Rebuilding an 3.8L SC engine for my SC, need advice please....

phils89sc

Registered User
I recently purchased another complete engine for my 89 SC (my engine in the car now has 230K miles). I am going to rebuild this engine that I bought. I am no novice to engine rebuilding but have never done so on anything like the SC. I know that since the heads are aluminum, that they MUST be milled and use new head bolts (originals are torque to yield). Is there any other areas of concern or high failure points that should be addressed? I want this new motor to give me another 230K miles of reliable service, but me a little more stout than the factory engine.

Thanks

Phil stocker
 
When doing the main bearings, the rear main is .010 undersized. I almost forgot when I started to put mine back together. I'm in the process of rebuilding mine also. Is I find anything else I'll post it.
 
Well to do it so that it will guaranteed give you that much more mileage, I recommend several things.

1. I would get the block cleaned, bored, honed, and magnafluxed. Having 230K miles on the car I believe that the taper in the cylinder walls would be a bit, so it will need the boring to bring them back straight. Once they are bored then you will need to get new pistons.

2. I would get the crank ground, pistons, and connecting rods balanced. This will allow the engine to run better, no eccentric running problems that cause uneven wear.

3. I would port the exhaust manifolds. The exhaust that ford put stock on our cars is ridiculous.

I'm also going to be starting my engine rebuild when the weather gets a bit warmer. For now I'm just stock piling parts and dreams.

Good Luck!!
 
Use the ARP head studs and {be sure to use sealnt on the short
bolts. No more tork to yeild crap.
 
RECON

Have you considered RECON on the east coast.
They have rebuilt many SC engines....the going prices is about $1500....and the guys know them well....

Actually call Mancini's 215-727-4329.....

I have rebuilt engines and never had good results.
I'm not saying you're not good at this...but consider the price....
RECON claims their engines are "better than new".
 
Prefer to do myself because....

I have a really hard time trusting others with work I can simply do myself. I have been shafted several times over the years and refuse to let other people take advantage of me. Not to say the people you mentioned are not good, they may well be awesome, but I am forever a skeptic, and always will be. If I were to let someone rebuild an engine for me, I would have to be standing there right beside them, watching, and making sure they only use high quality parts, and not no-name cost savers. I also believe that you get what you pay for in this world. What normally costs say $2000.00 and you get a "great deal" say for $1400.00, well, let's just say there are some corners being cut somewhere.

Anyway, I appreciate the advice, but I am happy doing my own for as long as I am able.

Thanks

Phil Stocker
 
1989-1993 Ford 3.8l V6 engines have had many head gasket problems. No matter what you do to the heads, they are not going to seal properly once removed because Ford used the "cheapest" head vendors possible for these engines. If fact, Ford bought many of these cars back because they didn't want to continue to pay for warranty repairs.

Ok, back to the point. If I was you I would do all the work youself, but pay close attention to the crank journals. These are problem areas for the 3.8l.
It sounds like you are capable of the job, so just do it. I've done two so far and they were easy. Plus you'll have that good feeling of knowing that you did it yourself.

Then when you say "Whos your Daddy?" to your SC, you'll know the answer!
 
Some tips:

- PORT THE HEADS!!!!! By far the single best mod you can do. Even with stock valves, immense gains can be made. Especially to the exhaust flow.

- Use Federal Mogul main bearings. They're 3/4 groove to help oil the rods. And they come in sets for the SC so you don't have to worry about the .010" under rear main. Well... just make sure you put the bearings in the right spot. :)

- Use King rod bearings. They're known in the racing world to be the best there is. Contrary to the above posts, the rod bearings get beat on much worse in an even fire V6 'cause they're so narrow.

- Have the rods reconditioned with ARP bolts. 2300 4cyl (pinto) rod bolts are identical.

- BHJ balancer. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT reuse a factory damper. The cheap aluminum hub gouges really bad and doesn't fit properly the second time. Trust me, I wouldn't have hounded BHJ to make the dampers for us if I thought the factory piece was capable.

- Have the block at least hot tanked/baked, power honed and the decks milled. The factory milling is too rough for head gasket longevity. The aluminum heads will need milled just 'cause the head gaskets will brinel the aluminum, i.e. leave a ring.

- ARP head studs torqued to 70 ft-lbs.

- What year is the core engine? If it's an '89, make sure it's not one of the early models with the cast crank. They're junk.

- Open up the exhaust as much as possible. Ported manifolds, hi flow cats and a dual 2 1/4"-3"-dual 2 1/4" system will work great for most cars.

Most of all, HAVE FUN!!!

Later,
Steve
 
I really appreciate everyone's help...

As for what year the motor is, it is from a 92 SC 5speed (salvage yard. I paid a whopping $200.00 for the engine, complete from accessories to flywheel/clutch sans the inlet pipe on the supercharger. Although I have not taken apart the engine as of yet, it appears to be in good shape, spins freely with no hint of binding. I had already planned on having the motor cleaned and tanked, along with several other parts. As far as all the other stuff, I would not have know without everyones help. Thanks again, and keep it coming!!

BTW, any tips on porting the heads, feel free to pass them on. I have never ported aluminum before, need to know what kind of bit and ect. to use.

Thanks

Phil Stocker
 
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