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Amc 360 assembly tips |
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Amc wannabe
AMC Apprentice Joined: Jan/08/2014 Location: DE Status: Offline Points: 86 |
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Posted: Jun/13/2019 at 7:08am |
hey all, its been roughly 6 months of waiting and I’m finally about to grab my engine from the machine shop. I had planned on them assembling but that came with the unknown completion date and at this point I’m willing to learn and work to get it done myself. Any tips/tricks or common pitfalls of assembling these amc 360s? I am getting everything I need from the machine shop balanced and cleaned etc. any builders on here have tips on bearing clearance etc? I was planning on finding factory spec, but if that isn’t right for a performance application let me know. Thanks for any and all help!
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BassBoat
AMC Addicted Joined: Aug/29/2008 Status: Offline Points: 1719 |
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I would strongly recommend a TSM "Technical Service Manual" and becoming familiar with it. I assemble my own engines, and I will try and give advice, but you should balance everything you learn on the internet with what the factory recommended procedure said back in the day.
There is one head bolt on the drivers side that needs sealant on the threads, allegedly, because the threaded hole breaks into the water jacket. Not all AMC blocks have that potential leak, easy to check. Checking oil path from cam to timing chain gear without excessive oil slots that bleed off oil pressure through a feed slot that is not blocked by casting flash through eccentric to distributor drive gear held in place with OEM washer that seals the oil to the 4 holes to the teeth of that gear is single most AMC speciific thing I can thing of. There are pictures and diagrams on this forum. The pipe plugs that screw in behind the timing gear are special short plugs. Too long a plug blocks the oil feed to the front cam bearing. I have been bit by that. Thinner gasket between the timing cover and the oil filter will help you minimize the end clearance of the oil pump gears. Make your own, or buy thin ones from Bulltear. 85% of premature engine failures are due to lack of cleanliness during assembly. Brake cleaner is your friend. Oil has to be appropriate for flat tappet cams. I use and recommend Mobil 1 15W50. For break in you also need an additive. Flat tappet cams have to be broken in immediately upon first start up. Make sure you can run your engine at 2000 rpm for 30 minutes the first time you fire it up and that the carb will run. Don't crank and crank and trouble shoot ignition and fueling on a fresh cam. Check everything. Plan to assemble and check clearances and fit and confirm there is no interference, and then disassemble and re-clean and fix any problems you find and only then do the final assembly. You are to be commended for doing it yourself because you can do all this. Crate motor? Pretty sure this step gets left out. Shop assembled? depends on the shop and their timetable and pricing. In my opinion there is one proper way to set rocker geometry. There are lots of ways but the rocker should be perpendicular to the valve at half lift. Period. You need to use a pushrod length that makes it so. This will give max lift and minimum travel of the rocker across the valve stem. If the rocker design is wrong the location won't be centered and you can choose at that time to change rocker arms or accept a compromise in geometry. I have a few things that I do that I am meticulous about/paranoid about/superstitious about that I do. I use copper coat on FelPro head gaskets, I use a bottom tap to tap every blind hole, I missed that the bolt in the front of the crank that holds the damper in place had a 3/8 long insert once so inspect threads even the ones that seem good with a bottom tap.... I use durabond cam bearings as a general rule. I don't use the cheapest parts I can find. The baffle on the intake for the PCV is important. I have been advising a friend who is rebuilding an engine. He watches a lot of YouTube videos. But you know, that is not all bad. As long as you balance what you see with what you read in the TSM you will be good.
Edited by BassBoat - Jun/13/2019 at 9:41am |
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SC397
AMC Addicted Joined: Apr/30/2009 Location: Michigan Status: Offline Points: 5480 |
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I put a lot of info in this thread that you could probably use. Some more stuff in here.
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sweatlock
AMC Addicted Joined: Apr/28/2014 Location: Largo, FL Status: Offline Points: 3322 |
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BJ Builds an AMC
Still available via email in a pdf format for a nominal fee.
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Trader
AMC Addicted Joined: May/15/2018 Location: Ontario Status: Offline Points: 6911 |
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Only bit to add is if your installing your own cam bearings and the camshaft binds it will likely be at the oil passage hole to the bearing. Find the culprit and don't be afraid to do a little bearing scraping.
You could take the bearing out and install a new one just to have the same problem. AMC line bored the cam bearings after installation. If not in your comfort zone, take the block back to the machine shop with the bearings and cam to have them install the bearings. 2 out 3 blocks I've dealt with need this and usually bearing 3 or 4. A PITA to scrape! But do it before installing the bottom end!!! The cam should spin freely with 10W oil first, no bind what so ever. After this clean everything and put in the "cleaned" new cam with assembly lube. Also clean everything, even new lifters, push rods, bearings ... and ensure all parts move freely. If you think it is clean, give it one more cleaning!
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Hurst390
AMC Addicted Joined: Apr/20/2008 Location: secret Status: Offline Points: 5822 |
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Thrust main goes in #3 main saddle.
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SC/Hurst Rambler
11.62 120 100% Street Legal |
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Amc wannabe
AMC Apprentice Joined: Jan/08/2014 Location: DE Status: Offline Points: 86 |
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so what you’re saying about the cam bearings is that I should already have my cam? If that’s the case anyone have suggestions on a hydraulic roller and lifters? I have been lurking and recall tons of talk of certain manufacturers having out of spec stuff. Anybody to look out for? Thinking of getting a whole K kit when I pull the trigger, and from the sounds of it I need to now to fit the cam.
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Trader
AMC Addicted Joined: May/15/2018 Location: Ontario Status: Offline Points: 6911 |
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A cam is the heart beat of an engine and you have to decisions:
race (high RPM, long duration, street (lower RPM especially if manual transmission, short duration), both (sacrifice lower end torque for higher end RPM but will not be a track monster unless transmission and gearing are right on for the build, mid duration). Myself, I build drivers, so approx 1,800 to 5,500 RPM builds, lower end duration but noticeable rumble) (Crane 869531 fits that build for me but have only done one roller cam so would not say experienced in any way!!!). Had a few bad experiences with Comp (hydraulic flat tappet mind you), like Crane, Lunati, and Howards. no experience with others.
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billd
Moderator Group Forum Administrator Joined: Jun/27/2007 Location: Iowa Status: Offline Points: 30894 |
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Factory specs are fine for performance - bearing clearances and all.
Pick an oil from this guy's top of the list and you'll be fine. https://540ratblog.wordpress.com/2013/06/20/motor-oil-wear-test-ranking/ No one has ever complained of a failure using the oils he tests as having the very best wear protection qualities. Modern oils are fine as long as they have the wear protection qualities and you pick from the top of the list. the biggest issues people face are from LACK of ATTENTION TO DETAIL. Cleanliness is not next to godliness - it IS godliness in engine and transmission building. Even lint from cotton rags can mess up oil pickup screens. Clean the heck out of the oil passages and no, a hot tank isn't enough from my experience. I use stainless steel special order white pipe cleaners. They don't bend and kink like cheap ones, don't shed and I don't quit cleaning until they come back out pretty much white. WATCH replacement parts like the cam sprocket (face it a gear is a gear and is cut to run against another gear - these have chains so they have sprockets) Anyway, the cam sprocket from some sources needs to be watched very closely. There are many many posts here about THAT topic and watching the front oil passages related to the cam sprocket, the oil passages, where to watch for flashing blocking things and so on. Keep your old parts to compare to the new - and be aware also of cam sprocket oil passages not lining up properly with the oil channels of the cam. Have to agree on rocker arm to valve stem contact if you have made any changes - like head milling, or truing up, and so on - otherwise the rocker can push sideways on the valve, spend too much time wiping across the end of the valve and not pushing on it - friction, wear, heat. It should be centered and not move across a lot - and for that you need that right angle so that it's in the middle of the arc when it is half-way down. I used a sharpie to mark the end of the valve and keep track of where the rocker contacted the valve full closed to full open and back. Nice narrow pattern centered and ended up with perfect lifter pre-load but had to shim the rockers a bit to get there. Edited by billd - Jun/13/2019 at 11:13pm |
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FSJunkie
AMC Addicted Joined: Jan/09/2011 Location: Flagstaff, AZ Status: Offline Points: 4742 |
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Clearances in the factory service manual: follow them.
Torque specs in the factory service manual: follow them. New production replacement parts: assume they don't fit and function properly until you verify for yourself. |
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