Final Assembly

You can rent an engine hoist at a local equipment rental store. I would suggest you rent or buy an engine leveler to go with it. I thought I could get away with not doing it and it was a pain in the ass to get the engine back in. Make sure you have someone to help you because you need someone to slowly lower the engine while the other person guides it in. When you get the mounts lined up put the bolts in  and tighten them down. Since I did not have a leveler the engine kept going in crooked and the mounts wouldn't line up so I had to get them as close as possible and literally get up on the car and stand on the mount closest to the passenger compartment to get the holes to line up. I used a jack on the mount closest to the radiator to get those holes to line up. The mount on the front of the engine was lined up by that point so I put the bolt back in. The larger mount bolt on the front of the engine needs to to torqued to 80 ft lbs while the 2 side bolts need to be torqued to 40 ft lbs. Remember that water pipe that goes from the water pump to the water neck attached to the transmission, now is the time to put some gasket sealer around the o-ring and put it in. Next is the transmission. To make it easier for the output shaft to slide into the clutch disc use a small amount of grease on the end of the output shaft, and I do mean a small amount because the grease can make it's way up to the clutch and cause it to slip on the flywheel. You will need to remove the mount from the transmission or you will never get it in place. You can use the hoist to lower it in but it only weighs about 70 lbs, so all you need is someone to help you put a jack under it and raise it up through the bottom. Just jack the car up enough to slide the transmission under the engine compartment facing the right direction. Then lower the car almost all the way down. If you are strong enough, pick the transmission up enough to get the jack under the transmission. Note: Only choose not to use a hoist if you are not strong enough to lift the transmission several times ( I am pretty strong and I was dog tired after only lifting the transmission about 4 times because unless the base of the jack is wide enough the trans will slide off of it) After the transmission is high enough have your helper put a 1/2 drive breaker bar in the crankshaft pulley bolt and nudge the crankshaft in a clockwise direction. All you are doing is trying to line up the teeth on the clutch plate with the splines on the output shaft of the trans, so it doesn't take much turning to get it to line up. Once the crankshaft has been nudged enough the transmission will slide nicely into place and you can thread the bolts in. There are 4 bolts on top of the transmission, one on the left side of the engine that must be accessed through a hole in the motor mount closest to the radiator, and one on the right side of the engine near the location for the clutch slave cylinder. All 6 bolts must be torqued to 80 ft lbs. There are 4 other bolts that connect the transmission stays that are located at the bottom of the engine. These things did not line up for me and there was no way of fixing that issue without unbolting the motor mounts from the engine so I left them unbolted, the 6 main bolts will keep the transmission and engine together so there shouldn't be a problem if the stays are not bolted up. Next are the axles. The driver's side axle is held in place by the carrier bearing backet that bolts to the engine. I lost the bolts to the bracket, so if this happens to you go to Advance Auto and ask for a course threaded class 8 M10 bolt. Grease both ends of the axle and slide one end into the transmission then the other end through the splines in the hub and bolt the strut bracket back on the hub. Crawl under the car and put the 2 bolts in the carrier bearing bracket and tighten them to 30 ft lbs. Make sure to use lock washers you do not want those to come out when you are driving the car or the drivers axle will fly apart. The passenger side axle will have to be hammered in because of the spring clip on the end of the shaft. Slide the axle in as far as you can and take a rubber mallet and hit in until you feel it give way and hit it once more to make sure it is all the way in. A rubber mallet does not have as much driving force as a regular hammer so you will need to swing that rubber mallet pretty hard. DO NOT USE A REGULAR HAMMER BECAUSE YOU CAN DAMAGE THE THREADED END OF THE SHAFT AND YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO PUT ON THE AXLE BOLT. Slide the axle through the hub and bolt back up the strut bracket. Note: The strut bracket bolts need to be torqued to 60 ft. lbs. Put your front wheels back on and that is it for the hard stuff. Next bolt the transmission mount back on and tighten the 3 bolts on the transmission to 80 ft lbs. The big bolt the goes through the mount also needs to be tightened to 80 ft lbs. Bolt the starter back on, tighten the bolts to 25 ft lbs.Next is the intake plenum. put some gasket sealer on both sides of the gasket and put it in place, then put the plenum on and tighten it to the 14 ft lbs. Reconnect all electrical wires, fuel lines (be careful not to over tighten or you will strip out the aluminum fuel rail), coolant lines, intake piping, power steering lines, throttle cable, and exhaust pipes (30 ft pounds, those bolts are M12 with a 1.25mm thread depth just in case you want to buy more from Lowe's) Turn your crankshaft so that it is 5 degrees BTDC of the compression stroke and drop the distributor in with it pointing towards the number 1 firing position (use the cap as a reference). Put spark plugs in and connect the wires. Connect the coil wire. Bleed the clutch lines ( the best way to do that is to buy a brake bleeder vacuum pump from Harbor Freight Tools for $30, it is much faster than having someone push the clutch several times). Bolt the battery tray in. Reconnect the shifter cables and use cotter pins to secure them. Reattach the cable to the speed sensor on the trans. Reattach the speed-o-meter cable. Reattach the wires to the starter, alt, oil pressure switch, oil pressure sender ( if you break the wire to the sender it is grouped with the A/C lines and it is a yellow wire with a red stripe), and A/C wires. At this point the engine should be ready to fire up. Make sure you refill the anti-freeze, engine oil (if you haven't already), power steering fluid, and trans fluid to recommended level. If you want to prime the oil pump by letting the starter crank the engine do not waste you time and battery. I did this for about 20 minutes and all it did was over heat the starter and kill the battery. Start the engine (pay attention to the oil pressure gauge if it doesn't start to climb in the first 5-10 seconds then shut the engine off if it does then leave the engine running), adjust the distributor to smooth out the idle, adjust your idle screw so that it idles at 700 rpm. Check for leaks by looking under the car and around the engine. If the engine smokes a little do not be alarmed because it takes a little time before all the gaskets will get their proper seal. Let the engine warm up, pay close attention to the thermometer to make sure it doesn't over heat. Let the engine run for about 30 minutes then take it for a test drive. DO NOT drive it like you stole it but at the same time DO NOT baby it either. Running it kind of hard helps the piston rings and valve seats set faster, and the added engine warmth will help the gaskets set faster. HAPPY CRUISING and remember to change the oil after the first 100 and 1000 miles before you go back to the regular interval. The initial break in leaves a lot of metal in your oil from the rings and bearings and that buildup can clog your oil lines and cause your motor to lock up.

Reassembly

First you will put on the oil pump. Put some gasket sealer on the pump mating surface and the block then put the gasket on and bolt it to the engine. I believe the torque specs were 18 ft lbs but don't quote me on this I am trying to do this from memory because I finished reassembling the engine back in mid August. Next is the rear main seal. Put some gasket sealer on the block and the assembly mating surface and put the gasket on and bolt it to the engine. Then put the rear main seal in the assembly and tap it in with a hammer and small socket. Next you will need to reattach the oil filter suction tube. Place a small amount of gasket sealer on the tube's mating surface and the oil pump and put the gasket on and bolt it to the engine to 12 ft lbs. Next is the girdle. Place to girdle with the arrows pointing to the front of the engine. There are 8 bolts holding the girdle on, you will need to start with the middle four bolts and put them on in a criss-cross pattern, then do the same to the outside four bolts. Those will be tightened to 58 ft lbs. Tighten in stages start with 30 ft lbs then tighten to 58 ft lbs. This is done so that the girdle doesn't go on crooked because it will cause damage when the engine is running again. Note: if the bolts do not go on easily then the girdle is crooked and you will need to smack it in place with a rubber mallet. Next is the oil pan. The rebuild kit comes with a shitty cork oil pan gasket and they tear very easily so I went to Advance Auto and got a rubber one, it even comes with plastic guide screws for easy assembly. Put a bead of gasket sealer around the mating surface of the pan and the block then put the guide screws in and put the gasket on. Lower the pan onto the block and remove the guide screws. Put the oil pan bolts back on and tighten them in a criss-cross pattern to 12 ft lbs.  Next, you can turn the engine upside right and turn the crankshaft so that the number 1 piston is in top-dead-center then put the head gaskets on and put the heads on. The heads have 8 bolts holding them on and you will need to bolt them on in a criss-cross pattern to 40 ft lbs for the first stage, then to 60 ft lbs for the second, and finally 80 ft lbs. Note: If the camshaft and rocker assembly is attached to the head then make sure the timing marks are lined up so that when you bolt the heads back on you do not tighten an open valve on to a top dead center piston.  If you didn't put the camshaft and rocker assembly on the head during head reassembly now would be the time to do it. Note: If you didn't have the hydraulic lifter keepers and didn't use small pieces of duct tape then here is a hint. When you put the rocker assembly back on make sure the arrows are all pointing the righ direction and make sure they are pointing to the front of the engine. Do not tighten it all the way so that you can have enough clearance between the rocker arm and the valve to put the lifter in plunger up so that the diesel fuel doesn't run out and the lifter doesn't fill back up with air. After all the lifters are put back on then tighten the rocker assembly to the specified torque ( I do not remember what it was so you will need to look it up). Next is the water pump. Place some gasket sealer on the pump's mating surface and the block in a thin bead and bolt it to the engine to 18 ft lbs. The pipe that goes down the center of the engine will need  new O-rings and those come with the kit. Set the pipe to the side we will deal with it later. Next is the power steering bracket. Bolt it on to 25 ft lbs. Next is the timing belt tensioner and spring ( I bough a new spring from 3sx.com for $7 and a new tensioner from Advance Auto for about $30). Put the tensioner on the motor and just put the bolt in enough to hold it in place, then put the spring on the tensioner and use a flat head screwdriver to put the spring on the nipple that sticks out from the front of the oil pump.  With the crank and cam shafts lined up with the timing marks, take the new timing belt and start with the cam shaft on the left ( sitting in front of the motor while it is on the stand), put the timing belt on the left cam shaft and down around the water pump pulley then up to the right camshaft and down to the crankshaft pulley then around the tensioner. Be patient you may have to do this process a few times because the new spring will be tight and make this process a bit of a headache, and no matter what, do not use any tool to stretch the spring out or to force the belt on or you will regret it later. After the belt is on turn the engine one full revolution and check the timing marks (make sure you turn the engine clockwise DO NOT TURN THE ENGINE COUNTER CLOCKWISE or the tensioner will lose tension and the belt will jump time) If the timing marks are good then that is good, if not you will need to take the belt back off and do it over. This process is the most crucial it is also the biggest pain in the ass. After the belt is on and the marks are good you can put the motor mount back on. There are 2 separate sizes of bolts used for the mounts the M10 bolts need to be tightened to 40 ft lbs and the M12 bolts need to be tightened to 80 ft lbs. The M12 nuts that are on the front mount also need to be tightened to 80 ft lbs. All of these bolts should be tightened in stages. The M10 bolt should be done to 20 ft lbs, then 40 ft lbs. The M12 bolts and nuts should be tightened to 40 ft lbs, then 60 ft lbs, then 80 ft lbs. Do this will all 3 motor mounts and the 2 transmission stay plates that attach to the transmission. Next it is time for the intake manifold. The gaskets to these are lead based so you should wear gloves for these. Put some gasket sealer on both sides of the gasket and slip it down over the bolts and on to the engine. Then lower the intake manifold on with the water neck towards the rear of the engine and tighten the nuts to the specified torque in a criss-cross pattern. Then put some duct tape over the holes so that nothing falls down into the intake, it would also be a good idea to put some tape over the distributor hole as well. Put the new gaskets on the valve covers and put some gasket sealer on the mating surface of the heads and tighen the two bolts for each of the covers to 18 ft lbs. Then put the fuel rail back on and tighten it to 18 ft lbs. Next is the exhaust manifolds. Put the gaskets on then the manifolds and tighten in a criss-cross pattern to 18 ft lbs. Note: the exhaust manifolds are different and most be put back on in the right place. If you are unsure about the right place then you will have to wait until the engine is back in to see if they line up with the exhaust pipes because they are not marked. Next is the dip stick. You should change the O-ring on the end of the tube with a new one from the kit. Note: The kit comes with everything you will need for the engine for every vehicle it was available in so you will not use everything so there will be plenty of the small o-rings left over. Then bolt the dip stick to the engine. Note: I did not find the torque specs for the dip stick so I just tightened it by hand. Next is the transmission gasket ( you will not find one in the kit), it is the large thin metal shield that was bolted to the engine. I forgot to put this back on before I put the flywheel and clutch assembly back on and I didn't realize it until it was time to reattach the transmission. Next is the flywheel. Put some anti-seize on the bolts and tighten them in a criss-cross pattern to the specified torque. Lastly is the clutch assembly. You will need a clutch alignment tool and the only way to get one of the plastic ones is to buy a new clutch, which would be a good idea if you had the flywheel turned or if it is an old clutch. My clutch was replaced in January of this year so I kept it. I bought a clutch pilot bearing alignment tool from Harbor Freight Tools for $8 and it worked perfectly. Congrats! The engine is fully assembled and ready to go back in.

Pistons and Rods.

You will need to either buy a small shop press or you will need to take your old pistons to a machine shop to have the piston pins pressed out. New pistons will come with the rebuild kit so these will need to be connected to the rods and new pins pressed in. If you are doing this yourself with a shop press you will have 6 pistons to practice which is the best way to position the piston so that you do not crack the pistons. If you break the old ones it is no big deal because you are replacing them anyway. After you have put on the new pistons and pressed in the pins it is time to put on the compression rings. Start with the oil ring (the funky shaped gold ring) place it in the bottom groove. Then put 2 of the really thin rings, one on either side. In the package for the rings you will notice one says "1" and the other says "2". "2" is the first ring that goes on and it goes in the 2nd groove from the top. "1" goes in the top groove. Use a set of piston ring pliers to put them one. I did mine by hand and it was a pain in the ass. After you have put them on it is time to put the new bearing into the rod and rod cap. You will notice a groove in one end of the rod and cap, there will also be a groove on the bearing. Fit the grooves together and push the bearing into the rod and cap. Both grooves will need to be on the same side once the cap has been put back on the rod. Now it is time to put the pistons back in the motor. You will notice an arrow on the top of the piston, these arrows need to be pointed towards the front of the engine, if they aren't then you will mash your valves. Turn the engine upside down. Use a piston ring compressor to put the pistons back in the engine. When I did this process I turned the engine upside down and put one if the middle pistons in and bolted it to the crankshaft. I also temporarily put the oil pump and rear main seal assembly back on just to hold the crankshaft in place because you will have to turn the engine on it's side to put the pistons back in. I also had a problem with one of the rods. When I tightened it to specs it wouldn't allow the crankshaft to turn. I found out the rod was out of round and this problem is only discovered once new bearings are put in. As the old rod became out of round it wore the bearing down so that it was still round and once the new bearings are put in it becomes out of round again. If this happens you can either buy a new one or you can have it machined. Most places have a single rod brand new for well over $100 but I bought a reconditioned one from DSMgraveyard.com for $35.00. Once all the pistons are put back in and torqued to 38-40 ft lbs you can take the oil pump and rear main seal assembly back off.Make sure your crankshaft turns easily. Now it is time to reassemble the engine.