What To Fix Before Upgrading...

[Whorse]

I just bought an 89 Turbo Caravan. Needs a new cylinder head according to the mechanic that the previous owner took it to. It did start when I put a battery on it, but lots of white smoke out the back, and it looks like there's water in the oil, but no oil in the coolant. Made some kind of squeaking noise after running for a minute, not sure if it was a belt or something rubbing from the oil inside being shot.

It's got a really small rad, looks like it's from an omni. Not sure if that's stock, but it might help the overheating problem if I put a larger rad on.

If what he's told me is all that is wrong, would a basic tuneup and a new head be enough to safely try and pry some more power out of it, or should I be looking into a full rebuild first?

The transmission (auto) is recently rebuilt, and looks great. Should I be looking at any small transmission upgrades to take the power, or is the rebuild sufficient?

End goal is around 20-25psi with a few of the obvious upgrades (intercooler, fuel injectors, mild head port, larger exhaust)

[Tony Hanna]

I'd be sure and check the bores while the head is off. Chances are if there isn't much of a ridge or any major scoring, you can get away without new pistons and rings. Also, since there's been coolant in the oil, I'd definately pull the pan and check/replace the bearings. Running contaminated oil is really rough on them.
HTH,

[turbovanman²]

Best would be to bring it to me,


Seriously, I would drain the coolant, then change the oil with cheap stuff, run it for a few minutes and see what she sounds like. Then do a compression test to get a baseline. I bet the head is just fine and the gasket is blown, the usual.

[Whorse]

Well I'm hoping to do a G-Head anyways, and it's a joint project with my close friend, and he's wanting to learn a lot of this stuff. Might come out for a day to see what you've done on your van though.

For now hoping to go pretty cheap, and only spend money on important upgrades or repairs, then save the more expensive stuff for later (IE Bigger Turbo).

[Will Martin]

Check the waterpump. The squeeling sound was probably the pump and it's possibly going out. Do what Simon suggested plus change the pump. The van is probably overheating because the pump isn't doing it's job.

[Subliminal]

If'n it were me, I'd order a new head gasket, new head bolts, a dist. cap and rotor, new plugs (maybe a heat range colder), new wires, a new fuel filter, new air filter, and pcv valve.

Then, I'd pull the head to find the bad head gasket. I don't think I'd spend money on a new head yet, as you don't know if yours is bad, and you don't know if the van is worth spending money on yet.

Replace the head gasket, do the full tune-up, replace your fluids, and like was said before, run some oil through it, drain and refill. Maybe run the oil for a day or so./...maybe a quick blast around town.

Oh yeah, and don't even THINK of exceeding stock boost until you know where your motor stands.

[Whorse]

Good post. I think most of that goes without saying, as any vehicle should be brought up to proper operation condition before increasing the performance. I'm probably going to go with a G-head in the end, so I will probably just do that when I take the engine apart. This is a project so time isn't as much of an issue as if it was a daily driver.

I'm curious about the radiator though. Did the vans really come with one that small? Looks about half the size of the T1 rads I've seen in any other car.

[turbovanman²]

Good post. I think most of that goes without saying, as any vehicle should be brought up to proper operation condition before increasing the performance. I'm probably going to go with a G-head in the end, so I will probably just do that when I take the engine apart. This is a project so time isn't as much of an issue as if it was a daily driver.

I'm curious about the radiator though. Did the vans really come with one that small? Looks about half the size of the T1 rads I've seen in any other car.

Yes, the rad is THAT small, lol! but it does a good job of keeping it cool.

I don't know what a g-headed van runs like but we need all the torque we can get, using the swirl head,

[Subliminal]

Honestly, when i switched my van to a g head, i didn't notice any less torque. Drivability actually increased...it seemed to love the g head. Of course, i had a nice exhaust and an NPR intercooled garret on there too, but out of boost driving seemed ok.

[Whorse]

I think the 2.5's in general like the G head, so I'm willing to go for it. Intercooler ideas will be another thought as well. Maybe a cummins if I can find one for cheap.

[Tony Hanna]

I still say pull the pan off and check/replace the bearings. It's gonna suck if you put a bunch of work into it now and then end up with bottom end trouble later.
Besides, it's so cheap and easy to do, it's just good preventative maintenence.

[jre97]

I still say pull the pan off and check/replace the bearings. It's gonna suck if you put a bunch of work into it now and then end up with bottom end trouble later.
Besides, it's so cheap and easy to do, it's just good preventative maintenence.

+1 and you can eliminate the balance shafts while you're in there. Good insurance. I'd at least pull one rod cap and inspect the bearings for pitting or brass. You can do all of this pretty easy without taking the motor out.

[turbovanman²]

I think the 2.5's in general like the G head, so I'm willing to go for it. Intercooler ideas will be another thought as well. Maybe a cummins if I can find one for cheap.

Talk to Will Martin, I think he has one.

[Whorse]

+1 and you can eliminate the balance shafts while you're in there. Good insurance. I'd at least pull one rod cap and inspect the bearings for pitting or brass. You can do all of this pretty easy without taking the motor out.

Well, the engine is going to be coming out, and if it's not too expensive, overhauled.

What am I looking at in terms of $$$ for forged piston rods, bearings and crank?

Also, what's the consensus on getting the G-Head drilled for coolant lines? It's costly from what I hear, and I've been told it's not really necessary, more of a high end thing to do.

I'm thinking 88TBI Roller Cam for cost vs. performance. Is this really involved or should I just find a good slider cam (not a fan of the slider as my 87TBI is LOUD).

I don' t need to have the engine reinstalled until the summer, so it's not a problem to do some extra work while it's off (SV and DP upgrade?).

Headers/Exh. Man is another consideration while it's off.

The only times I've had an engine apart it was just sent to the machine shop to check the bores and piston heads, so I'm not too familiar with that. Hoping to learn a bit on this project as well, so any advice is .

If I remove the balance shafts, should I look into a better oil pump, or is the stock pump sufficient? I'd also like to make sure that it gets sufficient cooling, so I would like to know what to check on the water pump and which/if any modifications to the cooling system are necessary (probably going to use a T1 rad).

The body isn't in spectacular shape and this isn't a show vehicle, more of a sleeper for some fun with a good drivetrain that could be transferred to another vehicle if wanted. That said, modifying the body to fit an exhaust or intercooler isn't an issue.

Is there anything worth looking into changing on the wiring harness?

Shortening the vacuum lines will probably be done once the engine is re-installed.

Tranny is recently rebuilt, so I'd like to leave it alone if I can. If not, what should I be looking to upgrade (stock auto).

That pretty much covers everything I can think of. Thanks for all the input on this thread.

[turbovanman²]

Holy 1000 questions.

First off, I have no idea what your talking about when you say coolant lines for the G-head??????

Get all new hardware for the engine, ARP everything and use main and head studs.

Have the stock rods deburred, shot peened, resized. Crank if ok just get polished and BALANCE the engine. NT Machine in Langely rocks-he has a torque plate for our engines. Have the block decked also.

Pistons are roughly $3-400 from TU or FWD, use whatever brand you like.

Oil pump, a new stocker is fine, do the oil hole mod, add the MP spring, modify the pickup and baffle the oil pan.

Tranny, ge a high stall or keep the stocker, the hi stall was worth a few 10th's for me in the 1/4. Do all the mods per the stickys at TD.

Get a bigger tranny cooler and run synthetic flud. Shim up your spider gears so get rid of the slop and add the diff pin case savers.

Sliders suck, so use the 88 2.2 TBI, stock cam or the Taft S1. I would run PT lifters and conical valve springs. Mild port job. 3 inch exhaust and DP.
If you run the TBI, you need to play with cam timing as it will be 4 deg advanced, whichis good for bottom end but I would get an adjustable cam gear-best money I ever spent.

[Whorse]

I read somewhere (GD?) that the G-Head doesn't have all the coolant lines that the swirl head does to match the later blocks, and you can get it drilled to match.

[turbovanman²]

I read somewhere (GD?) that the G-Head doesn't have all the coolant lines that the swirl head does to match the later blocks, and you can get it drilled to match.

Ok, not coolant lines- holes. They don't have the cross drills. You can just match the location up using the old head and drill them.

[james]

or not drill them at all. it wont hurt a thing to run a non cross drilled head on a cross drilled block. done it too many times.