Removing engine tin
 

I would like to inspect the top of my stock oil cooler to see if debris has collected there over the years decreasing its effectiveness. My questions are:
1. If I remove the right-side engine tin, will I have access to the stock cooler?
2. How hard is it to remove the engine tin with the engine in the car?
3. Can someone give me a quick description of removing the tin on the right side?

1) Yes.
2) I have heard that it is possible. It looks pretty tough to me.
3) Remove all of the FI (or carbs) and distributor. Remove the slot-head screws (use the biggest screwdriver you can find!) that hold the right-side engine tin on. Wiggle the sheet metal up and out.

Some of the mounting screws also hold the manifold on. And to remove the manifold, you just about have to remove the intake runner pipes on both sides. And the ECU and wiring harness will get in the way, so you should remove those. Ditto the MPS and Decel Valve. And by that point, you have just about removed all of the FI anyway.

See what I mean about "it looks tough"?

--DD

Seeing as to how I have done this several times, I will chime in here.

Yes, you will have access to the oil cooler upon removal of the engine tin.

Before taking off the injectors, you will probably have to detach the MPS...or whatever that thing is...i should know by now...brain not working...it is early.

To remove it, the best way that I have found is to undo the injectors from the intake by undoing the 10mm nut on each one. Then, undo the intake tubes..13mm nut, three, or four depending on your car. Loosen the rubber boots at the throttle body and remove the intake tubes.

Undo the head temp sensor from the wiring harness. Get all wires out of the way...oh and unplug the spark plugs.

Next you will probably have to undo the coil...makes things a little simpler.
You do not have to remove the distributor..just have to be patient about moving the tin.

Start undoing the tin screws...there are quite a few...also like two underneath the throttle body. You also have to undo the breather hose...forgot about that one.

Once you have everything undone...you will want to undo the distributor cap and move it out of the way...just so you don't break it.

Then comes the hard part...you have to pull out the tin and it does get to be a pain and frustrating...also forgot, take off the heater tube...if you still have it.

you have to sort of bend the tin around things and pull...it might be kind of hard to think the tin will come out, but it will.

You might have to undo the other side of injectors and remove the whole throttle body...can't remember if i did or not...i think i didn't...but had to take the air cleaner assembly off.

Assembly is also a bit of a pain, but it can be done.


If you have any questions or get stuck, email me...

paulhagedorn@hotmail.com

I might be home if you want to call me, too...

901 373 7826

Hope everything works out for you.
Paul

oh, and once you get the tin off...you might want to clean the head up and blow air through the oil cooler.
forgot one more thing...i think you have to undo the throttle cable...pretty sure you do.

Oh.... it's that easy, huh?
Thanks for the feedback. Sounds like more than I am willing to tackle on my own with the engine in the car. I am still struggling with a persistent overheating problem despite recently installing an external oil cooler/fan. I am reluctant to go thru the effort you have described to visualize the top of the stock cooler only to find it relatively clean.

A couple of things to check: Make sure the cooling air flaps are OPEN and not stuck shut or partially shut since the engine will run hot if they are not full open. They are supposed to default to open w/o the thermostat and cable connected. Next, is there oil actually going through the cooler? Is the inlet hotter than the outlet which could indicate a blocked system? You might have to use a temp gun or probe to read the actual temps. Finally is the oil pump in good shape, able to pump enough oil to lubricate and cool things? Good luck.

Took me a day (8-9 hours, with the usual screwing around) to remove all the F.I., the top two pieces of tin, replace the CHT sensor, clean the tin, hammer and bend some tears in the tin, clean it, paint it, paint the air intakes and then coat the seam with RTV, clean the jugs and oil cooler, put it all back together with new gaskets and intake hoses with hose clamps, and fix ALL the little holes in the tinware and engine compartment seal.

Not difficult, but I have done it before so maybe make it a weekend job for a newbie.

Pitfalls: The tinware screw heads can strip, the screw can also shear off. Either use "Vice-Grips" to turn a striped screw, or avoid stripping it by cleaning the head first, and useing the proper screw driver bit in a manual impact tool. They look like a fat screw driver and you hit them with a hammer, the pounding turns a cam in the tool to lossen the screw. Home Depot has them for about $20 or go to Sears for a better quality (it is a better tool) one. If the screw is corroded on from road salt the impact tool can shear it off. Then it's time for a drill and "EZ-out". It's only hapend to me once on a original 72 motor from a car with snow tires in the trunks.

I don't have any heating system on my car, so no help there. When I pull the dizzy I remove the 13mm nut that holds it to the block NOT the 10mm nut that holds the dizzy to the mounting plate. That way on install the timing is VERY close to where it was.

The tin on the dipstick side is a pain, be patient, it does wiggle off after you remove the bolts holding the thermostat and cooling flaps on. It can also be a pain to line up all the holes to get the screws back in. Play with tightening some of the screws before others to pull the tin into shape and stick a scratch awl in some of the holes to line up others.

For the original problem though...

1. Are you overheating by the stock gauge, or do you have a calibrated aftermarket way of telling engine oil temp? The factory gauges are notoriously wrong because there were 3 different gauges with three different senders, any mis-match throws off the reading.

2. If the car is a 75-76 and you legally can, remove the exhaust system and put on a 70-74 setup including heat exchangers. This alone dropped the temp on my car maybe 20 degrees.

3. The tinware is the only radiator the car has. It MUST be air tight (within reason) to work. Seal the oil pressure switch hole, the CHT hole, the spark plug holes, etc. Also if the engine compartment seal is bad the engine is cooling itself with hot air from the heat exchangers.

4. Look under the car for two plastic flaps at the edge of the floor pan in front of the engine. A PO who was thoughtfull enough to replace the floor pan, forgot to replace these important cooling flaps. The Haynes manual shows the proper mounting location for these if they're gone.

5. Make sure the timing isn't too advanced, this will cause overheating.