Andyg's Colgate Wagon Project thread

[andyg plym]

Initially I couldn’t get a nail in the marks , I tried brake cleaner on a cloth and wiped it, then wd40 but only a very light go. Now the marks feel grainy when you rub your fingers over them
still waiting for a response from the engine shop but I guess they could also be on lockdown, I did watch some amusing YouTube videos one guy using a drill at high speed with some sort of bore cleaner and loads of lube.... it didn’t really work so best left to the pros I think!

whats the going rate on a hone? anybody done similar?

[twenty valve]

Excuse my ignorance but wouldn't reboring and fitting a plus size piston unbalance the engine ? I only ask because at some time in the future I might be in a similar situation

No worries not ignorant at all. Depending upon the change in piston weight, then technically yes it might do. But i would argue in any case, it would be negligible and wouldn't cause any detriment or noticable difference. In this scenario I definitely wouldn't worry about it. In other circumstances then sure you might wan't to consider getting a rebalance.

andyg plym That's interesting. Perhaps it's not as bad as it looks in the pictures. Keep us posted with what the engine shop say

[andyg plym]

that bore doesn't look good did you have any other head gasket symptoms before apart from oil in coolant? As SteveH said, it looks like water has leaked into the bore and corroded it, but if that was the case, I would expect there were serious problems when it was running before. Is that top line of damage around the bore level when the engine's in the car? (i.e. when the engine is tilted to the angle it's fitted at). Also I'm guessing you cleaned the top of the piston in the first picture after having taken the third picture?

It looks unlikely that will clean up with a hone and still be within tolerance for a stock piston. That's if the piston isn't fooked as well.

Best case scenario is you can clean up with a light hone in situ without stripping the block and refit the old piston with new rings which i think this is really unlikely. In that case, you'll be in for stripping the block and either; 1. sleeving the bore and reusing the old piston if it's ok, or finding another stock piston 2. reboring the cylinder and fitting a plus size piston (that's if you can buy a single 81.5 or 82mm piston)

Otherwise it's a full rebore and new set of pistons the money can really start to run away here

It ran beautifully used no oil , used a bit of water but then the radiator was also leaking. It never overheated , just to reiterate the expansion tank was never once milky just dark oil coloured coolant

[simons2]

Excuse my ignorance but wouldn't reboring and fitting a plus size piston unbalance the engine ? I only ask because at some time in the future I might be in a similar situation

[twenty valve]

that bore doesn't look good did you have any other head gasket symptoms before apart from oil in coolant? As SteveH said, it looks like water has leaked into the bore and corroded it, but if that was the case, I would expect there were serious problems when it was running before. Is that top line of damage around the bore level when the engine's in the car? (i.e. when the engine is tilted to the angle it's fitted at). Also I'm guessing you cleaned the top of the piston in the first picture after having taken the third picture?

It looks unlikely that will clean up with a hone and still be within tolerance for a stock piston. That's if the piston isn't fooked as well.

Best case scenario is you can clean up with a light hone in situ without stripping the block and refit the old piston with new rings which i think this is really unlikely. In that case, you'll be in for stripping the block and either; 1. sleeving the bore and reusing the old piston if it's ok, or finding another stock piston 2. reboring the cylinder and fitting a plus size piston (that's if you can buy a single 81.5 or 82mm piston)

Otherwise it's a full rebore and new set of pistons the money can really start to run away here

[andyg plym]

Yes all the badness is on number 4 all others unmarked it has laid up for 2+ years before I bought it back but that was in 2011! Longest since then it’s not ran is around a month but it’s quite a plausible theory

[SteveH]

Is the first pic of No4 cylinder? I doesn't look like typical scoring. Has it ever been laid up for a good while? Perhaps water got into the cylinder and corroded it. You might be lucky and be able to hone it and fit a new set of rings.

[andyg plym]

Well engine is out, took the head off and unsurprisingly found the head gasket blown but now also found score marks on the bore of cylinder 4. Waiting to hear back from local engine shop, I’ve not stripped an engine down to this extent before

[80Comp]

Looks fresh in that color
Really cool interiour as well.. (Never seen that before)

[andyg plym]

One quite dirty looking engine bay so whilst the lump is out I want to address this, get everything as clean as possible

[SteveH]

Get the head off and tested. Hopefully not porous and get it skimmed. Reinz gasket and rebuild the head while off the motor. Certainly get the valve stem oil seals done. All the details for the torque settings are online.

[andyg plym]

No turning back now! Nice to be able to take my time on this unlike rushing and outdoors like last time I had the lump out.
so the coolant was pretty murky and had oil present, attempted to flush out a while back using lemon acid and must of flushed for a good hour but the oil came back so decided it’s head gasket time
so it’s 2020 are we all still of the opinion of victor reinz metal head gasket and arp studs are the way forward?
Am I to get the head skimmed ? I ask as I work for Mercedes and they should not be and I’ve heard of others the same. Best get the head pressure tested I guess, it’s sub 90k But rs2+ spec
is there a guide anywhere of torque settings? Sequence of head bolts etc

cheers guys!

[andyg plym]

Yes but the reservoir decides to go low after a drive so low it goes below the pipe attached to it for the master cylinder, I look underneath and the bomb is wet , whilst the lump is out I want to fit Error’s brake conversion and upgrade anyway
just finding the time now seem to have less and less these days....

[Rusty]

Glad to hear it's still screaming about!

Hydraulic system and brake system are separate, so the bomb won't affect the clutch.

[andyg plym]