Building Anna

What's up everyone I've got a 2013 black mica Speed3, named Anna. Picked her up back in May of '20, did some basic bolt-ons (HPFP, AP, catless DP, intake) and figured if I'm gonna go through the trouble of slapping on more involved mods might as well pull the engine and knock everything out at once. I'm also tired of losing out on the street lol. I've been lurking on here as well as the discord for some time now, I've read JT's build thread multiple times as well as several others, and finally decided to pull the trigger and start crackin 2 weeks ago. I'm nervous but also extremely excited! Gonna be one hell of a learning experience so if you guys have any tips/tricks/insight/advice let me know, I'm trying to learn as much as I possibly can!

Power Goal: 500 whp
Engine:
- Manley Platinum pistons w/ 22.5mm wrist pins, will decide on bore once I deliver block to shop and they evaluate (per Justin rings gapped to .020 and .023 or in that general area)
- Manley H-beam rods
- Mahle Clevite H rod & main bearings
- ARP 2000 main studs
- Not planning on keying the crank (I know this is kinda a hot topic, but I figured with several builds using stock friction washers at much higher power levels than what I'm shooting for it *should* be fine)
- Ecoboost oil pump

Head:
- Cometic head gasket (stock thickness unless shop for some reason has to deck it multiple times)
- Super tech 70lb dual springs (recommended by Justin to avoid float common with stock valve springs)
- L19 or H11 head studs (basically whichever type is in stock/better priced at the time of purchase)
- Bowl work, valve job, manifold match exhaust side - Justin recommended avoiding gasket matching due to the thinness of the runners and since most manifolds aren't a true gasket match either it's not really needed
- Have shop double check useability of valves, seats, guides, etc. (if you guys have any advice for headwork/what to look for in particular please let me know, it's probably what I'm most unsure/not knowledgeable about besides electrical stuff)

Turbo/Exhaust:
- PTE 5858 JB
- Compressor housing: 4" inlet, 2.5" outlet
- Turbine housing: V-band to manifold & downpipe, .82 AR
- Graveyard tubular manifold w/ 38mm Tial external wastegate & PTE V-band discharge to turbo
- Graveyard PTE catless DP

Intake:
- JMF v2 w/ Bosch 1000cc injectors
- JBR 3.5" intake

Aux Fuel:
- Going off of JT's hellcat pump in tank, Y adapter at firewall feeding to HPFP and JMF fuel rail, through the FPR, then taking OEM line back to stock tank

Here she is before I started tearin her apart

Past couple weeks have just been working on getting the engine out and then stripping it down, this is by far the most involved I've ever gotten in a car project so it's been a blast seeing how everything falls into place and where everything goes. Ran into a snag early on by not having the ac evacuated off the bat but got it resolved relatively painlessly.

Also started ordering some go fast parts, got both manifolds on the way along with ma rods. Plan for my exhaust mani is to have a shop weld on the 38mm wastegate flange since graveyard discontinued their stock location EWG manifolds due to EPA regulations. Excited to finally get working on this instead of just thinking about it happening "one day"

 

Been slow going this week, mainly due to work picking up a bit and me needing to acquire a few tools. First snag I ran into was the pilot bearing, tried the bread method for a solid 3 hours with no luck. Also surprise surprise chain auto parts stores' rental tools failed me again:
O'Reilly's puller: Ended up being too big to fit into the inner diameter of the PB
Autozone's Puller: Probably would've worked but the threads on the stud were so damn cross threaded I couldn't retract it enough to close the jaws.
After those debacles I ended up going with HF's slide hammer/bearing puller, my local HF didn't have the $20 puller but oh well, more tools are never a bad thing. Got it out in a solid 15 seconds, you can still see the bread crumbs on the bearing lol


After that I ran into trying to yank the crank pulley bolt. Tried my 2' 1/2" breaker bar with no luck, tried the ole jack handle on the breaker bar for more leverage and still nothin. My roommate bought a cheap HyperTough impact from walmart a few months ago so I gave that a shot, literally did nothing (as expected). Another thing I ran into with this was with the engine being on the hoist whenever I'd attempt to crack the bolt I'd literally just lift the engine, so I started leaning towards buying a quality impact wrench.

From everything I've read Milwaukee is the go-to for impact tools so I bit the bullet and got a chonky boi. Almost 500 big ones later and my crank pulley bolt is OUT!

Up next is getting the rest of the accessories off and then onto the block itself. Things'll be slow going moving forward with the holidays but I'll keep chippin away, slow and steady wins the race!

 

Speed looks amazingly clean!

 

Thanks brotha! ♥️♥️

 

Not a major update but progress is definitely being made! Got all accessories off the block with really only one snag: those damn T40 torx bolts holding the injectors into the block, specifically cylinder 2...


All other bolts popped off no problem, but #2 was toight like a tigah:



Luckily the torx bit wasn't stuck in the bolt - that woulda sucked. Ironically I was super worried this whole time about stripping the bolt because that's what everyone's said, but mine just kept chewing bits up and spittin em out.

5 to be exact lol


Tried torching it with no luck (hopefully I didn't toast my injector...), eventually went ahead and bought a set of Irwin Bolt Extractors. Cracked it loose with the 16mm in a little over 5 seconds.


Funny how the right tools make things easier...

Anyway after I got through that I was able to tear her down to the bare block


So short block is completely disassembled and ready for the machine shop (planning on going 88mm bore). As for the head, I'm waiting on the Lisle Valve Keeper Remover/Installer Tool (Per JT the single tool package is slightly too large for install and can score the bucket walls so I'll see how this works since it includes a smaller diameter one) to get here and then I'll start tearing it down.

Currently deciding on if I'm going to do all the headwork myself (valve lapping, bowl work, port & polish, etc.) or have the shop do it. I need to look at JT's build thread again and see what all is involved. If any of you guys have input on whether that's suitable for a somewhat amateur DIYer please lemme know.

At Justin's recommendation I'm going with Supertech 70lb dual valve springs w/ stock cams (should be fine?) to avoid stock springs floating.

Since I haven't actually torn into the head yet I'm still a little confused as to what all is actually in the head, from my understanding this is what it contains:
1. Valve (plan on reusing stock ones barring any obvious damage)
2. Valve Steam Oil Seal (replacing per JT's thread)
3. Valve Spring
4. Valve Spring Retainer (included in the SuperTech kit)
5. Valve Spring Keeper (plan on reusing stock - not sure yet if they'll be compatible with the new ones - if anyone knows shoot me a message por favor)

I've seen around online mention of valve guides, shims, followers, spring seat locators, valve retainers but looking at the schematics on OEM Mazda pages I don't see any of those...

I have heard these engines use different thickness buckets instead of shims to set proper valve/bucket lash but I could be wrong. If you guys have any wisdom you're willing to impart on your boy please do, the head's always confused me a bit.

Also just ordered the meat and potatoes of the long block from my boy Forte over at GYP:
Clevite H Rod Bearings CB1925H
Clevite AL Main Bearings MS2245A (I read up on the discussion between trimetal/bimetal/aluminum bearings and decided if these are good enough for JT they're good enough for me lol - similar power goals and DD status)
Manley 2618 Pistons 88mm
ARP 2000 main studs
Ecoboost oil pump
Supertech 70lb dual valve springs
L19 head studs
ACT 6 puck w/ streetlite
Intake & exhaust valve stem seals
BSD & oil pan baffle

So disassembly is almost done, then the journey of reassembling begins. Loving this process and learning how everything meshes together. Wallet hurts a bit though...

 

Alrighty boys and girls it's been a MINUTE since my last post but we're back! Since the last post I was able to drop off my block/head and associated thingamabobs at the machine shop:

They cleaned everything, decked the head/block, bored out to 88mm, lapped the valves, installed valve springs, and balanced the rotating assembly.

While I was waiting for them to do their work on it I diddled around with some odd jobs that I could: got my in-tank fuel pump out to prepare for the hellcat fuel pump swap, put in a set of Rey's shifter cables
(Even with the block out it was still a huge pita lol)

Installed a stainless slave cylinder line to replace the OEM one along with Rey's supra slave swap. About a year ago my battery post had a *minor* explosion and stripped some of the paint from the driver side crush bar area and I was able to finally get around to repainting it. Which for my first time painting really anything, I was pretty happy with

If you zoom in you can see where it ate away at the paint below the fuze box:


Here's after the primer:


And after the actual coat:


And then I was finally able to get the block and head back from the shop a couple days ago:

Still waiting on assembly lube to get here to really start cruising but I was able to get the rods and pistons assembled and rings onto pistons:


I also plastigauged the main journal clearances to double check everything was good to go, seems like it is. They were a little over the standard clearances (but below the max acceptable) per the assembly manual but that was also reusing my old 90k main bolts that are torque-to-yield so I'm confident with new main bolts they'll be fine. Once a couple odds & ends get in this week I'll be pretty much set to assemble the whole long block, besides valve lash.

Overall goal is to have the long block assembled (pending valve lash) by the end of 4th of July weekend, and then get her up and running by the end of the summer, just in time for boost weather. If you guys got any advice or pointers for assembly please let me know!

Feels good to have her heart back on the stand

 

Keep posting bud, Im watching!!!

 

I was able to knock out a good bit of stuff over the long weekend (hopefully I didn't fuck anything up too bad...)
Initial check of valve lash:

After having the valves lapped and supertech 70lb dual springs installed I figured most of them were gonna be out of spec, which they were. All exhaust and 6 intake need to be replaced, on the way from Tasca right now, went with the ford equivalent since they were cheaper than mazda.

Got the crank in


Went with OEM main bolts, shooting for 500 whp so shouldn't be a problem (also ARP mains were on backorder for like 8 months lol)

Got the rods and pistons into the block:


1 & 4 went in no problem, 2 & 3 needed a little more "massaging" to get in their homes but we got em in there. Didn't write anything witty on the pistons because I was too stressed out trying not to mess anything up lol

Got the oil pump in (went ecoboost for the higher oil pressure) as well as the strainer (with o-ring) and oil pan (rtv sucks...)

Also went *ahead* and got the head on:


For some reason the dowel pin hole on the head gasket on the timing side fit suuuuper snug on the dowel pin so it kinda threw the HG outta wack before I threw the head on.


The head seated fine on the block/dowel pins and I couldn't see any obvious distortions in the HG so we're gonna send 'er


Went .030" Cometic MLS, shop said they didn't take off enough to necessitate a thicker headgasket and the MLX is outta stock for several months

Engine wise I'm waiting on the new buckets to get here so I can sure up the valve lash, once that's set then I can time her and button up the engine. In the meantime I knocked out a couple of misc tasks I've been putting off:

Swapped in the hellcat fuel pump for my PI setup


And finally finished up cleaning my HPFP and installing Rey's E85 safe gaskets. First time I tried to do it I fucked the feed fitting all up


I got the little plastic filter out but could not for the life of me get the little brass ring out. Ended up grabbing a new hpfp from a part out for 60$ and just using that fitting.

Also got my new LCAs with powerflex bushings in courtesy of the guys over at Damond (I made sure to torque the front bushing while having the LCA pressed up to simulate ride height)


So yeah basically just waiting on buckets and some misc fuel fittings from Summit then I'll (theoretically) have everything I need to get her up and running.

Definitely stressed that I fucked something up and haven't realized it but if the garage engine build's been done before successfully then shit I can too

If you guys see anything that I did wrong lemme know lol I'll take whatever advice y'all got!

 

Update: So when I first dropped the block off at the shop I asked them to file my rings to .020” top & .023” bottom, but not install them onto the pistons so I could check and verify myself. Well, instead of grinding to what I told them, they went off Manley’s specs (.027” plus) When I first started assembling everything I just said fuck it, bigger ring gap is better than too small & went ahead with the build. However since then it’s just been sitting in the back of my mind like “it may work out, but it may not, and then you’re gonna waste a whole lot more money & time fixing shit” So I finally decided to buy some new rings, ring filer tool, as well as an ARP rod bolt stretch gauge. I’m gonna do it myself and make sure it’s exactly what I want and not “hope” that it works out. While that means I have to remove the head and oil pan which will be a PITA, it’ll be a lot less than having to completely remove the engine from the car another time. And I still don’t have an ETA on when those valve buckets are getting here so I’m not really delaying anything too much. Wish I had just done it myself the first time and made sure it was right but lesson learned. For anyone watching learn from me, for something as important as ring gap, don’t hope it’s right. Know it is.

 

Fun fact. Justin (freek) is using oem main bolts in his drag car at over 1000whp. So you'll be plenty fine at 500

 

Awesome thanks for the reassurance lol

 

Was able to get the pistons & rods back out today, now we play the waiting game…


If you’re like me and got stumped on how to get the rod caps off (since the Manleys have those dowels that the bolts thread through, way too tight to pull off just by hand) keep the rod bolts loosely threaded in (half way or so) and then tap them lightly with a mallet/wood handle/etc. (alternating sides) it’ll separate the cap from the rod itself and you can get the cap off no problemo after that

And so the great journey continues

 

Alrighty we are back in business baby

Filed down my new rings to EXACTLY .020” top and .024” bottom (was going to go .023” but i over-filed the first one I did. Figured if JohnnyT used .024 it’ll be fine for me too since we have similar power goals). Took 4-5 hours but it was very straightforward and the piece of mind I have now about it compared to before (when I had the shop do it) is worth it all on it’s own.



I just followed JohnnyT’s thread, went pretty smooth. Note: the top ring is much tougher than the bottom so whenever you’re transitioning keep that in mind so you don’t over-file (like I did)

Then got the rods and pistons in (second time’s hopefully the charm…)



“Fuck your Subaru” - because there’s literally only shitty STI’s where I live



Used the fancy ARP rod bolt stretch gauge to ensure every bolt was torqued down. Similar to Drew’s post, some were right on the money at 65ft lbs, then some needed upwards of 80.

Finally got the buckets in from Tasca (might be a one off experience but I would not recommend them, very little communication on the status of my order and talking to customer service was like getting teeth pulled)

Got the valve lash back in spec, was repetitive but straightforward. The Ford equivalent buckets worked just fine.


(Don’t do what I did and torque down the cams before installing the head on the block… at least I got real good at taking them on and off lol)

Slapped the head and oil pan back on and now we’re back where I was about 3 weeks ago lol. I will say I am MUCH more confident that everything is kosher internally.



How she sits right now. Hopefully next weekend I’ll be able to time her and then onto getting everything ready to be dropped in!

Still waiting on PTE to fix their ordering system so I can get my 5858, but other than that I “think” I have everything.

 

Alright I’ve been working on timing the engine the past couple days and I’ve got a question:

I followed the forums for how to time the engine, made sure the cam sprockets were loose/able to spin before releasing the tensioner/pulled the tensioner arm towards the guide arm to get as many notches out of the tensioner as possible/etc.

Chain seems to have even tension throughout, no tight spots or binding that I can feel.

Went to check the slack in between the two sprockets after final torque and there’s some noticeable play, I’ll attach a link to a video of it below.

My question is: is this amount of play normal? I’ve seen videos where there’s absolutely no play but I’m not sure what they did different to get that result.

Here’s the video, sorry for the shitty quality YouTube butchered it:

https://youtube.com/shorts/2gSxh59qSAg?feature=share

Again the play isn’t SEVERE, but it is noticeable and I just want to double check with those wiser than I on what’s acceptable.

 

Here’s some pictures as well

 

UPDATE

Used a screwdriver for a little leverage in between the tensioner and the arm, got another notch on the tensioner and the slack seems to have reduced noticeably. Video below

https://youtube.com/shorts/P3HL0tiZpcM?feature=share

Thoughts?
No more droop, straight across between the sprockets

 

Here's my only pic of that. So I've done this a few times (yeppy) when you had cams held in place by special timing plate (TDC compression #1) so you know cams are close to alignment. Tighten to torque intake sprocket with a wrench holding cam shaft at flats (safest to move special plate off intake end so when tighten to torque, no twisting force from cam to plate. Again crank is held in place by bolt stop against #1 crank counterweight. Alignment plate now holding both cams in TDC timing. Then you had exhaust sprocket held on nut just before snug, has to been very close to snug, then when you released chain tensioner chain should be tight, like no play at all without large force between cam sprockets. Then special bolt is still holding crank, special plate is holding cams and lastly the exhaust sprocket nut to torque being very careful to keep wrench on cam flats to not twist cam against nut torquing and special plate.

 

Anyone know if Maisonvi’s crank pulley holder tool is still floating around? Or literally just any good crank pulley holder for the speeds?

 

@Maisonvi

 

Yeah I still have one. I had a few that I was loaning out for free (just shipping) but people are terrible and never return them.

Ive got one left that I can loan out if you want. Hit me up and we can talk.