Engine Strip Down

[Tatey]

Originally Posted by car.mad

that 'paint can lid' is the oil filter that should be replaced.

Thats not at all embarrassing . Can you tell i havent spent much time around car engines

Im plan at the moment is to completely strip down the engine clean it all up and replace:

fuel pump £9
gasket set £22
piston rings £27
thermostat £3
bearing shells £29
+ lots of other bits

I dont mind if it takes me a while and costs me around £100, one of the main reasons for starting this project was to learn more about cars, engines in particular, so if i can take a dirty old engine and make it nice and clean again, and work at the end of it ill be more than happy

[Tatey]

I've now taken the pistons out of the block. And i'm just wondering what the locost way of cleaning all of the parts are? I've thought about buying a parts washer, but that could be a fair few months away due to lack of finances until i find another just. I'd like to clean up all of the parts and put the engine back together for storage for a while, until i get the funds to buy a new engine, it should give me some good practise as well.

Also i am having problems taking the exhaust manifold off of the head, it just doesnt seem to want to budge, is this common on a 20 year old engine? If so whats the normal method of getting it off? If its not common, does that mean i've missed a bolt?

[car.mad]

Originally Posted by Tatey

I've now taken the pistons out of the block. And i'm just wondering what the locost way of cleaning all of the parts are? I've thought about buying a parts washer, but that could be a fair few months away due to lack of finances until i find another just. I'd like to clean up all of the parts and put the engine back together for storage for a while, until i get the funds to buy a new engine, it should give me some good practise as well.

Also i am having problems taking the exhaust manifold off of the head, it just doesnt seem to want to budge, is this common on a 20 year old engine? If so whats the normal method of getting it off? If its not common, does that mean i've missed a bolt?

i would use wire brushes of different sizes to get the thick of 'it' the wheels for drills are quite good too

brake or carb cleaner is good at getting under the 'it' and just keep at it, did a old mini gearbox with wire brushes and a bit of thinners, got a good finish out if it

some light sandpaper works on aluminium bits aslong as you can get into the little nooks and crannys.

with regards to the manifold if its never been off before and exhausts get quite hot its not uncommon for them to be a little bit stubborn, first i would make sure you got all the nuts/bolts off then double check again, then give it a clout with a rubber mallet, thats what we do at work on old morris minor engines and it seems to work.

someone else might have a better idea though

Jake

[Tatey]

Cheers for the tips Jake!

How do you go about cleaning the pistons and valves etc to get all of the oil and gunk off of them? I've had a quick look on google and people have recommended petrol/white spirit to clean them, i can't see that solution doing much harm, but i could be wrong and you seem much more knowledgeable about the subject. Also what kind of oil would you recommend to use when putting it all back together to prevent rust?

Cheers

[car.mad]

no problem

yep petrol works aswell

for the pistons im not too sure but i would say again some sort of cleaner and an old tooth brush

if you are replacing the rings for the groves some fine sandpaper (1000 grit) folded over would be your best bet.

the oil that should be put in the engine is '5w 30 fully synthetic' according to a website but im not too sure probably best to check elsewhere and be sure. I would probably use the same oil the engine takes when putting it back together but any oil is better than no oil

not sure about the valves but somthing like the above should work. the valve stems themselves should just be clean i would avoid sandpaper here.

when you put the main and big end bearings back in only oil the crankshaft face... the other face on the cap needs to be as tight a fit as possible to the bearing

Jake

[Bonzo]

Personaly, I would avoid using petrol as an engine cleaner.
It poses a significant health & safety risk, Exposive, toxic & harmfull to the skin to name a few.

I have used Jizer as a cleaner for many years, water soluable & will air dry with the use of a blow gun.

There are engine assembly oils out there, I tend to use plain ole Magnatex, does what it says on the tin.

Looking at that cylinder head of yours & at a quick glance it would certainly look as if it has blown the head gasket.
I would investigate if this is the case & then investigate why !!??

[Tatey]

How would i go about investigating if the head gasket had blown?