Early Winter Diy

[Martin R]

Here we go again then. First the disclaimer. This is in no way a guide on how to do it. Its the story of what i did when the head gasket went on my car. I will do the job to the best of my ability as always.

 

There would be no point in my trying to do a " how to guide " You will need a service manual and a lot of patience. I will just try and highlight a few of the trials and pitfalls along the way.

 

I take no responsibility if it goes tits up and you are daft enough to think i know what im doing

As always anyone who knows better than me or has any suggestions please pipe up.

 

Firstly the Blue bomber is finally back home courtesy of the AA

 

 

I changed the anti freeze to the latest OAT ( organic acid technology ) stuff about 18 months ago. Its a pink colour. I also recently changed my expansion tank as it had a crack in it. This is why it looks so clean.

 

What no antifreeze left

 

 

 

The only thing in the bottle is the stain from the OAT

 

Found it. Mixed in with my best Silkolene oil. My god it makes a mess its like treacle when it comes out.

 

 

 

After eventually finding the fuel pump fuse i ran the car for a few seconds to relieve the pressure in the fuel pipes ready for later. I will post a pic when the clams off.

 

Ive also drained the oil as you can see and removed the filter. I obviously removed the 2 rear under trays to do this. Ive also drained whats left of the antifreeze by removing the pipes that come out of the sill either side at the rear.

 

I may have been a tad lucky. The water only seems to have gone into the oil and not the other way round as well ( fingers crossed ) This sludge would be a nightmare in the rad and heater matrix. My fingers are firmly crossed that this is the case. When i drained the remaining anti freeze by pulling the pipes off only antifreeze came out. I guess this is dependent on how / where the gasket blows. All will be revealed in due course.

 

Next up is removing the exhaust. The rear wheel arch liners have also been removed and then the rear clam is coming off hopefully.

 

Ive now removed both of the seats to allow me to take out the 2 speakers. This allows you to get at the 2 bolts in the speaker recess,s. One either side. Ive also now removed most of the fixings for the rear clam. Including 2 with the aid of a dremmel.

 

The clams now off. Its not a difficult job but it is time consuming. Notice the freezer bag tied to the roll bar. Its got the clam fixings in. I do this with all the fixings. I attached close to or on the appropriate bit so ive got a chance when it goes back together.

 

 

A pic of the fuel pump fuse as promised. Its attached to the ally bracket that holds the fuel filter. However its pointed away from you so you cannot see its a fuse. I will be repositioning it at a later date. Its held to the plate by a screw but ive removed it for the pic.

 

 

A couple of pics of the engine. I will no doubt need these when i forget how it goes back together.

 

 

 

Ive now removed the inlet plenum and a few other bits.

 

 

This is the mess thats left behind, deep joy indeed.

 

 

This may seem a daft pic but its not. Ive cut a 22mm socket in half for the crankshaft bolt. This will be tight to say the least. Its also available if anyone else is daft enough to fancy a go at a cam belt change or DIY HGF.

 

Edit. After a bit more research it turns out you would be better using a 6 point socket. I will have to do another for the tightening up.

 

 

Its almost impossible to get a good pic of this bit but its probably the most important bit of the job. This applies to the VVC engine the 2 timing marks on the camshaft pulleys have to line up in the middle. They must also line up with the bolts in the centre. I will get some tipex and try and take some better pics. There is also a mark on the crankshaft pulley that has to line up with a mark on the lower crankshaft cover. This is virtually impossible to see due to the engine mounting, mounting plate being in the way. Confused, you will be. I told you, you would need a service manual. Bear with me and i will try to explain it better.

 

 

Ive got some tipex to try and improve the explenation. All these 4 lines need to be in line. The engine tilts back slightly and the wheels are beveled. This may make them look out of line. You will have to believe me when i say they are as close as you can get. The 2 lines on the camshaft pulleys must line up with the centre of the bolts.

 

 

Ive marked the notch on the crankshaft pully with tipex. You are supposed to line this up with a mark on lower cam belt outer cover. This is hidden behind the engine mounting mounting plate as you can see in the pic.

 

 

What i have also done is put a reference mark of tipex to line up with the TDC mark also on the lower cam belt outer cover.

 

 

I know its a bit messy but its not the easiest place to get at. I will remove the marks after ive fitted a new cam belt.

I have also fitted the camshaft locking tool.

[Martin R]

Im now considering this from

 

http://www.dvapower.co.uk/

 

The KO 6a upgrade. I cant really afford it. However ive been pricing up the bits to do the job myself. Ive also had a look at refurbishing a VVC head in the service manual " Gulp " Its far more complicated than a normal head. Im going to get in touch with Dave after the lakes and see what he can do. A VVC ported / refurbished head i can just drop on would be good. I will let you know the outcome / cost later. I will also keep a list of the costs and publish it at the end.

[sarahb]

Im now considering this from

 

http://www.dvapower.co.uk/

 

The KO 6a upgrade. I cant really afford it. However ive been pricing up the bits to do the job myself. Ive also had a look at refurbishing a VVC head in the service manual " Gulp " Its far more complicated than a normal head. Im going to get in touch with Dave after the lakes and see what he can do. A VVC ported / refurbished head i can just drop on would be good. I will let you know the outcome / cost later. I will also keep a list of the costs and publish it at the end.

 

Hi Martin

Just had a look at KO6a and it looks like a very reasonable cost for around an extra 25bhp (and you can trust the figures that DVA provide).

It stops short of the need for expensive items like throttle bodies, forged pistons and an emerald and you don't have to mess about getting it mapped.

If you can scrape the cash together it looks like the way forward.

See you soon.

Mick & Sarah

[Ladders]

Martin, when the clams off it might be worth making access holes to the speaker pod bolts from the rear of the clam, if it's possible?

 

I was round steve's and he showed me access holes that had been made either side from the rear, so you can get access to them through the engine bay. May be worth asking him about it as it's a bit hard to explain!

[Martin R]

Martin, when the clams off it might be worth making access holes to the speaker pod bolts from the rear of the clam, if it's possible?

 

I was round steve's and he showed me access holes that had been made either side from the rear, so you can get access to them through the engine bay. May be worth asking him about it as it's a bit hard to explain!

 

Im sure he will be along shortly. Im not sure half of this is going back in though. The radio is knackered and we use the Elan for the touring so i will give it some thought. Access holes would be good though

[Ladders]

Martin, the holes I was on about are here on Steve's. Not sure if you'd be able to get to them with the clam on though?

 

Good mug btw!

 

Oh, btw any reason you haven't had a new manifold Martin? The old one is a heap of junk IMO!

[Martin R]

Phil, thanks for the offer but im going for a PRT one when / if its ever running again.

 

Dave, there are 3 or 400 reasons why im sticking with the old manifold.

 

Steve, im just about coping with the lovely Lizs help

[Martin R]

Continuation of post one as ive run out of room.

 

 

 

Immediately in front of the drivers side drive shaft exit from the gearbox, you will find a hole. You can get a large screwdriver in the fly wheel ring gear to lock the crankshaft in position. This enables you to undo the crankshaft pulley bolt with your previously cut down 12 point socket. Trust me its tight.

 

You may need to rotate the cams slightly to get some of the head bolts out. Only move them as little as absolutely necessary

 

The heads now off " phew ". When i removed the sparkplugs # 3 was covered in oil and all sorts. This would indicate the problem was here. A few pics.

DO NOT under any circumstances rotate the crankshaft with the head removed. It will break the seal between the liners and block. You have to fit liner clamps if you need to rotate it.

 

 

 

 

Ive also checked the liner height " stand proud " I presume you do it like this. With a straight edge and a set of feeler guages to the block face.

 

 

The stand proud appears to be a fairly consistent 3 thou across the block It is supposed to be 4 thou i believe. This will have to do for me. A lot better than i had feared to be honest.

 

Ive decided to go for Dave Andrews K0 6a upgrade. Unfortunatly this will mean a wait for him to get my head in as he is busy. This will give me time to save the money though and do a few other jobs.

 

Ive therefore changed the fuel filter. When doing this make sure you grease the 2 unions around the ends after you have changed it. I had to have a new pipe as mine was rusty at the first C service. The pipe was close to £200.

 

Ive also changed the Alternator for one i had in my garage. The water pump has also been changed for an uprated item.

 

When i removed the exhaust manifold one of the studs broke. A couple of pics.

 

 

 

Notice the broken stud and the quality of the welding. Most of this does nothing but restrict the flow.

 

 

 

 

Not now it doesnt. I have attacked it with a air driven dremmel. It would take forever with a normal one. I would like to have gone for a better manifold as well but that will have to wait.

[Martin R]

The good news is the head is off The even better news is there is some liner stand proud. If you put a straight edge across the liners you can get a 2 thou feeler guage under on all of them to the block face. You can only get a 4 thou under in a couple of places. I would try a 3 thou but ive not got one. Its going to be near enough i think. I will post a few pics later. You all missed my deliberate mistake though. The exhaust manifold i fettled is for a S2 111s as its completely different to mine. I will have to do mine as well. We are now off to celebrate.

[Martin R]

Ive posted a few pics of the removed head gasket. If anyone with more knowledge than me would like to comment, i will add it to the thread. Ive also found another set of feeler guages. The stand proud appears to be a fairly consistent 3 thou.

[Martin R]

Ive have today spoken with Dave Andrews. He cant fit me in till the end of September. I have however booked it in with him to upgrade the head. It will give me a chance to save the money and also do the other jobs ive picked up on. Im going to replace the water pump as it would be a false economy not to 9 years old and 45K miles. I will update the thread as i go.

[Stumason10]

Ive have today spoken with Dave Andrews. He cant fit me in till the end of September. I have however booked it in with him to upgrade the head. It will give me a chance to save the money and also do the other jobs ive picked up on. Im going to replace the water pump as it would be a false economy not to 9 years old and 45K miles. I will update the thread as i go.

 

 

Lucky Beggar! My Liners were low! Have you got steel dowels in your head, or, the plastic ones??

 

I fitted the LRV PRT, only issue seems to be it makes the heater colder on my S1 anyway. Good luck with the rest of the build. If you are taking car into DVA, one upgrade I wish I'd gone for now is Forged Pistons. As the Std ones are rated to max of 160 ish...However the extra stress of racing / sprinting may be worth paying the £500.00 A set of std ones is similar (if you can find them).

 

One other thing that may make you think again re DVA (I am not knocking his work btw), is have a look how much a S2160 Trophy Engines go for.......especially ones out of MG / Rovers......

 

They have much stronger pistons too.....

 

In hindsight I wish I had done a S2 111s engine and box swap. Would of worked out cheaper than mods to mine....And you get a close ratio box thrown in too...

[Martin R]

Stu, im only having the head done and thats streching it a bit finance wise. The 111s has uprated pistons anyway i believe. The same as the trophy engines IIRC My dowels are steel and the CR box is also standard on a 111s. Anything else will have to wait till i blow it up a second time. I will be fitting a PRT though after ive tried it and hopefully its OK.

 

Edit, it appears the S1 111s may well have standard pistons

[fentuz]

In hindsight I wish I had done a S2 111s engine and box swap. Would of worked out cheaper than mods to mine....And you get a close ratio box thrown in too...

 

the engine from the S2 111S in a S1 yes

The gear box from the S2 111S in a S1 is point less. The s2 111s is factory fitted with a "long ratio" GB(the same as the S1 120hp) if you're after a short ratio, you can of course fit a GB from the S1 111S or from the s2 120hp.

[Matt C]

3 thou liner height is fine. Even better being consistant.

 

(I'm sure you know already) What ever you do... don't turn the crank over whilst the head is off! (Piston liners will move and loose the seal to the block).