Monday, February 25, 2013

Engine Art & Function (Partially)

Well as you know I've been focusing a lot of attention on turning this beautiful engine art into a working motor. With the stand, the clutch adapter plate, and engine wiring complete it should just be a matter of breaking in the motor a little. So I had hoped too.

It did run, just not as good as I wanted. First there were a series of CEL (Check Engine Light) codes to deal with. This meant isolating the cause for the codes and taking appropriate steps; sometimes requiring sensor replacement.


So here's the motor running once I reached the No CELs stage. If you listen carefully you will hear valve noise off and on. This still existed after I pulled the covers off and reset the valve clearances a second time. It started becoming apparent that something else was amiss. Keep in mind this is a used motor that someone did a partial rebuild/service to.

As I continued to test the motor under running conditions it continued to sound worse. I then decided it was necessary to tear it down again and dig into the details.

Right head after cleaning/lapping
Once I pulled the heads and started inspecting the valve assembly it started to get clearer:
  • All exhaust valve seals were loose - these were OK when inspected years ago. They'll get all new seals.
  • Most intake seals were dry-cracked - probably because the motor sat for several years before getting to this point. These seals will get replaced also.
  • Valve seats needed cleaned up - especially the exhaust. All valves/seats will be lapped.
  • Spark plugs were partially soaked - from blow-by of the exhaust seals. Two cylinders were worse than the others so those injectors will get tested. All were professionally cleaned before being installed.
Also inspected the pistons/cylinders in the block. There appears to be an excessive amount of oil in each cylinder. Even though some of it is due to loose exhaust valve seals, I don't think that can account for all of it. The pistons will get pulled and checked for stuck oil rings.

So I'd have to say at this point that I have partial function. I'll post back when it's all back together and hopefully have reached full function.