3.0 Help Please

[V AR 164]

Sounds good.

I have the mechanic coming over tonight, and if he can't make time to fix it within the next few weeks, I'll pull the car into the garage this weekend and start working on it.

Yes the false firewall needs to come out plus many other bits and pieces.

I am actually thinking on making several YouTube videos outlining the process I will go through step by step, maybe that will be of use to you? That's if I will do the work myself of course.

Cheers, Andrew.

[Citroënbender]

At the risk of sounding a BOF, why not line up all your ducks before starting? Get the bolts, VRS kit, coin for a full refresh of both heads, all set aside then hook into it. In the meantime pull the injector plug off for that cylinder and put a dummy load on it.

[V AR 164]

At the risk of sounding a BOF, why not line up all your ducks before starting? Get the bolts, VRS kit, coin for a full refresh of both heads, all set aside then hook into it. In the meantime pull the injector plug off for that cylinder and put a dummy load on it.

I agree, but I have garage space so if the car was sitting for a while, it wouldn't matter.

My mechanic really doesn't want to do the job, plus he is busy for a while, so I am going to do it myself.

I think I may just pull the whole motor and fix it out of the car. As well as this, I can address my leaking rear main seal.

Andrew.

[Citroënbender]

An immobile car can be a big demotivator, plus there's risk of scope creep. You don't need impossible timelines like those TV reno shows, but a keen sense of "Let's get this back on the road" to be ever-present.

[Doug Gould]

In my opinion, CAMS / borescopes are of little value unless you are practiced using them. I tried looking down some aircraft cylinders that were removed from the engine and what I thought via the cam compared with what I saw down the open end were 2 different things. What you think are score marks on the bore could be oil streaks.

Go back to basics.
1. Is there any sign of water in the oil?
2. Is there any bubbling in the radiator when you rev the engine
3. Maybe get a exhaust gas test done on the radiator.
4. Repeat the compression test, but do it dry then add oil which should help tell if its the rings or valves.
5. Maybe pull the rocker cover off and see if there is anything that is interfering with the valve operation (eg broken exhaust rocker that is jamming the exhaust valve open)

[carlo rossi]

broken valve spring is my guess '
just enough to keep it out of trouble
but stuffed
heads off

[Mick A]

Hi experts out there.

Read back a page through his posts. He has already found the problem, and taken photos of the burnt out valve.

He's a good kid who has the right idea, and I hope he learns a lot by doing this work himself and after he will have a lot of pride when he drives his car again.

Mick.

[Citroënbender]

I'm taking a conservative approach rather than cheering on a full-tilt repair operation because I have possibly trodden a similar path. 

There are so many facets to workshop repairs, that one quickly takes for granted; from tools and fixtures to an experienced person looking over your shoulder and (hopefully) letting you know before it goes south. As a young, enthusiastic classic car DIY'er well before the internet came to be, I was - to be perfectly honest - taken advantage of by far too many people. Overcharged, underserviced, lied to, items returned damaged. (The silver lining in this, is I've developed a lifelong belief that people should do honest work which then deserves fair pay.)  But no way in hell would I want to see anyone else learn the same hard lessons, that's vindictive - there are better ways to gain useful knowledge, hone your skills and get back on the road faster.

[Mick A]

I understand your point.

I may be the only person following this thread who has actually spoken with Andrew on the phone about his car, because he called our workshop to get some advice.

I spent quite a bit of time on the phone with him, and gave him some realistic options of which way he can take on this repair. Not just in the work he does pulling the heads off, but what we do with the heads once they are off the engine, because as I'm sure you will know, you can simply replace a valve, lap it back in by hand, and for all its intended purposes  it'll work just fine. Or you can go all out and reco the heads, resurface, crack test, vacuum test etc etc. Of course there are huge differences in prices that go along with the amount of work. Is there a performance gain in doing this? Of course... but is it going to be noticeable to him in the way he is going to be using the car? Probably not. More accurately, the hp gain for the $$$$ spent, with an old set of piston rings and liners, may not be worth it.

I've given him our honest and informed opinion on what will suit his needs, while keeping a reasonable budget in mind.
So he is well informed and it is now up to him which way he decides to go with this.

Either way he will have support and advice on hand if he needs it.

Mick.

[Citroënbender]

Mentoring like that is a great help. Hopefully it will keep the project focused and moving well.

[V AR 164]

Thanks Mick for the support.

Yes Citroenbender I also do understand your point, but I am very keen to learn and double and triple my work to make sure I have done it correctly. And if I am unsure, I will post here my questions.

So far, I have spent today 'tearing down' the engine bay, removing everything necessary. To be honest, so far it is pretty easy and straightforward. Yes there are some tricky situations, but a little practical thinking goes along way.

Currently onto removing the rear manifold which is indeed tricky with the limited space, then I'm ready to remove the timing belt and take off the head bolts.

I have lined up the crank pulley with the timing mark on the pulley itself and the casting in the block, but are there any timing marks on the cams? Took the valve covers off quickly before and couldn't see any marks, I probably have overlooked them.

Again thank you for everyone for your input!
Andrew.

[V AR 164]

Day 2:

Now I understand how much work is involved in doing something like this. It's not as simple as just removing the false firewall and away you go. A lot of small things like the gear linkage grt in the way of the rear manifold, for example, which take up a lot of time.

Just got done taking off the first head, and had my first glimpse into the motor, it looks alright, can definitely do with a clean up to get rid of all the grime buildup. Also made some liner hold downs with square washers and pvc pipe.

Pulling the first head was actually pretty easy, it wasn't too stuck to the motor and with a bit of persuasion it came off.

And yes, there are timing marks on the camshafts which line up every second rotation of the crank.

Should also add, I'm not removing the motor due to a lot more work involved and the rear main seal can wait for a couple more months, it's only weaping ever so slightly.

Here are a few pics:

[Citroënbender]

Hopefully you've got a spare car to use. Catching public transport with cast iron cylinder heads, to get to a machine shop 27km away, is something I remember vividly.

Identify your oil feeds from block to the heads, and make sure they are plugged before debris can enter. You can buy grab kits of combination plugs/caps in rubber and they're often handy when doing the bulk cleaning.

Don't mix up your cam sprockets, if they are similar but not identical!

[V AR 164]

Hopefully you've got a spare car to use. Catching public transport with cast iron cylinder heads, to get to a machine shop 27km away, is something I remember vividly.

Now that is something I would like to see! That's called determination right there haha. Luckily I have my automatic 164 that I can drive in the meantime or my dads 4x4.

Good tip on the oil feeds, I will definitely plug them up before I start the cleaning work.

Thanks!

[four90s]

Andrew if you haven't worked it out yet, you will need to slacken off the rear engine mount and carefully jack up the rear of the engine otherwise the head won't go past the bodywork where the reaction arm mounts.

Also need to disconnect the reaction arm so the engine can lift up.

Cheers
Steve
Adelaide