Upgraded Engine Parts

[aw11rally]

Gains will be very small if you stay mild. Maybe spend the money elsewhere, gear ratios for example, either 6speed, final drive or smaller wheels & tyres.

[SuperRedMR2]

It seems that my donor engine I was given, came with 10.1:1 pistons, so I am unsure what to do with it all now.

[SuperRedMR2]

Found some small-port pistons for sale in the USA

Going to go with those from a Geo Prism as that shares the engine as the high comp corolla

Going to save me a massive wedge of dough.

[Sparky_2day]

Hi,

Just read your posts,

I love the fact you want to keep the 4age, I feel the same way about mine.

On my engine build I ended up using Pauter X-beam rods with Arias pistons.

The reason for using X-Beam was due to the original H-Beams ones I bought hitting the block when turning the crank. Rather than having channels cut into the block to allow clearance, I favoured getting different rods.

Unfortunately I can't remember what make they were.

If you are going through upgrading everything, remember the ARP head studs foul with the distributor / cam sensor shaft which will need to get machined / filed down to clear.

Hope this helps

Helps

[SuperRedMR2]

Hi mate,

Thanks for the tip about the ARP studs - never heard of that one before! Will definitely remember that when trial assemble it!

[Sparky_2day]

Yea I found out the hard way,

It turns out that it seems to only be common knowledge in the states and aussie land I found out after much searching.

Good luck with the build.

[PW@Woodsport]

Also bear in mind ARP studs block the oil feed hole on that distributor stud too, the head needs modifying in that area or you will suffer instant oil starvation.

[SuperRedMR2]

Hmmm club4ag haven't ever said this, I'll bring it up with them too.

I wonder if I can get head bolts from ARP instead of studs? Or is there no difference?

Cheers Paul

[PW@Woodsport]

I know something club4ag don't then

As far as i am aware ARP only sell stud kits but i believe they may have revised the current 4a-ge stud design to allow for the distributor issue and also the oil feed problem.

[SuperRedMR2]

I'll email ARP direct and ask them of any revisions.

[kaiowas]

I've used ARP head studs on a couple of my engines and I'm well aware of the distributor issue (I just spun the dizzy shaft in a drill and used a file to machine a chamfer on the end of the shaft to allow it to clear the stud) but I've never seen anything about an oil feed issue and am struggling to visualise how using a stud and nut rather than a bolt could cause such an issue. Can you give some further detail on what exactly the problem is Paul?

[Skaughtto]

The motor in my mk1a is going to need to be rebuilt soon and I've slowly been collecting parts for the project:

HKS 256/256 cams (8.1mm lift)
Adjustable cam gears
TRD Header
SV3 Power exhaust (b-pipe, muffler)
Spare engine

Local emissions laws limit what I can do(e.g. 20v is illegal), but keeping the 16v 4AGE in there is fine. Headwork will be a part of it and I'll need to pull an engine apart before deciding on pistons.

[PW@Woodsport]

I've used ARP head studs on a couple of my engines and I'm well aware of the distributor issue (I just spun the dizzy shaft in a drill and used a file to machine a chamfer on the end of the shaft to allow it to clear the stud) but I've never seen anything about an oil feed issue and am struggling to visualise how using a stud and nut rather than a bolt could cause such an issue. Can you give some further detail on what exactly the problem is Paul?

Did a quick Google and Matrix garage came across the issue too and have their own "drilling" fix for it...

http://www.matrixgarage.com/content/arp-oil-passage-fix

[kaiowas]

That makes some sense, and I can now see how it may cause a problem. Having done some further reading I'd be inclined to think that this is something which 'can' be a problem under some circumstances but which is a non-issue in most cases. There are certainly going to be a lot of 4A-GEs out there using ARP studs without this fix applied that aren't having any problem however it's certainly something I'll bear in mind in future.

[PW@Woodsport]

Agreed, it's not a certainty that it will block the oil feed hole but I do have experience of it happening to me before the issue was known about, on the majority it would probably be fine, just something to watch for.

[SuperRedMR2]

Been on that website loads of times and never spotted that! Well done Paul!

The guy who owns that site is regularly on Club4AG and never once mentioned it.

[PW@Woodsport]

I've been around a very very long time, 20 years working on Mr2s next year, to be honest there isn't much i haven't come across.

[SuperRedMR2]

Have you know anyone to do a smallport piston, smallport head, small port fuel rail, bigport injector/inlet manifold, 3-rib block, 20v Exhaust header, build? lol

[PW@Woodsport]

No I think you're paving new ground there!

[SuperRedMR2]

Not forgetting the OEM 42mm crank and rods

Maybe I'll be special and have only that configuration engine lol