Replacing exploded CIS airbox

[smarjoram]

Hello

Spent most of the weekend dismantling the top half of my engine. It's only once the CIS stuff is out that you can really appreciate how low the engine really is. The posts on partial engine drops and CIS replacement have been really helpful - thanks everyone. Here's what I've learnt so far...

1) I wish I'd fitted a pop-off valve.

2) Felt a little unwell after the first day - I wonder if I inhaled too many petrol fumes when dismantling the fuel lines. Even though I was mostly outside you do spend a lot of time grunting and groaning with your head stuck right in the bay.

3) I'm aching in places I didn't know I had after wrestiling with the intake manifolds/pipes yesterday. It really is quite an uncomfortable job to do - far worse than valve adjusting. Especially if you're getting rained on (my garage is long enough for the car - but not me aswell)

4) Those bendy UJ things in the socket set are invaluable.

5) It was a big explosion - the top of the airbox separated from the bottom and the bottom had two big cracks too.

6) I wish I'd fitted a pop-off valve.

I've fitted the valve to the new airbox and replaced the intake gaskets - all that remains is to put it all together again. I've really learnt a lot about the car - I just hope I can remember where everything goes.

It's one of those jobs where your self esteem drops lower and lower as you dismantle more and more stuff and find more and more awkward things to undo. Thoughts of towing the car to a garage enter your mind. But once you finally get the old box out, you round the horn and things start looking up again as you start to think about getting her going again. I'll let you know how it goes.

[IROC]

Originally posted by smarjoram
It's one of those jobs where your self esteem drops lower and lower as you dismantle more and more stuff and find more and more awkward things to undo. Thoughts of towing the car to a garage enter your mind. But once you finally get the old box out, you round the horn and things start looking up again as you start to think about getting her going again. I'll let you know how it goes.

Sounds like every job I undertake on my car. :>)

Hang in there...you probably have it running by the time I'm typing this...

Mike

[smarjoram]

Unfortunately I'm back at work so it'll have to wait 'till tonight when I might get another hour in before it gets dark.

I can't wait till we're in our new house - I'm going to build this...



It'll be big enough for me AND the car - and it'll have that new electricity stuff too.

[john walker's workshop]

be careful of washers etc going down the intakes. check them all with a mirror, and turn over the engine several times by hand to be sure nothing went into a cylinder. attach the breather hose first, before reinstalling the intake system. that is if you are replacing it.

[smarjoram]

Thanks John. I was very careful checking that all the washers had come off before pulling the intakes (one of them had 2 on) - and I stuffed the holes with rags while I was doing other stuff. I'll turn it over to make sure though.

[vash]

cute shed! it is like some hobbits built it!

[Bill Verburg]

Another of the many benefits of CIS

[smarjoram]

WOOHOO! I've got it all back to gether again - and it works!

Had a bit of a scary moment when I turned the ignition for the first time and nothing happened. Thought I'd fried the electrics as the only thing that moved when I turned the key was the speedo needle. Turned out the battery was flat. So I jump started the car just to see if it worked - what a delight to hear that engine again - it's music. Have the battery on charge now so hope to go for a drive tomorow.

Here's what else I learnt whilst putting it back together...

1) You can do this job at night without any light - because all the sodding screws and nuts are round the back and you have to do it entirely by feel. I sometimes felt like I was trying to do some sort of Jedi test.

2) Sueezing the intake pipes back into the rubber sockets is sheer hell. My back is killing me and my forearms are covered in bruises and scratches.

3) I've heard this job described as a bit awkward or tricky - I'd say it is. A bit like how brushing a great whites back teeth with a raw leg of lamb is tricky too.

Finally, does anone know why my battery might have died? It's a fairly new (1.5 year old), expensive Bosch Silver model. I wouldn't have thought that not using the car for a month and a half would cause that much trouble - and the interior lights and alarm shouldn't be too big a drain either should they?

[john walker's workshop]

you probably have a euro '81 without all the freguency valve/emission crap around the back. the US versions are such a pain that i just pull the engine to do the box.

[smarjoram]

Thanks for telling me mine was an easy one John.

I did think that a workshop would pull the engine for this kind of job though. That's still a bit beyond my skill/equipment level at the moment.

[Elombard]

No way - removing the intake is way - way harder than an engine drop.

[sundaypunch]

When I read posts like this I sometimes wonder if an engine drop would be easier. I guess the trick is to know at what point an engine drop would speed up the downtime. I haven't had to do any engine work on my car yet. I'm considering just pulling the thing and doing a bunch of little stuff like valve adjustment, plugs, fix a couple of oil leaks, clean the compartment, etc. The drop seems like so much more work initially.

[john walker's workshop]

hell, a '69s could be on the ground in a 1/2 hour.