jonyb4 Posted February 13, 2012 Report Posted February 13, 2012 heres a thread for the mk3 im planning to buy off my old man once its repaired and in a good state sorry if this all seems fast tracked but its just a catch up and C&P from another forum of whats happened in the past 2 weeks of ownership -------- its happened :halo: ive been looking for one of these for almost a year, the higher premiums and the fact they're shooting in price has kept me from finding one after i announced to the old man im planning on buying a small project Si he decides to tell me hes secretly been looking and even bidding on mk3 capri's even while his 7 year project/show car mk1 capri is as we speak being stripped of its old paint and awaiting a new coat of green, and a repaired bulk head greedy? :hsugh: well 3 days ago he told me hes just won a 1986 laser and after planning to go get it from Preston, Lancashire, bit of a drive we set off today with his mate in his escort GTi estate thanks to its towbar (who has the red cossie lookalike P100) 489 mile journey we left at 6am, got home at just gone 4pm using an A frame to tow the car is a breeze, you can safely tow a car alone and it will steer for you anyway we got there, seen the guys new capri that replaced the one were buying, was a bit naughties styled even had a 3 door whale fin on the boot, thankfully the laser were were buying was far less "interesting" ill say :hsugh: A frame connected up C reg '85 2.0 automatic laser, completely standard with an alarm/immobiliser of some make tax till end of march, mot end by then too, cant remember when exactly known issues before winning the auction: tatty body work, bubbles and a ding in the wing, paint a bit flat low compression in one or more cylinders and stalls after 15mins of idling, believed to be head gasket upon inspection we found: tear in drivers seat slightly past it parcel shelf i found a possible bulge in 1 tyre? remote for alarm battery had died so couldnt start the car, and the box had to be disconnected as the guy couldnt shut the alarm up due to the dead remote battery then died after us trying apart from these which i will be rectifing myself as the old man is occupied with his mk1, bit stupid buying this atm considering then :doh: anyway considering ive been dieing to get my hands on a mk3 for all this time im more than happy to do the work, diamond white is quite easy to blend in when spraying too using a rotary so im going to tackle the rust myself with confedance after what i learned from doing the Si in the case the engine is kaput, we have 3 paths A if unserviceable, replace the pinto with another 2.0 B replace the pinto and auto box with a I4 8v our friend has lieing around mated to a type 9 gearbox C replace the pinto and auto box with a 2.0 Zetec mated to a type 9 gearbox (obviously along with the pedal box, funded by selling the rare auto box) this was going to be a buy cheap fix up sell on job, but ive convinced him to use it, im hoping after myself doing the work i can get a deal out of him when im ready to own it myself sorry for the long post battery is on charge, will get a battery for the remote tomorrow, and ill begin trouble shooting, starting with a compression test, but signs of water spillage from the expansion tank do suggest a blown gasket so expect some good updates regarding this small update spent and hour with the old man on it today got the manifolds off ready to take the head off, got hold of a compression tester but it was only given with one plug and its far too small in thread, so will have to get the right one off his mate ill ask at the garage i just began working for see if they have one to lend ---------- some pictures to share cant wait to spray the grill and light surrounds black, hate them being white, needs contrast manifolds off such a breeze to work on, i love the pinto engines already only 1 exhaust stud give me trouble, and a clever design where the water enters the head through a galley in the inlet (between port 2 & 3) bit bad for keeping temps down but efficient design timing and cam are marked up ready to retiming, will order a upper gasket set and head bolts wednesday, but would like to get the test done first just incase its the rings that are buggered, but im positive its the head gasket if its the rings we will need to decide to repair or replace the engine --------- well the parts arrived today pleasantly early, good old ebay gasket set (turned out not to be Payden) 10x torq head stretch bolts once down the garage i slipped the timing belt off (with thanks to the hanyes manual as i didn't have a clue where the tensioner was) its clear to see the tensioner but not how to slacken it, haynes revealed you undo the 2 bolts behind the belt and it swings 10 bolts slackened later... hard to tell if the gasket failed looking at it, some parts i can see seepage where its not in others, eg the water ways have spils under the gasket where other water ways dont cleaned the head after that, wire brushing, moving the cam and valves, removed the spark plugs, wiping away debris and oil/water the last owner (or before him) was a right cheap numpty, silicone sealer gasket was uses on the thermostat housing, no gasket present (white, can be seen in the upside down head pic above) each 8 valves are in good condition, rockers seem fine, and so do the cam lobes the 4th spark plug was a swine, embedded with determination! mallet better deep 21mm socket from a m ate were needed to get it out as it was rounding also the inlet gasket was removed, was pretty caked on so took a bit of time and cleaning but its looking good now! used the air compressor to clear all the debris and water from the head, and later the pistons next i removed the thermostat housing, was pretty grotty, these are aluminium and have a habit of eroding away and they develop holes, i wonder if any one makes alloy/stainless replacements for these?... anyway stripped it down and cleaned all the silicone off, the thermostat was looking ok, not 100% if it works, used pboiling water to test it but nothing, maybe pintos operated above boiling point? the O-ring was fooked, maybe he bodged it as the 'stat had failed? (note the slice in the ring) cleared the water from the crowns as we dont want that... see here the bodged O-ring, 'stat has the new ring fitted from the gasket set and also the new housing gasket painted the housing as black corroded white is not a good look set come with new valve stem seals, old man reminds me he's got an old home made spring compressor somewhere, so i plan to do the seals and lap the valves back in, will have to pop to get some paste, think Halfords sell them? and ill get some emery cloth too so will have myself a reconditioned head more to come tomorrow
jonyb4 Posted February 13, 2012 Author Report Posted February 13, 2012 i must stress this is the first time working on a capri, and on an engine to this level outside of college (which was over 3 years ago) so if im being daft, rusty or simply doing something wrong please be gentle popped to halfords, got me some paste and stick, only had them as a pack so the stick we got has been retired also some feeler gauges as we dont have any suitable ones i found that out when gapping my Si spark plugs, and i dont know if the tappets on the pinto require gapping or not! so got that anyway as they were cheap as with trade! both come to £6, they were £4 each before trade also since they didnt have a thermostart, so popped into my local motor factors who are nice genuine people, told her a 86 2.0 capri and she thought for a sec and told me the QH part number, cracking lady, shes been in the business for 45 years! then had a chat about the capri and about her old Anglia's anyway come to more than the standard price at halfords but saved me traveling to neaths store, besides im happy to give the lady my business over halfords! forgot to get some emery cloth though! ill manage with brushes and coarse sand paper shall spend an hour or so taking the valves out later ---------- cheers dave! time to take the valves out! how i got on today cam follower adjusters need to be slacked off to removed the followers this is done by using a 19mm on the bottom section, loosening it to the right as normal then after its slackened off, you use a 15mm to loosen the top section, opposite lock once that is done you need to pop this clip off like so and as long as the cam lobe is not resting on the follower (downwards facing) the follower can be removed easy inlets done all done then naturally the next step is to remove the valves so spring compressor collets removed, spring and cup out, and valve dropped through due to the end the bloody compressor broke so had to weld it back up classy welds hour later all the valves are out... none are bent, all are a bit grotty but only one stem seal was leaking slightly, others were oil free the collection, all marked next i removed the cam oil spray rail note the spray jets then drilled these out to 1.5mm before left, 1.5mm right done back in place, decent pick of stripped down head, if only i had the dosh for a decent uprated cam new valve stem oil seals in place these needed alot of pressing, had to use a screw driver but in retrospect a small socket would have done better! all done for tonight, not sure much will be done tomorrow as me and the old man are going to a car show/jumble in shepton mallet tomorrow, and we found 2 brand new valves and are contemplating weather to buy the other 6 even thinks he has new followers too! this head is getting the works! hope you like
jonyb4 Posted February 14, 2012 Author Report Posted February 14, 2012 done some work on the head today, getting there now only spent and hour and half as i got plans for valentines day :hsugh: sprayed up a few things to spruce the bay up once back together!, nice satin black engine lift eyes cam cover more on point, started polishing and cleaning the ports, combustion chambers and valves up valve 1, exhaust valve 2, inlet cleaned up using emery cloth, then 320 wet and dry paper lapping in using coarse, then fine grinding paste i also spent a good effort cleaning the heads, ports and chambers using wire drill bits valve 3, exhaust other ports more will be done tomorrow! comments and advice welcome
jonyb4 Posted February 16, 2012 Author Report Posted February 16, 2012 more work done tonight on the mk3 all valves are in and springs on lapping valves like a boss, with fast ford mag! 2 new exhaust valves crowns de-coked, block mating surface cleaned was fun trying to get pistons to TDC turning the key all valves in just the followers left now, spare valves... tomorrow it should be put back on the block, just tappets a few gaskets, thermostat housing and head bolts left considering stripping the carburettor down, as they need annual maintenance its likely due, and i have new seals and gaskets for it comments welcome! more tomorrow
jonyb4 Posted February 16, 2012 Author Report Posted February 16, 2012 could a moderator please move this thread to projects section please?! cheers!
jonyb4 Posted February 18, 2012 Author Report Posted February 18, 2012 Update got each of the tappets fitted and adjusted to 0.025mm gap on the exhaust, 0.020mm on the inlet fitting the thermostat cleaned the bolts up fitted the head and gasket, the 10 bolts in place ready for torquing sequence cam cover gasket cam cover mucky old bolts... ... were given a new lease of life fitted new exhaust gaskets on... new air ratchet makes such light work of nuts and bolts and will set them all to 50lbs/ft too inlet gasket... notice the water inlet pipe between port 2 and 3? in my mind its bad design to have water flowing so close to the inlet ports, if a leak happened it could destroy con rods letting water int he chambers done for last night, got in at 1AM! these arrived today, handy quick air line couplings timed up and all together minus the air box slight snag, i dont have a clue about distributors, nor how to time them up im getting spark, but i dont know if its firing at the right time.. doesnt help that the dizzy is loose and turns by hand! can any one give advice? i know its fueling, plus ive been pouring petrol down the carb, only managed 1 hickup from it
caulkie Posted February 18, 2012 Report Posted February 18, 2012 cracking thread, lots of info and great photo's, some really good work there mate,
jonyb4 Posted February 20, 2012 Author Report Posted February 20, 2012 ordered a few bits Powerspark ignition stroke timing light and Powerspark pointless electronic ignition kit the electronic ignition kit is a great piece of kit, my fathers mk1 has it on the 1.6 pinto, basicly takes away the moving trigger arm which needs regapping and wears over time, these use magnets instead car starts first time everytime and produces a better stronger spark! ** dont think this is the exsact kit but only the wires and connectors differ!
jonyb4 Posted February 24, 2012 Author Report Posted February 24, 2012 after days of trying to start this engine, im starting to believe it is knackered... simply will not start started with being an ignition timing issue, now thats all set up lovely and accurate as possible without it actually running to use the strobe its not helped, even thought it might be a fuse problem, so had cleaned each terminal and fuse up then i figured fuel wasnt reaching the cylinders, so i then took the carb off, checked it used compressed air to clean the jets etc, refitted with cleaned and new gaskets still wont start cleaned up using my new air belt sander, can also see my new disc cutter which ill need for sorting the fiesta gaskets on so i then had an urge to remove the exhaust manifold and try it. so then it would pop and blow flames, seem as if it wants to start but never actually achieve it so that passes the exhaust being blocked like i figured at first i then took the cam cover off, and saw this: very light brown oil that was only put in fresh 2 days ago... (car is jacked up on the drivers hence the oil swaying) now its hardly meant to be that colour! i serviced my fiesta 2 months ago and thats still got golden oil i presume this is water mixing and if it was running after a while it would turn white and mayonnaise like so its starting to look grim for this poor pinto! me and the old man are going to have a capri clued mate roudn to give a second opinion, but we are talking about what engine is going to be replacing this, another pinto? zetec? I4 8v? CVH? any advice recommendation ors even if you know of an engine for sale, please let me know!
jonyb4 Posted March 5, 2012 Author Report Posted March 5, 2012 come home from holiday to be greeted by these pair of lovelys number 1 is in bits, a 205 block and missing its bottom end, and a loose head the other is a 2.0 non 205 block, has a selection of mods done to it and is ready to go, just needs freeing up after a years sitting fast road cam, twin 40's i believe, 8mm silicone leads, and ported head (again im not 100% on that) work will start soon then :aviator: fair play to the old man for finding them, locally for £100, with tons of spares for the 205
jonyb4 Posted March 11, 2012 Author Report Posted March 11, 2012 spent 2 hours on her later this night (dunno why i prefer working at night?!) the old engine is ready to lift out, just 1 of the 4 bolts on each engine mounts heolding her on, that and the fact the gearbox is stuck to the block but anyway should be out tomorrow so watch this space
jonyb4 Posted March 13, 2012 Author Report Posted March 13, 2012 my mate was lending me his hoist yesterday as planned, but when i got down there about to lift it in the boot he changes his mind, useless coon so after that small delay i sourced another, went and picked it up, and to my delight it fitted in the fiesta :Q pinto ready to come out, only 2 engine mount bolts securing it parts in back seat short while later and what the fook this thing is so weird looking, a "torsion transfer device" first time seeing one of these before, looked a bit different in the college videos so unbolted it, 5 bolts behind the "flywheel" took the alternator off and stowed the engine in the corner, ill come back to it later to strip it down lifted the new engine up and packed up for tonight only got the hoist for a few days so tomorrow ill be cleaning the bay, as its full of gunky black shit and swapping a few things over eg the automatic setup, got a new fuel pump for it, also the electronic ignition
jonyb4 Posted March 16, 2012 Author Report Posted March 16, 2012 well got stuff swapped over and new engine in, finally after faffing about with the silly torque converter for ages, as it wouldnt line up fully with the gearbox input shaft anyway its a big thanks to W P E on old skool ford for recommending that i take the engine back out, take the converter off and slot it on the shaft, then position the engine and using the starter motor hole do each of the 4 bolts up that secure flywheel to the converter, worked a treat so thanks man! hes got the patience of a saint and stuck through my phone calls a few times now so bolted the gearbox to the block and both engine mounts are on and tight, the hoist needs to go back tomorrow as ive already had it 4 days and the garage is busy! tomorrows jobs are some plumbing, wire refitting and bolt the exhaust back on, not far from firing up! pics to complement and in comments welcome!
OldskoolSue Posted March 16, 2012 Report Posted March 16, 2012 Great thread I had that tea like light brown oil in my old laser when the engine began to fail,it was the head gasket that was at fault,so im guessing even though you had pain stakingly done all that work on the old engine something was not right good to see the new engine in though,good luck with the rest of it.
jas Posted March 16, 2012 Report Posted March 16, 2012 u should really leave the torque converter in the gearbox and not pull it out with the engine dont put it back the way u took it out and make sure u put it back in the gearbox right or your kill the gearbox u can bolt it up to the fly wheel after u fit the engine.
jas Posted March 16, 2012 Report Posted March 16, 2012 sorry i just had a read of the rest and see u done it
jonyb4 Posted March 16, 2012 Author Report Posted March 16, 2012 cheers for the comments guys yea sorry them pictures throw you off, they were taking of the engine dropping in the initial first time, i took it back out and fitted the converter to the shaft then put the engine back in and bolted it up update on this in a min
jonyb4 Posted March 16, 2012 Author Report Posted March 16, 2012 cheers for the comments guys yea sorry them pictures throw you off, they were taking of the engine dropping in the initial first time, i took it back out and fitted the converter to the shaft then put the engine back in and bolted it up update on this in a min
jonyb4 Posted March 16, 2012 Author Report Posted March 16, 2012 well started to plumb things in, got more done than i planned since i lost to much fluid made a start on the electric fan conversion, whether it saves 3 bhp or not i want a nice quite and uncluttered engine bay, so nice efficient electric fan got this inline switch from a mk4 fiesta with a 1.3 hcs
jonyb4 Posted April 11, 2012 Author Report Posted April 11, 2012 well its been a while, but things are picking up with this after the new engine not starting either, and then a spark plug snapping, it took a easy out bit a welded nut and some swearing to lift it out so its got new plugs copper greased in and also a new 60A battery still not firing, getting pops and bangs but nothing worthwhile so im going to check the timing tomorrow but only one issue being its got a vernier cam pulley, so how do i know if the cam is set to TDC? will the first 2 cam lobes be in a perfectly straight "V" shape? also the carb leaks like mad, so the old engines carb will be put on soon too never ending struggle this car
jonyb4 Posted April 13, 2012 Author Report Posted April 13, 2012 a new shock come for it today, old man tells me one on the back is leaking and looking down in the dumps, not sure why he only bought 1 though, was £22 new on ebay then i took the bumper off and this is how far i got before being halted by stubborn self tappers grill and headlight surrounds are going black, bumper is being repainted, and the rust around the front panel is being removed and fresh white paint going on
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