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My 6 cylinder rebuild for dummies (as in me!)


AidanT

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The m2 is a better general engine with better cam followers and crank and head porting is better , stronger head studs and bits and bobs

Do you have the manifolds as mk1 wont take m2 manifolds the potring is very different  you can't use whats on the ME engine

Agree trying to do a comp test is unlikely to give much clues ,  when stripped you will find out as JD says .

Pete

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Hi Pete. Good question  As my current engine is a 2000 saloon I assume both manifolds are the ME ones. Please can you let me know do I need both manifolds from a mk2 then?

Aidan 

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Nice engine stand Aidan. As you know I’ve recently gone most of the way into the engine. As like me slow is good, no rush and enjoy the learning. Take plenty of photos, when you think you’ve got enough, take more. Read my posts as I would have asked a lot of the more embarrassing basic questions that the the very helpful forum took in its stride. I used por 15 engine enamel, high solids and can be painted directly onto bare metal. I stripped the old stuff off with a wire wheel.

Adrian

 

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Thanks Adrian! I wouldn't have been able to do this without your kit and would have had to purchase myself. You have reminded me that I have not added any pics!

Think I will start another thread so all the answers i need will be in the one place and put some pics in. The side mounting works really well btw

Aidan 

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all mk2 engine manifolds will fit ,, the ones from a ME will be alngle to compensate for the engine being tilted in the saloons ,

i thought you were going back to a MK1    engine ,  maybe not  i dont remember ....whats new /!!!

your current will/should  have the right mk2 manifold ,  ( hopefully)  im sure an angled one would make things foul the bonnet 

whats the engine number on the slave engine 

MK1  has pushrod tubes and 3/8 studs  and stepped head  ports  are 00 00 00 00  inline

mk2 P rods in head, 7/16 studs  ports 0oo00oo0  staggered 

pete

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Pete,

 

No worries, I confuse myself all the time!  So current engine in the car is ML 24700HE - Mk2 2000 saloon with the domed pistons - It's fine, burns a bit of oil but who doesn't. I think the engine was a rebuild from many a year ago by a PO, painted an odd light metalic blue probably fashionable at the time. 

The engine I have on the stand is the HC52156HE Vitesse 

 

Aidan

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so its all the same  base   Mk2  engine may have a better cam , sorry about the mk1   ignore 

i didnt even get the ME ML  right    well the suns out , brain is fried , 

you seem to be in for a lot of work for very little apart from the experience ,............which was what you were after 

pete

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 6/29/2018 at 3:42 PM, dougbgt6 said:

Sounds like underseal to me. One of my many advisories "excessive underseal". It's everywhere. :(

db

Is that an advisory? My 1200 Herald was coated in the stuff to half way up the engine. Side valences, bulkhead and all the mechanical components to a depth of inches thick. It was a nightmare to remove for the restoration.

 

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  • 3 months later...

Hi all

Crazy I know but I have just today started to strip down my replacement!

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER ?

So some pictures

20181014_111225.thumb.jpg.306d291882c7cf76b49f866d46eed886.jpg

 

i have managed to strip most of the ancillaries off now but have a question (Probably dumb) about the back plate. Fly wheel is off and all the back plate bolts removed, however this has left what looks to be a locating pin I think  see below

Should the plate just pull off or do I need to do something with this pin?

 

Thanks

 

Aidan

 

 

 

20181014_114507_resized.jpg

20181014_114523_resized.jpg

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Apply some plusgas or similar and let it soak. Alternatively, if you have one, a quick go with a spot blaster will remove the surface rust from the dowel and make removal of the backplate easier (my local preferred garage take this approach on exposed nuts to clean the bolt thread before removal).

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There's a curious red ?plastic? plug where the dizzy should go?     Was this engine equipeed with crank sensed ignition?

And may I point out on the back plate, the not very obvious groove next to the pin?    Thats to marK TDC, and some flywheels have corresponding mark.  Makes finding TDC easy and checking that your crank pulley damper on the front hasn't shifted.   Worth doing when you reassemble!

John

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Hi all

Thanks, I can now move forward!

Plus gas applied!

Colin, no that's just a cover to stop any muck galling in while I was cleaning the crud off the block

Once stripped and the head taken off is it possible to lift the block or will it still be too heavy?

Aidan 

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25 minutes ago, AidanT said:

Once stripped and the head taken off is it possible to lift the block or will it still be too heavy?

It'll still be too heavy unless you're Geoff Capes. Well, OK, maybe not quite that extreme - when I took Tessa's block to Ivor Searle, the guy there picked it up and carried it in without breaking a sweat - but it was too heavy for me.

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  • 3 months later...

Well it's me again and a quick q 

Just about to take the head off but it does not seem to want to shift. All the nuts came out (some with the studs but I assume that does not matter)  I know not to hit it with a hammer or prize it off and it is right in the corner of the garage which may not be helping 

Hit it with a plastic hammer in various locations and still no joy

So. How heavy is the 6 cyl. head?

Should I remove the remaining studs?

What's the best way to gain purchase on the head?

Any other methods? (I have also turned the engine over

Aidan

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You do need to get all the studs out unless VERY lucky.

Double nut the studs and they usually come out OK.

If it is still stuck I give the head a upwards medium whallop with a club hammer BUT I use a 12" length of timber (4x2 or similar)to act as a soft drift. That always does the trick...

 

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studs are available if needed 

i once had a mk1 2000 saloon  with a tube in the manifold ports and jacked the whole car up without a  sniff of a  shift

in the end there was enough clearance to shiled faces with cornflake card and using hacksaw blade cut through the remaining stud 

rhe bit in the block unscrewed with fingers the bit in the head went to my factory workshop  and pressed it out with 10t and a  a punch

the chuck type stud box will dig into the exposed threads if using a big impact wrench , or 3ft shifter so yes the threads are the weak link.

you should be able to lift a 6 pot head with 2 wheatabix ,  but its a heave and drop you wont go walkies with it at the same time

pete 

 

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Thanks guys - head is now on the bench. I will add pictures tomorrow. Inside is all very black and sooty 

Now it's off, is it worth checking that valve seals? I've not decided yet on what my plan is as cash is again tight - decided on a career change 🤢 so all plans are again on hold - well cash wise anyhow. Anything suggestions on non cash spend jobs with the engine?

Aidan

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It doesn't stick between the block and head faces, but in the bores that take the studs.     So get ALL the studs out, and use that baulk of timber to smack it sideways (!) and up with a heavy hammer.    If you need to double nut, discard the stud.  You might as well WELD a nut to the top of the stud and trate it as a bolt.   Even more effective, as it applies concentrated heat as well.    

You can't easily check the valve seal once the head is off - that is what the oil test with a compression gauige is for.   But now the head is off, NOW is the time for steel seats for the exhaust valves.  No worry about recession ever again.   Costs, yes but not an awful lot.

Other low cost jobs?  The engine is out, yes?     Oil baffles in the sump.   Thorough cleaning of all the oilways, including taking out the allen bolts that seal them,  bore brushes are cheap, don't forget the crank oilways.  Also the dizzy/oil pump drive bush - you can't get a bore brush past it.    It's cast iron, so don't hit with a hammer, but draw it out with a length of threaded rod, and some tube.    Goes back in the same way.  Inspect the back of the crank and consider a Speediseal if there is a groove where the oil seal goes.

John

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Easiest way to remove the valve to look at the seats ,   Ive  used this method for  many years

Head on bench,  place suitable socket under the valve head so socket sits on bench,

With another socket sized to fit the top valve spring cap  but must clear the collets ,

Add an extention to this socket and give it a good firm wack with a mallet,

The collets just jump out and the valve is now removable,   collect the collets   

You need a spring compressor to refit the collets , theres no quick way for re assemble 

Pete

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