Any data I need to collect for the gurus before dropping?

[timmy2]

Any news on your rebuild yet?

[sobamaflyer]

slow but steady, I saw your post and somewhere between massively impressed and terribly jealous.

I find an average of 2-3 hours/wk to work on mine.

Putting the rest of the assembled cylinders back on today. The heads get picked up tomorrow. I now fully believe all my bad noises were in them, I had 2 broken springs, most of the exhaust bushings were bad and 1 exhaust valve (in the lone cylinder which had a less than great compression reading) was bad. I'm also replacing all my rocker bushings as 3 of them were wobbly. He did a valve job, replaced the exhaust bushings, installed my full set of new springs and re-set everything.

I have come to believe that my bottom end was rebuilt at some point but maybe they put the heads back on without doing anything to them. I've scoured everything for hours and hours (and hours) and tried to be as meticulous as possible following threads in the engine rebuilding forum and Wayne's book.

[timmy2]

Sounds like you're going to be ready to roll really soon with a fresh engine that you can drive for another 100,000 miles worry free!

Took my car out this morning for an hour autotuning the bitz kit. Sure makes a difference. I'm impressed.

No oil leaking, burning and coming through the HE's sure is nice.
The rsr seals and 21 ft/lbs on the rocker shafts seems to have solved my problems. (Along with all new /refreshed parts)

[sobamaflyer]

I'm getting somewhere (slowly)



(returned machine shop parts)

- 1 Valve that wasn't seating properly (#4 my lowest compression reading)
- 2 Toasted springs
- 4 Exhaust Valve Guides worn too far

Replaced all springs as I don't plan to do this again any time soon! I miss DRIVING my car.

[howard freeman]

Originally Posted by sobamaflyer

They are Alusil, my machinist reported to me Friday they are well over spec in every dimension confirming all the previous thoughts of just putting them back as they were.

He also reported a 2nd broken valve spring, several exhaust (only) valve guides out of spec and of course a few of the rocker bushings out. The shafts were all fine, the valves and seats were all good. I've already purchased 12 new bushings and a whole new set of springs. I'll be ordering all new exhaust guides and a new set of valve stem seals (at his request) Monday.

I'm at the bottom of the hill, starting my way back up

Travis, If someone told you those cylinders are alusil, They are dead wrong. Those are Nikasil pistons & barrels in the photos.
Howard

[sobamaflyer]

Originally Posted by howard freeman

Travis, If someone told you those cylinders are alusil, They are dead wrong. Those are Nikasil pistons & barrels in the photos.
Howard

Well that can only be good news right? How can [you] tell (by you I mean me, YOU have years of looking at these things )?

I took the word of several people looking at pictures of them in another thread I had going. They still had a reasonable cross-hatch on them after I cleaned them up with carb cleaner and didn't seem to be a source of any of my problems so I've (obviously) reassembled them as they were and reinstalled them.

The machinist wasn't sure, he said he'd used a special paste on a set of Clifton's Alusil pistons a while back but after hours of reading horror stories about Alusil I didn't want to mess with them.

[timmy2]

Looking good! Nickies are an added bonus. I never really looked at your pictures of the cylinders until today ater Howard pointed it out. There are threads on how to tell the alusils from the nickasils.
Are you keeping the dog clean these days? (Blog)

[sobamaflyer]

The fuzzy white dog is her very own maintenance nightmare but thankfully it's her own doing and not mine lately.

[Smoove1010]

Here's a great thread on how to ID your cylinders - it even includes a quiz:
Nikasil and Alusil
According to the gurus, Niks have 11 fins (ours go to 11...) and are very slightly magnetic in the bore. I'm heading out to the garage now to count fins.

How did you get your case so clean? Paint thinner?

Good luck,
GK

[sobamaflyer]

Originally Posted by Smoove1010

How did you get your case so clean? Paint thinner?

Thanks for the link.

Pure Mineral Spirits, poured over and used a scrub brush then rinsed with the hose (several passes) Then carb cleaner also with a scrub brush and/or scotch brite pads, rinsed with the hose (I've probably gone through 5 cans of carb cleaner so far). Then blown dry with the air compressor.

What not to do: Detailed elsewhere but since you asked...

I initially used Purple power on the just out still assembled engine and quickly learned it cuts grease like crazy but it pits aluminum in equal crazy amounts (so don't do that). The dishwasher with a bunch of Dawn and Dishwasher tabs doesn't begin to touch greasy engine parts (so don't do that for several reasons!!!). Soaking some parts overnight in Dawn in my garage sink (the one I'm allowed to trash w/o rebuke) got a layer of grime off but not nearly so much as Mineral Spirits and Carb Cleaner.

[Smoove1010]

Thanks for warning me off the Purple Power. I did try it on a few spots, luckily no pitting yet - perhaps it's that protective sludge layer. I'm having much better luck with the mineral spirits using the same procedure you noted. Same procedure, BTW, that I used on my calipers when I rebuilt them last spring. Another poster called engine cleaning a "time soak" and he wasn't kidding...

...oh yeah, mine only go to 10, so I better read up on those scary Alusil threads.

[sobamaflyer]

I counted 11 fins today FWIW....

- Question for anyone still paying attention:

I'm needing to reuse my chain tensioners, sadly I don't have an extra grand at the moment to upgrade them. But this morning as I was cleaning parts and beginning the chain tower assembly I noticed something odd. I can reasonably easily compress the left chain tensioner with my hand but the right doesn't seem to budge.





What's right, what's wrong?

Gratuitous current state shot:

[sobamaflyer]

And separated from the actual engine content but none-the-less related:

This is what happens when I've spent too long driving only the boring grocery getter


The complete germanification of my garage is accomplished

[westyguesty]

Similar situation with my engine as yours. Just doing cam timing, and re-using my tensioners the same as you. I can't easily compress either of mine, hopefully a good sign. Did you fit the spacers, I need to get some, but no one has them in them in the UK.

[sobamaflyer]

The collars were there when I opened her up.

sent from my Galaxy S III

[Flat6pac]

easily compressed is not a good sign...
Bruce

[Flat6pac]

These work and well.
The only problem you have is resolved with the collars. Replace the oney that are soft with good used and install the collar about 3/16 inch above the bottom of the pin, installed
To install a good tensioner, use a long screwdriver to collapse the tensioner against the idler.
Slowly press down and when youre level to install tap the tensioner with a hammer to get it in place. Now put the collar on.
Bruce

[sobamaflyer]

Originally Posted by Flat6pac

Replace the oney that are soft with good used and install the collar about 3/16 inch above the bottom of the pin, installed
Bruce

Sounds like not only was one shot but the collars were on wrong. Both of mine are mounted to the very top of the pin. Reading into what you have written it makes sense that I'm trying to prevent that pin from dropping more than a certain amount in the event it loses pressure.

[howard freeman]

Originally Posted by sobamaflyer

Well that can only be good news right? How can [you] tell (by you I mean me, YOU have years of looking at these things )?

I took the word of several people looking at pictures of them in another thread I had going. They still had a reasonable cross-hatch on them after I cleaned them up with carb cleaner and didn't seem to be a source of any of my problems so I've (obviously) reassembled them as they were and reinstalled them.

The machinist wasn't sure, he said he'd used a special paste on a set of Clifton's Alusil pistons a while back but after hours of reading horror stories about Alusil I didn't want to mess with them.

Nikasil always has a shine & alusil is dull. Also Mahle is nikasil barrels,Alusil is made by KS.
Howard
P.S. cliftons 944 is alusil/locasil.

[howard freeman]

Post a photo of the top of your tensioners without the guards installed. I want to see something.
Howard