Is this possible? what is the labor cost(for anyone who's had it done)?

would love to hear from buschur or any other shop who may do this.

thanks!

 

a million bucks lol local shop to me is Turbo Trix in NJ but thats ride for you

 

Andrew at Dyno4mance has done it successfully at least several times. He's not far from you (Calhoun, GA).

 

yeah, been to andrew's shop several times.

i didn't know if it was do-able at all...but i guess it is. ok, now i guess we need to know how much it costs(labor) or parts and labor would be good! i mean, i need to pull the oil pan to do rod bolts anyway....might as well put some goods in there to be able to turn up the wick.

 

I'm considering having him do the very same. You know what they say about an ounce of prevention . . .

 

got off the phone with andrew, its about 18-21hrs of labor(1800ish) plus the cost of rod bolts, gaskets, pistons.

next question would be....necessary to change rods? anyone spinning the stock rods above 8500rpm?

 

droping the oil pan and pulling the head off ams does it all the time.

im about to drop a set in unless the block needs to be bored out.

 

18 to 21 seems pretty high, that sounds more like pulling the whole engine trans.

 

For 1800ish + parts, you can get a stroker or race bottom end couldn't you? Labor/parts done,just swap the head!

 

well, a stroker bottom end is around 3k before shipping i think, plus you have to ship your core...plus you have to pull the whole motor out and take the timing belt/ac/alternator and all that crap off.

if you did it yourself, it would still cost considerably more and thats doing it yourself. i don't have the time/tools/resources to do all that....someone who does, that might be a better option.

 

I believe you still need to pull the head if you do an in-chassis swap. The piston/rod assembly comes out from the top. You leave the mains/crank alone, pull the head, drop the pan and disconnect the rods, slide the pistons out the top, use a ring compressor and drop the assembly in the top, reconnect rods to the crank, put the head back on, good to go. In other words, add it to your 60k timing belt job anyway.

If you wanted to get them out from the bottom you'd have to drop the crank to get it out of the way, that means the front and back of the crank need to be free from the oil pump assy/tranny, which means you might as well have the motor out of the car at that point. This is in addition to the fact that the ring compressor tool can't be used from the bottom.



- Steve

 

To do it right, you'd need to check clearance and the balance of the assembly. Unless you are guaranteed to have the same weight bolt, but stronger, with the same amount of clearance, I'd not bother.

 

yes, the head is pulled most def....cam gears just ziptied like when doing a cam job. apparently its done all the time.

 

Honing to break the cylinder glaze leaves grit of both the metalic and stone type not to mention the oil droplets scattered about with this grit in it. The chances of thouroughly cleaning the block and crank after this process while the block is still in the car is not too good at all. While it can be done and has been done successfully before there is a significant element of risk that seems unnessary. No serious engine builder would prefer this type of approach. It is loaded with compromises all for the sake of saving cost.

If I had a shop and you asked me to do it, I would say no. That is not to bash anyone who has done this to try to please a customer who was a little light in the wallet. A very careful cleaning is always the first step after any machining step when it comes to engine building. The cleaner everything is the better. Also, as has already been mentioned the careful micrometer measuring of rod journals, journal runout, crank end play and bearing clearance is difficult if not impossible with the block in the car. Once you have the head pulled off the engine in your car pulling the short block is a piece of cake.

Work a little over time and spring for a well built short block. Get the motor built and installed at a reputable 4G63 shop and you will probably get a warranty. Do it once. Do it right.

 

I have seen it done many times. As they said above head must be off and oil pan.. However, you can only use the stock pistons in that method as any other pistons require to hone the block to the right size.