ethomas
|
| posted on 15/5/05 at 07:02 PM |
|
|
Engine cleaning and (mild) rebuilding
I picked up a 2.8 Cologne engine and type 9 gearbox from an XR4i on Saturday. The engine runs ok, but has seen the fat end of 120k miles, so I am
going to clean it up and replace some bits before it goes into my car.
Firstly, what is the best way to degrease and clean an engine. the advice I have seen so far looks like:
Use a pressure washer
Use a steam cleaner
Whatever you do don't use a pressure washer or steam cleaner
Use paraffin
Use diesel
Don't use paraffin or diesel, use some proprietary mix
I am going to whip the heads off, have a look at the bores and replace all gaskets with new ones. Burton recommended replacing the timing belt (will
do this unless it looks new, no idea what the service history of the engine is) and main bearing shells, is this necessary?
Other than that, we will be treating the old girl to new plugs, leads, filters etc and will flush the coolant system and oil with cleaning goo.
Any other ideas? I would like to get the block clean enough that I can give it a lick of paint and make the whole thing shiny.
Cheers,
Ed
|
|
|
|
|
theconrodkid
|
| posted on 15/5/05 at 07:10 PM |
|
|
petrol/parafin is fine,plug all the holes with rag and cover in gaffa tape them steam /pressure wash it.
dosnt have a timing belt if its 2.9.
120,000 miles inst a lot for those engines,i wouldnt bother stripping it unless you have lots of cash to spare
who cares who wins
pass the pork pies
|
|
|
tks
|
| posted on 15/5/05 at 07:13 PM |
|
|
mhh
i also wouldn't do it,
just stick with changing the plugs, maybe selas and electric leads..
if it doesn't run bad wy opnen it up??
i also would change bearings because they wear with the parts..
soow changing the succesfull 120.000 miles comby can be deadly..
TKS
[Edited on 15/5/05 by tks]
The above comments are always meant to be from the above persons perspective.
|
|
|
rusty nuts
|
| posted on 15/5/05 at 07:15 PM |
|
|
Scrape off all of the dirt/oil etc soak in degreaser for a while to loosen crap plug up ALL holes then rinse off . A hose will do the job but a
pressure washer is better, a steam cleaner even better still . To degrease small areas gun wash thinners is effective and not too dear , BUT use in a
well ventilated area . If the engine is not oily may be worth using The Tool . Think you will have problems with the timing belt , FWIR they use
timing gears It may be worth changing the cam gear
|
|
|
ethomas
|
| posted on 15/5/05 at 07:26 PM |
|
|
Thanks for the advice, it will certainly save me money if I do not have to touch bearings. Does this advice extend to the Gasket? I worry that if they
are still original I might have problems sooner rather than later, and I can easily change them now.
Forgive my ignorance, but what is The Tool?
Cheers,
Ed
|
|
|
rusty nuts
|
| posted on 15/5/05 at 07:35 PM |
|
|
Angle grinder with a wire cup brush , Also have to agree with Conrod why strip it if it runs OK ?. Change the plugs ,oil and filter maybe flush out
the cooling system adjust the valve clearances and fit new rocker cover gaskets .
|
|
|
big_wasa
|
| posted on 15/5/05 at 09:31 PM |
|
|
Yep if aint broke dont try and fix it..
I did even when all was good I spent hundreds,could have had a new motor for what it cost...Mind you it looks spankin and I know every inch of
it....
Cleaning...
Break the grease up with degraeser(for a one of job gizzer/gunk ect)...wash it down and dry it..clean it up with a wire brush to remove the loose and
give it a paint...
|
|
|
NS Dev
|
| posted on 16/5/05 at 11:50 AM |
|
|
You have two real options, I would go for the first as described by Conrodkid, seal the engine up to prevent water ingress, then steam clean it and
paint.
These engines go on forever so don't worry at that mileage. More likely is that it has gone round the clock twice though if it sounds a little
tired. My old 2.8i XR4x4 did 228,000 miles before I sold it on and of course it indicated 28,000, which the new owner assumed was 128,000! It
didn't smoke much and was perfectlty reliable.
The other option is to rebuild, but you can rarely do this as a "minimal" rebuild, other costs always creep in. I won't go on here,
but if you rebuild it as in dismantle it to a block, then get it hot chemical cleaned at your local engine machine shop, it's not worth the
hassle of doing it yourself. I have a paraffin parts washer which i use for mst things but for blocks, heads and cranks (i.e. wherever there are oil
drillings) I get stuff hot chemical cleaned.
|
|
|
DarrenW
|
| posted on 16/5/05 at 01:47 PM |
|
|
I have to agree - if it aint broke, dont fix it. My Pinto had a known head problem so i rebuilt that. Cost me about £120 with new kent cam (good ole
ebay!), mild porting (diy) and 40thou skim. Can you do a pressure test? If that shows good pressure across all barrels it will probably be oK. Whats
the worst can happen - if something goes wrong its not too difficult to take out and fix later. Id replace the consumable (inc clutch) as matter of
course.
It will look a million dollars when cleaned and painted. If history is good then 120K is nowt - might be ran in by now.
|
|
|
.jpg)
