Engine Apart--Any Suggestions??

[RonD922]

Hello,

My Situation:

Hello, I am disassembling my 914 1.7 engine because of a bad oil leak( will leak out as many quarts as you care to put in) and air and fuel leaks. I have the engine out of the car thanks to an incredibly well written and easy to follow article by Pelican Parts and I am now dismantling. I am a college student on a tight budget but still intersted in any perfomance or concienance modifications I should perform. I have a 2.7 6 cylinder that I am waiting to drop in, but I am going to revel in the power of 1.7 for a while for insurance reasons, so I am intersted in mods. to get ready for the six and mods for the four for the time being.

Engine- I have removed the air cleaner (no filter , and to think the seller drove it from Cal. to Florida!!!), the aircleane mount, throttle body, intake manifolds, engine tin, and numerous hoses. I am going to replace all hoses, soak all metal pieces in cleaner then bead blast, paint the engine tin, maybe the intake manifolds, and check or replace the plugs, wires, rotor, cap, points. I am considering a petronix igintion that replaces the points ( anyone know the benefits of these??).

Headers- I have removed the headers and heater boxes and all related parts. I am going to soak them in cleaner and bead blast. Replace all heater tubing, and exhaust studs/seals.

Bad New- The passenger side header had only 3 bolts and I can see where the exhaust gas has left residue down the header input surface. Hardly any important bolts are tight (manifolds were almost loose) except the freakin' engine tin screws!! No air filter in cleaner for god knows how long. I have not run a compression check but I am guessing I have a burnt exhaust valve from the leaking header. The starter motor stoppeed turning over the engine, caked with sludge from the oil leak, did not idle well ( maybe vacum leaks, misadjusted fuel injection, idle not set right?? maybe all of the above).

So if anyone has any good suggestions I am open to anything. I happen to be one of those disfunctional people who likes to take things apart so I can get the jist of what is supposed to be happening inside my 1.7 so I will probably have the engine partly dismantled for at least a month so I have time to consider any mods.

Thanks for all input,
Ron Dailey

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Engine: The main benefit of the Pertronix is that you never have to mess with points again! You almost never have to mess with the Pertronix, as it doesn't start eroding the instant you start using it. The spark may also be a little bit more consistent, particularly at low RPMs (like idle), and won't "bounce" like points can at high RPMs.

Bad News: The leak may not be so bad. If the metal hasn't migrated away from the leak, you should be OK. Just make sure you don't leave out any exhaust nuts or studs when you re-assemble. The missing stud may simply be broken in the head, in which case you'll need to get it out which can be a real pain. You'll need to check.

Don't assume a burnt exhaust valve--try a compression check when you can. Or a leakdown test if your starter just won't go.

The engine tin screws on my 74 came out easily by using the biggest flat-head screwdriver that my local Sears had. It's about 2 feet long, and has served as a pry-bar many times since I bought it...

The starter problem could be from it getting caked, or it could be a poor circuit (poor grounding the most popular source of that). Or it might be something else alltogether.


How far down are you going to tear this? Are you doing an overhaul? Just tear off the external stuff? Top-end rebuild? Other??

Can we assume that, since you are a student, you have a lot more time than money that can be spent on the project? If so, then cleaning everything that you can possibly get to is something you need to do. The starter, for instance, may respond to a good thorough cleaning (i.e., take the linkage that engages the Bendix gear into the flywheel ring gear and clean and lube it). Clean out the oil cooler airways. And so on.

Bead blasting is probably not needed, as long as you get in there with a nice stiff brush and a little solvent or such. If you do have things blasted, make sure to mask off the surfaces were "stuff" seats--like where the headers meet the heads.

Good luck!!

--DD

[Joe Ricard]

It will get to easy to just say "well since I'm here I might as well" If you follow some of my posts you will see that I have finally gone all the way in my tear down. Tomorrow I start the put it backs. I also want to say thanks to all the great help and advice the other boad members have provided.

[JP Noonan]

Front and rear main seals.

Check the front trans seal.

Clean out the oil cooler, I remove it and let it soak in a can of carb cleaner, but DO NOT submerge it so that the cleaner gets into the inlet/outlet holes. Carb cleaner breaks down oil, not something you want 'in' your engine. Replace oil cooler seals and the oil pressure sender.

Check the oil galley plugs. If they seem tight, clean them off and put JB weld over all of them. If you need to split the case anyway then tap them out for pipe thread plugs.

Replace the push-rod o-rings.

Take out the lifters one at a time, don't mix them up!!! and see if they are flatened or if the cam looks wiped (lifters should have a slight crown or be flat, if they are dished or the cam lobe has been wore down, 'wiped', then you need to split the case.)

Check the crankshaft endplay, if it's badly out of spec the main bearings are shot and you need a rebuild. Replace at least the clutch disc, and set up the throw-out fork correctly.

Put is new shift bushings.

Replace all the fuel and vac lines.


Re-pack the C-V joints and use new gaskets, and boots if they are torn.

Jobs that are easier with the motor out: Replacing center tunnel fuel lines, replacing the brake prop valve, replaceing the rear brake lines, fixing rust in the battery tray area.

[DDS]

What about checking the operation of the FI bits? That could drive you nuts later.

I've been told its worth replacing the crank seals whenever the engine is out of the car. particluarly the rear.