Parksy's v4

[Parksy]

Gday Brian, thanks for the suggestion. This is something that I've been thinking about. I've thought about using clear tube as a sight gauge as it gives me a chance to monitor the level. But then it's not something I'm 100% on at this stage.

 

[Jyman]

Couldn't you take a small round piece of glass and make a hole to fit the glass into and seal it with silicone or some other type of sealant.

Or would that have to great of a chance of leaking?

 

[Parksy]

Gday Jyman, not a bad idea. My concern is that I need the oil level to be higher than the sumps highest level, so the gauge would need to transition between the sump and the block.

 

[Parksy]

Cut some stock and milled to size and attachment holes drilled to create the heads. This isn't the final shape of the heads and I'm thinking of somehow having the rocker gear recessed into the heads slightly.

 

[Parksy]

Knocked up what will eventually be one of the camshafts. Material is silver steel. I still haven't worked out a firing order yet, so will be a little while until I work on this again.

 

[Parksy]

Started on a frame to support the engine. Need to counter bore the mounting holes and possibly chamfer the edges. Not sure if I'm happy with the height or if I should lower the vertical posts by a little. It's made from 304 stainless so it has some mass to it. Hopefully absorb some vibrations if this thing runs.

 

[IceFyre13th]

I still haven't worked out a firing order yet, so will be a little while until I work on this again.

1 4 3 2 would be standard firing order

 

[Cogsy]

More conventional for a V4 would be 1-3-2-4 like the Ford V4's used.

 

[IceFyre13th]

Why did Ford fire left bank right bank, just about every other V4 fires as I stated.......Front left, rear right, rear left rear right, it made balancing the engine easier.

Fords Essex V4's have to be externally balanced (via a balance shaft) to achieve that firing order and they were 60 degree blocks. "The engines were infamous for their rough running characteristics and reliability problems such as the tendency for these engines to have head gasket leaks." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Essex_V4_engine)

90 degree blocks are the smoothest running design and do not require external balancing.

The answer to my question at the top......."Ford has a better idea" (sarcasm implied...lol)

 

[Cogsy]

Maybe just for that funky sound...

 

[Parksy]

Thanks for the information guys, keep it up. More info the better!

Anyway, I chamfered the edges on the frame. Also made the con rods. Material is 7075 aluminium. I wasn't sure how well this material performs so I made the con rods beefy. Probably over kill but the weight is still very low so hopefully all good and doesn't introduce any excessive vibrations.
Small end bearings will be bronze and pressed in, big ends will be split bronze bushes.

 

[Longboy]

...those con rods are about right for a model top fuel drag car engine.

 

[Parksy]

Haha cheers longboy.

Testing to see that the rods fit and spin freely within the block. Had to file small sections within the block where I was getting interference but all is good now.

 

[Parksy]

Big end bearings are done. LG2 bronze. Pistons have also been started. I've machined the Pistons 0.02mm under bore size. Is this gap too small?
The pic shows it freshly parted off. No finger prints on it yet...







I just bought myself a small sand blasting cabinet and some glass bead media. Is this the preferred material to use for aluminium? If anyone has tips to share id appreciate this.

 

[Parksy]

Pistons are done. Next will be small end bearings and some gudgen pins and hopefully assemble it and make sure all spins well. Then will make some piston rings.

 

[Jyman]

It's coming together nicely, those connecting rods sure are beefy!!! I'm sure you could drop some weight on them if you needed to. I can't wait to see this thing run

 

[Parksy]

Thanks Jyman. The more I work on this build the more confident I feel about it. I have purchased the ignition components required and will utilise a Hall effect ignition system with a wasted spark. This way I can get away without using a distributor.

The gudgen pins and small end bearings are complete and pressed into the con rods.

 

[Parksy]

Tested out the new sand blast cabinet and I love it. Sand blasted the bottom end and cylinder heat sinks and it has given it a uniform appearance.
I've pressed in one side of the crank bearings, this allows me to still insert and remove the crankshaft for testing purposes. Installed all pistons and connecting rods and ran it on the lathe. The big end bearings are tight and I've never had luck with them just working, they always require running in first. The crank journals are 0.02mm under (9.98mm) and the big ends are reamed to 10mm. Is this too tight?
The current setup will work once it's run in, then I'll make the piston rings and bed them in. Progress is good!

 

[Cogsy]

I'm not sure you should 'bed in' the piston rings - not if you plan on using cast iron rings. In theory (at least in full size operation) it's much better to run the rings under operating conditions rather than light load - or in this case no load. Otherwise you risk 'glazing' the bore and end up with worse sealing than if you'd left them alone to run in under operation. I've built a couple of I.C. engines with homemade cast iron rings and I haven't run them in at all before starting the engine. The compression increase once they've run awhile is huge - some of that is the valves sealing better after seating properly but some is surely due to the rings bedding themselves in to a true running fit under compression forces. Just my 0.02c (and probably not worth that much).

 

[mayhugh1]

I agree with Cogsy. I 'motor' mine in for a short while just to verify the oil and coolant pumps are doing their job reliably. I realize this may be a religious topic with some, and so consider it only an opinion. - Terry