Yes, it's a good article, you won't go wrong following his advice
Engine break-in is important, tradition is to use a non-detergent oil so the rings will bed in
Engine break-in with a new cam installed: Don't let the engine idle. Immediately
run it at 2000 RPM for 20 minutes to properly bed the lifters to the cam without damaging the lobes
Internally balanced, yes. Unlike certain engines (example: 400 Chevrolet V8) which have external balance parts like the flywheel and/or pulley dampener -- the crank, etc is still balanced, but the balance is not complete without the proper off-center weighted pulley & flywheel
Genuine Nissan parts are of such high tolerance (e.g. weigh the same) that if you replace a piston, the engine doesn't need rebalancing. However, aftermarket pistons may be heaver or lighter than the factory part -- or factory piston may be a different part number than the original piston, so if you weigh the replacement pistons and they are different the engine should be rebalanced. For example, there are at least four different genuine Nissan A15 pistons in the STD size
The article says:
Quote:
The factory says to replace the rod-bolts on every rebuild
For A-series engines, the factory service manual says nothing about replacing the rod bolts. Nissan Competition said they should be but they also incorrectly
said they were stretch bolts. And the articles says that used bolts work great, same as people here have found
On his Fel-Pro gasket comments, I too have found them to be good. Except for the Fel-Pro print-o-seal type head gasket, which has leaked coolant in some instances