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You should first remove the Timing Belt and Headers before going any further.. Don't un-do the Manifold until you removed the Timing Belt and Headers otherwise you will waste your time.
So my List would be:
1.- D/C Battery
2.- Remove Headers
3.- Remove P/S Pump and Side Engine Mount
4.- Remove Timing Belt Covers and Remove the Timing Belt
5.- Remove the Intake Tube + Manifold + FI Rail + Injectors + Runners
6.- Remove the Valve Covers
7.- Remove the Heads
Basically, we drove the car from 80k to 170k. The wife took it to the jiffy lube about 3 times. I then changed the oil myself for the first time and only drained about 1 cup of oil that looked kinda milky. So in goes the Mobil 1 5w30. Consumed alot of oil after 8k and it started to lose coolant at an increasing rate. Replaced a loose coolant reservoir cap and then the radiator cap. It continued to lose coolant and I kept on refilling it until one day the radiator hose exploded off the radiator. And then I see coolant coming out near the front head cylinder and alot of smoke.
I have the leak tester and the compression tester from harbour freight but never used it on the engine as obviously something is blown.
Originally Posted by fsttyms1
What is the reason you are removing the head? Do you have a leaking head gasket?
couple times at not at jiffy lube
3 jiffy lube (I heard that sometimes they never actually change the oil, so yeah, i would consider these as missed oil changes)
3 times by me with 5w30 mobil 1.
The car is actually sitting at 167k right now, it's just by the time i started doing it the car was already kinda late.
Basically, we drove the car from 80k to 170k. The wife took it to the jiffy lube about 3 times. I then changed the oil myself for the first time and only drained about 1 cup of oil that looked kinda milky. So in goes the Mobil 1 5w30. Consumed alot of oil after 8k and it started to lose coolant at an increasing rate. Replaced a loose coolant reservoir cap and then the radiator cap. It continued to lose coolant and I kept on refilling it until one day the radiator hose exploded off the radiator. And then I see coolant coming out near the front head cylinder and alot of smoke.
I have the leak tester and the compression tester from harbour freight but never used it on the engine as obviously something is blown.
Before doing anything i would do a compression test, and do a pressure test on the cooling system.
And honestly, if you are having oil consumption issues, and think you have head/head gasket issues i would pick up a used lower mileage engine and just drop that in. It would take less time to swap (could be done in your garage in less than a day), be easier, and probably cost just as much
I agree with fsttyms. I've done head gaskets on engines that didn't use oil only to have them burn oil on completion. Whether it's caused by having the upper end sealed better, damage from overheating, or the abrasive nature of coolant on piston rings, I don't know, but I'd bet it burns more oil when you're done. Also you can have good compression and still have oil control rings that are stuck or worn out.
I would still not bother with that engine. You mentioned the oil had been very low and milky and once coolant gets in with the oil its pretty much game over
I would still not bother with that engine. You mentioned the oil had been very low and milky and once coolant gets in with the oil its pretty much game over
The oil was milky and low, but I changed it to synthetic oil and it ran fine for many months until it started to lose coolant. Do you think the lower block is toast? I will take the head off and inspect the walls.
The oil was milky and low, but I changed it to synthetic oil and it ran fine for many months until it started to lose coolant. Do you think the lower block is toast? I will take the head off and inspect the walls.
If you want to know if the piston rings are good or not do the following.
squirt some motor oil in the cylinder and do a compression test again. If the compression goes up as compared to your last test then the rings are bad. If not then the piston rings are still good.
Okay, I did a leakdown test and all cylinder seems to be able to hold 100psi direct feed from the compressor (cold engine).
Some coolant did come out from the waterpump side when I was doing the leakdown test. so perhaps there is still a bad head gasket forcing air into the coolant system?
You do not need to heat up the crank bolt. I use the same setup you have shown except I use a 1 inch bar in place of the 1/2 bar. I look at the bolt and it breaks free.
That 1/2 bar was flexing like crazy. I put a pipe from the hydraulic jack and it was alot better.
After it was off I found that the timing belt was kinda shredded and the waterpump bearing is very rough. I hope this is the only reason for the rough idle and the overheating. All the cylinder are holding 100psi of air when i leak test it. Did anyone have a similar experience with a 100k miles waterpump failure?
I have a new waterpump sitting here. If it can be fixed for under $200 in parts why not. Plus how much is a refurbished engine, I see rockauto.com have it for $3700usd More Information for FAMOUS BRAND 548
Originally Posted by thelastaspec
Just get a new engine and pop her in there... will save you a ton of headaches and will be cheaper...
I have a new waterpump sitting here. If it can be fixed for under $200 in parts why not. Plus how much is a refurbished engine, I see rockauto.com have it for $3700usd More Information for FAMOUS BRAND 548
I guess you are right about getting a new engine. I changed the waterpump and timing belt and the started the engine but it stalls right after it tries to start. I am in the process of ripping out the head cylinder and check out the valves and head gasket. I learned alot about engines watching youtube videos.
A used engine on car-part can be had for a couple hundred $
I see coolant laying in a couple of the cylinders. Looks like a boat anchor now. Take off the TB and WP you just put on it, get a used engine and put those parts on the used engine
On an engine with that many miles if you have a machine shop cleanup those heads I bet the engine will burn oil or grenade shortly. Too much good compression for the lower end which, in your case, seems pretty far gone.
The best advice so far is a junk yard takeout. The right price, readily available and usually bulletproof. There are tons of these engines sitting around without their transmissions....By the way, how is your transmission?
I'd 3rd that. Bent valves have so many bad consequences - I wouldn't even bother repairing this one.
BTW - what bent the valves? Are the valve adjustments off or did the timing belt skip a notch?
EDIT: Just caught up on the thread. Looks like your timing was off. Your engine is destroyed, grab a used one from one of those fore-mentioned transmission-less cars You may even be able to find a type-S engine/ECU and come out ahead on this.
Was your timing belt and water pump/etc changed at 105K miles?
The bent valves was because I was changed the timing belt at 105k miles and put the crank pulley spacer on the outside of the plastic cover and then while hand cranking it the spacer ripped a piece of cover off and wedged it in between the crank pulley and timing belt. It skipped as I hand cranked it many times.
The coolant in the picture was from when i pulled off the head it just poured into it.
Are you guys saying the cylinder walls are so far gone it is not salvageable?
I hand cranked the pistons and seems to be smooth and no real scratches on the walls. I did read that if the cross hatching is gone it needs to be re-honed or re-bored.
Not to be a jackass but why do you keep asking about it? It is not a rare engine. I did a search on car part.com and there are 50 plus pages of used engines on there throughout the country. Some as cheap as a $150. It's great that you've been tearing into this engine for learning purposes but at this point I wouldn't waste anymore time on this one.
The rule of thumb that I've always heard is that if there is a scratch deep enough to catch your fingernail, then the cylinder is toast.
You'll also need to get a machinist's straightedge and check for block warpage, chances are if you've overheated that your block may not be in alignment anymore.
@MarcDavidoff, I could get an engine for cheap here locally, but this engine being so old it would have high mileage on it. If I just rip the old engine out and put a used one in without rebuilding it I could have problems later on.
I ran a cheap straight edge over the deck and head cylinder and it seems to be straight. The cylinder walls have no deep scratches and the bottom end seems to move fine.
Waiting for a bore dial so i can check the walls wear limits and a precision straight edge to recheck for warpage.
If it checks out, I can just swap in 3 new valves, time it and check for compression.
I understand although with the J32 engine if they have been decently maintained they are pretty bulletproof. I would think you can get one with 100k miles or less and be pretty confident it will be in decent shape
Thanks for all the suggestions and advice. I have finally rebuilt the engine and the car have been running for over 600km. Many hours were invested since it was my first attempt in engine work. Here are some photos of the work in progress and hopefully I would be able to assist any others considering this DIY on a 2nd gen.
In the last pictures you'd see I had to swap out all the engine mounts, hood structs, exhaust studs, knock sensor, thermostat, and clean the IAC (to fix idling problem).
Thanks. I thought it was cool how this 17 year old car held together with almost no maintenance to my knowledge. When I switched over to Redline D4 at 155,000km, it looked like it was the factory oil.
The tranny feels fine for now, i usually drive like a granny with automatics. Do you think it would make the transmission last longer if I drain and flush every 1 year or 20,000km?
04-08-2015, 07:36 PM
You may even be able to find a type-S engine/ECU and come out ahead on this.
wow great job OP, now that engine will last another forever and a day! Hows your transmission holding up?
