)
Assuming the sump and head are off is there anything to stop me undoing the big end caps and removing pistons and rods from a 1.8 Blacktop with the
engine in?
Thanks
Stu
you'd have to take the cylinder off wouldn't you? how would you lift the piston out, (apart from a big magnet maybe )
Back in the day I knew of a guy that rebored engines insitu!
Stands to reason that you can whip the pistons out of any engine so long as you can access the conrod bolts without much hassle. Too much faffing
around if you ask me. Easier to just remove engine from car and work on it on a bench.
Thanks
The head will be off - other then getting the sump and big end bolts out, I can't see that doing the rest on a bench will be much easier.
There's plenty of room to work from above on the Indy.
So I would have thought it's much easier, or at least quicker, than taking the engine out.
Stu
[Edited on 29/8/08 by whitestu]
[Edited on 29/8/08 by whitestu]
'Take the cylinder off' lol, there speaks a man who's spent far too long around bike engines
No reason you couldn't take the pistons out as you described - I'm with Fatgadget though in that it's too much faffing about to do it
with the engine in the car unless you have to. Getting them out is easy enough but you usually find the big end bearing drops out of at least one of
the conrods when you tap the pistons into the bore putting them back in..... which is where the faffing starts 
quote:
you usually find the big end bearing drops out of at least one of the conrods when you tap the pistons into the bore putting them back in..... which is where the faffing starts
Yeah you could, it's easier to get them to seat properly though without having to reach round the crankshaft. It's not impossible by any
means it can just be frustrating when you keep having to clean the bearing shells after they've dropped on the floor and having to keep turning
the engine to fit each piston rather than having the engine on a stand with the crank out so you can fit all four pistons, then turn the engine upside
down to fit the bearing shells then refit the crank.
Give it a go - the worst that can happen is that you end up taking the engine out if it gets too frustrating TBH I absolutely hate having to do
major engine work on an engine still in a car because everything seems 10x harder so I'm biased!
I freshened up my 1.8 cvh (rings shells), in situ really easy , much quicker and easier than removing engine , if working on own in limited space .
The car makes a pretty goood engine stand!!!
Thanks
Have you changed your mind about selling it Dave?
yes it can be done easy
Did the same on mine last winter. Dead easy, shells stay in conrod no probs. Remember to replace big end stretch bolts though. Also I was very careful and still crack a slither of metal off a top piston ring, and I was using a proper ring compressor. All in all an easy job.
Is the crank o.k?
If you need to replace the mains/big end shells you must be doing it for a reason.
Put the shells in the rods before as its an a*?@ to get them in when your on your back and oil dripping in your face.
Shells should stay i the rods o.k they normally do.
Turn big end pin to bottom of stroke ( less chance of the rod damaging the crank pin )
Jason
[Edited on 29/8/08 by short track 123]
quote:
Is the crank o.k? If you need to replace the mains/big end shells you must be doing it for a reason.
As you are having the pistons out might be good to measure the piston to bore clearance as well.
Jason
Are you fitting arp rod bolts, just to let you know if you dont already that they are a weak spot. I know as i knocked a big end out.
quote:
Are you fitting arp rod bolts, just to let you know if you dont already that they are a weak spot. I know as i knocked a big end out.
if its a 2.0 or a 1.8 130ps engine it will have oil spray jets that spray oill on under side of piston crown watch when u tap piston down as iv cought
a the spray jet befor with conrod and snapped it off clean !! lucky i had a spare engine with some spares
lol, some of you must have a very different definition of the word 'easy' to me - lying under an engine with oil dripping on you while
one hand clutches a wrench to turn the engine as you're trying to pull the conrod onto the crank with the other is one thing and then, once
you've struggled with that 4 times, scraping baked on gasket off the bottom off the block while upside down is bad enough but if you're
still enjoying yourself (!), then you get the joy of pushing a quite heavy sump against the block, again with one hand, as you try to locate the sump
bolts into the threads in the block through a new gasket with the other - while all the time making sure the gasket stays in the right
place........and all this with the car on axle stands! - sorry, but I'd have the engine out 