, use this method in one form or another.

Non detergent oil is used so that the metal particles that are present during initial breakin are not suspended in the oil, at least that is what I remember. Maybe it is because the detergents cause the rings to slide on the cylinders instead of wearing into them and sealing like they should. To be honest, I can’t really remember why, but ND oil should be used, drained, used drained, for the first 100 miles or so. It is cheap anyway, so keep flushing the particles out.

You can search and find more info, my memory sucks.