At least you have an excuse to go for the B16 though - nice and bulletproof. You might consider going for a progressive boost controller next time as it takes the sting out of the power band and is kinder to the engine too.
Well guys - I done blew 'er up. The 4AGTE that is.
Doing a WOT run up through the gears last night I felt the power fall off in 4th and I knew something had gone wrong so I backed off and luckily was
just around the corner from home. Lots of blue smoke out the exhaust as I pulled in to the garage.
I did a compression test and as I removed spark plug from #3 cyl blue smoke was rising out of the plug hole.
Looking into the cylinders #'s 1,2 and 3 are wet on the piston surface and I'm assuming it's oil. #4 is dry. Compression test shows
160psi on #4 and 115psi evenly on #'s 1,2 and 3.
I'll be pulling the engine and replacing with a B16 J-Spec Honda mill. If I rebuild the 4AGE it will go back to Normally Aspirated. Turbo is a
wild ride but comes on the power to suddenly to make the car tractable in the corners.
It was fun tho!
What a shame Steve At least you have an excuse to go for the B16 though - nice and bulletproof.
You might consider going for a progressive boost controller next time as it takes the sting out of the power band and is kinder to the engine too.
dare I ask how many revs you were pulling?
On full throttle acceleration runs I find myself shifting at 6800 (according to the datalogs) - But of course I don't ALWAYS drive it like I
stole it. 
I wonder - It could be a broken ring land or a blown headgasket eh? I suppose a squirt of oil in the cylinder and another compression test will tell
the tale?
G.
Edit - Oil squirted in cylinder brings pressure up to 160psi.
[Edited on 2/25/08 by sgraber]
I'd be suprised if three rings failed at the same time, seems rather unlikely. My guess is the gasket lifted, did steam come out the exhaust or
is there water in the oil, i.e is there cream throth mixed in with it?
Take the head off and check the face is totally flat, it may have a warp in it.
I just replaced the head gasket several months ago. I decided to use a stock hg because I considered it to be a 'fuse' or a weak link, in
case of just this type of event. But I forgot that I had done that!
Good call! So I will do this before going any further. Thanks.
Why a B16 and not the B18C3/5? (Knowing we all have different reasons for different engines.) The larger engine though would give you much needed torque. Heck, how about the K20A2?
I also second going with a larger displacement Honda engine, considering a stock USDM B16 only produced 110+ lb-ft of torque... the stock B18 in my 1990 Integra produced 140hp/120+ lb-ft without VTEC.
I am almost certain it's this one:
B16B
* VTEC
* Found in:
o 1997-2000 Civic Type R[EK9]
+ Displacement: 1595 cc
+ Compression: 10.8:1
+ Bore: 81mm
+ Stroke: 77mm
+ Rod/Stroke ratio: 1.84:1
+ Power: 185 hp (137 kW) @ 8200 rpm & 118 ft·lbf (160 N·m) @ 7500 rpm
+ Redline: 9000 rpm
+ Transmission: S4C With LSD
Steve sounds to me like your Fuse blew alright, the fact that it was blue smoke aint all that serious , if it was white smoke, its all over red rover,
[oil]
i'd put the Honda in any way , much better engine and about a bullet proof as they can get.
Cheers kaspa
Don't forget that hp is for top speed while torque is for acceleration 
quote:
Originally posted by kb58
Don't forget that hp is for top speed while torque is for acceleration
What happened to the Motorbike engine you were once planning on fitting? I thought you already had that. V4 wasn't it?
Surely the bird in hand is better than two in the bush!
Terry
quote:
Originally posted by Spyderman
What happened to the Motorbike engine you were once planning on fitting? I thought you already had that. V4 wasn't it?
Surely the bird in hand is better than two in the bush!
Terry
put the right gasket in the 4age, and have it set up right. nothing wrong with a 4age.
B and D16's throw out more rods through the casing than 4age's so the term bulletproof is quite debatable. Bauke went to 3 good ones in a
year in the mojo, now he has a build one that cost some dear amount of money but stays in one piece,
my old 16v 4age rattled harder than a concrete mixer with stones in it, but went on, and on, and on, and on.... on track also. till I decided for
more power and fitted a 20v oil presure by then on the 16v was reading 0 at idle but still went like mad.
nothing wrong with honda to, but compare a 4age 16v to a D16 honda and a 20v VVT 4age to a B16 v-tec to get the records straight.
what about the 1.8L audi turbo lump.
Grtz Thomas
[Edited on 27/2/08 by thomas4age]
Thomas, your mention of the vvt 20v 4age made me look a little closer at that option.
Turns out the bellhousing on the 16v and the 20v Toyotas are identical and I can even use the existing clutch. The power output and weight between the
B16 and the 20v 1.6 4AGE Silvertop are comparable.
So I just bought one for $400USD and will be installing it this weekend. I will use the B16 for another project.
My 4AGTE ended up having a broken piston ring land.
Fits like a glove it does!
I am missing a few connectors, but expect to have it running soon.
That's great. Same motor I have in my locost, albeit very modified. This maybe the cheapest performance upgrade a 16v owner could do, the 20v
motors have gobs more power for very little money.
-Steve
quote:
Originally posted by Sven
That's great. Same motor I have in my locost, albeit very modified. -Steve
quote:
Originally posted by sgraber
Might I inquire as to the modifications you have made to the 20v?
I have ditched the AFM and going with MegaSquirt which is MAP/TPS based along with a Ford Edis ignition. I have to wonder if ditching the airbox and replacing with some well designed velocity stacks would improve the top end? I suppose it all depends on the length of the stacks...
The head might benefit from some porting too? But most people say that there is not much extra to be had without spending a ton of money.
Thoughts?
Since I am moving from a 16v bluetop to 20v and just bringing the MegaSquirt straight over, there were very few electrical issues.
I have to re-route the exhaust (again...) sigh. And re-route the coolant lines.
Then it's back to the dyno to see where the vvt wants to kick on and to tune the maps.
So many things to do, so little geld.
Quote regarding the VVT:
"Solenoid is earthed via the ECU at approximately 4500 RPM."
I've read it make little difference, I'll be triggering it via the Megasquirt at some point. If you're using the stock ECU it's
all built in.
I have quite a bit of spare parts for the 20v if you're interested ... unlikely, but I thought I ask before sending it up to ebay.
-Steve
What, are you going to hand the parts to yourself? This is a bit much, having an conversation with yourself online. I guess I don't understand
the purpose. For those who don't know, sgraber = Steve = Sven. If the purpose is to keep the thread alive, fair enough, but what's with the
alias?
[Edited on 3/14/08 by kb58]
quote:
Originally posted by Sven
Quote regarding the VVT:
I've read it make little difference, I'll be triggering it via the Megasquirt at some point.
I have quite a bit of spare parts for the 20v if you're interested ... unlikely, but I thought I ask before sending it up to ebay.
-Steve
quote:
Originally posted by sgraber
I have heard exactly the opposite about vvt and that it really behaves like a poor mans VTEC by varying the timing on the intake side. The key when using an aftermarket ECU such as the MS is to make a number of Dyno pulls with the vvt disengaged, then fully engaged. Where the powerbands intersect that's where you engage the vvt. That way if you make modifications to the engine you can tune the vvt to the correct location.
I would be interested in a lightweight flywheel and a number of electrical connectors for the engine senders... My engine did not include a wiring harness and the connectors are all different between the 16v and the 20v --- But I would imagine that is going to be a stretch...
Kurt, you scare me.
I thought some of you might enjoy an update to my engine replacement. It's become a bit of a saga unfortunately.
The 20v Silvertop engine ended up being a complete loss. 3 cracked pistons and rings, Bent crank, bad vvt pulley, and the final straw was the #4 rod
big end had no bearing left, it was in the oil pan in chunks! The rod was ovaled so bad that when you would turn the crank, while the other pistons
would travel, that piston would not move until there was about 10mm piston slop. I'm working with ebay to punish the seller. But that's
another story.
The good news is that I decided to upgrade from the silvertop 20v to a blacktop 20v from the J-Spec Levin AE111. 175hp-120lb/ft 8400rpm redline. I did
buy the engine off of ebay, against my better judgment. Luckily the engine I bought is in superb condition and once I get out of bed due to a bad
back, I look forward to getting that engine in the car!
Here is one horrible sounding 20v silvertop engine video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USvb1nx8r90
Watch the st lazy piston - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lz3zptp-GjM
Here is a photo of the new engine:
