The short block is all buttoned up and on the engine stand but I realized that I didn't not align the oil control ring notch to the tab on the o ring springs. Will they eventually rotate into place or should redo it correctly?

 

In theory they will, but I cannot tell you from personal experience they will...

It would be smart to open the engine and fix it, much easier to when the engine isn't in the car with everything on it....

 

Take it apart, everything will be reusable, just have to remove the rtv you applied. The rings moving around will lead to premature failure if the o rings, which would not be the flavor. Good luck, chalk it up to a lesson learned. I recommend having the fsm right there step by step when you build an engine. Its easy to forget a small step.

 

+1 do it now and don't worry about it...otherwise it will always be there as a question whether or not it rotated. Sucks but like Radial GT said..."lesson learned" we've all been there.

 

Yeah, I knew ultimately that is what needed to be done. Good thing I did as it turns out I had smashed one of the outer coolant o rings in the process. My last build on a FC was a breeze. I had the rebuild video going and paused it at each step to confirm. This time I worked off of a list of notes, hungover, and was beyond impatient as it is my daily driver and been down for a month. Check, double check, triple check. Do it once, do it right as they say.

 

Glad to hear it, and yeah getting impatient always bites you in the behind down the road.

Are you using hylomar on your o-rings? It's a lot better than vaseline for keeping them in place (doesn't cause them to swell up either so you can take your time). Plus I've always wondered if vaseline attacks the integrity of the oring itself, leading to premature coolant seal failures.

 

Out of curiosity, what would happen if he didn't go back and fix this? Just burning oil?

 

Very possible, along with hard starting due to fouling plugs. Extra carbon build-up on the rotor which could lead to apex seal failure / rotor, rotor housing, cast iron damage. Yuk

Glad to hear your doing it right and you pulled it apart. I have built over 20 engines and there are still things that will catch me off guard. Take your time, and use the fsm as will walk you right through the process. Good luck!