engine rebuild... where to start

[Tidy Max]

so the panels are off the 1.2. and there the lovely engine is in all its vaux goodness, what next?

clean up eveything i can without actually removing anything?

im going to drain the fluids tonight, then who knows!...

[George g]

So are you re building the engine, or just cleaning up the bay?

If the engine is getting a rebuild then you will need to take it out, then i would strip it and rebuild from the top down. Hth.

[Tidy Max]

well both to be honest mate!

i know nothing about engines but now the nova isn't my daily driver i thought f it!

the bay needs some welding doing anyway, so i thought id get it sorted and spray the bay up and re build the engine at the same time, but i just don't know where to unbolt first, or what i can take off to start cleaning without the need of an engine crane!

[Paul]

engine rebuild... where to start

No offence, but if your asking that, give up now

[Tidy Max]

well.. offence taken lol

everyone has to start somewhere, and im sure its all just nuts and bolts at the end of the day!

[General Baxter]

put loads of water into the bores, then turn it over to blow all the water out, that will wash all the insides for you lol














do this and your a bellend :roll:

[Tidy Max]

im not a complete nugget, i remember that thread that was linked on here ages ago, about some bloke who got told to do that by a garage, did it, and then posted it up on a forum that he had cleaned his engine lol

anyone remember it?

i assume the lovely small print was just to make sure i didnt!

[General Baxter]

you said nugget lol

[novaguy08]

start by taking the rocker cover off, finish by putting it back on............ what you do inbetween is up to you.

to be honest though 1 tip i would say is have a marker with you & money bags (empty!) when you take nuts/bolts off pop them into the bags & mark the bags where they come from apart from the gaskets and head bolts, the sotrage for them is the big black thing in the corner thats quite offten smelly lol
take your time over it, and use it as a learning curve! Also make sure that you got some spare cash for spare parts in case you do cock up! you know what parts your going to change?
Finnially write a list & time frame for it! stick it on the garage wall something like
take off head - 2 hours
take off sump - 45 mins
ect....
ect........
ect............
ect.................

You get the idea! that way you can tick it off whilst your doing it and you dont finish doing the re-build and find out you forgot something like putting pistons back in lol

[General Baxter]

head off 2 hours,

you can do a headgasket,cambelt, waterpump change on a 8v in 3/4 hour lol

[novaguy08]

yeah i know, just an example baxter! lol
Also have you forgotten to renew?

[Tidy Max]

cheers nova guy, well thats how ive started doing it so far, im writing down what i did, and how many nuts bolts washers there were attatched to that part, and taken a pic of what ive written down with the part ive took off and numbered them..


then on a seperate sheet written down the same with a number, so it start #1: bonnet, 4 bolts, 2 either side
#2: grill...
etc, i figured if i do it this way, when i come to print out all the pics, ill basically have a haynes manual i can half understand, and of course we all know, REASSAMBLEY IS THE REVERSE OF STEP 13.14 lol

cheers though chap, and yeah i want to find out what bits should be changed as i go along, i think im also pretty much going to work my way through the articles section as best i can too, rear disc conversion, bigger breaks, cav gear linkage and stuff

im excited for spraying it up haha, going to get my mig welder 2nite i think! 80quid like new with wire reels and 3 gas bottles!


......and yes i said nugget lol

[novaguy08]

ok you need to change EVERYTHING lol........... nah but you do need to change any oil seals, bearings, gaskets and anything rubber/plastic imo if you got the cash to recon or change the hydro tappets and drop a 1.6 cam back into it when its all going back together.

[Tidy Max]

can you fit a 1.6cam into a 1.2?

[novaguy08]

carb or inj? either way, yes, just make sure you check the end floats are them same for the dizzy drive. they give a higer lift and a bit more gogo

[Tidy Max]

cool, spi baby lol

[novaguy08]

yeah piss easy job whilst doing a rebuild mate! just make sure that you pop the cam pully off before you take the cambelt off or its an **** to do!

[Tidy Max]

well, im going to try and get abit more done tonight, still got to tidy out my cellar so i have somewhere to fit my panels so they dont get (more) damaged!

[Stuart]

just make sure the 1.6 cam has the right dizzy drive on it before fitting it all in lol

[novaguy08]

just make sure you check the end floats are them same for the dizzy drive.

Keep up stuart lol

[Tidy Max]

lol if it didnt have the right drive, would it just completely fire at all the wrong times (assuming the wrong drive actually fits, im only asking so i can learn more, as the distributer is the part that dishes out the spark isnt it?... via the rotor arm ;)

[novaguy08]

there are 2 types of dizzy drive, slot type (early engines) and pin type (late engines) they are NOT interchangable if you have the wrong one then it will not work full stop! You cant swap the dizzy's over either as the older types have vacuum controll & no hall sensor whilst its the opposite for newer ones.

Yes the dizzy dishes out the spark via the rotor arm.

[Stuart]

have you got a haynes manual? if not why the hell not!

[Tidy Max]

have i got the haynes manual, pff course i have, when im feeling smug and clever i just read that, really knocks me down a peg!


..got the max power one too :roll:

[philip]

if want the motor rebuilding. drop me a pm. and i can sort it out for you.

[Tidy Max]

cheers matey! im doing it more to learn about though rather than it needing doing :)

but when its in pieces in my garage it may be a completely differant matter

[novaguy08]

..got the max power one too :roll:

Burn it!

Waste of smegin time the "max power" haynes, all they tell you about is glueing dodgy bodykits to them & stuffing large amounts of ice in a small space (what they dont tell you is how to deal with the horrible melting plastic smell you get afterwards! lol) there very little of use in them manuals!

[Tidy Max]

yeah it just get used for resting brews on, i make quite alot of use of the regular haynes one, well worth the full price i paid for it!

[novaguy08]

it is, ive got one myself and its got me through a few things but ive also wanted to throw it over the room several times shouting various swears at it

[Tidy Max]

haha yeah i can imagine, it seems to be quite good for the service instructions, like what to do when, the annoying thing is how its set out AND

how it uses the sooper dooper correct terms, ill look for say 'front bumper' (bad example, as thats what its in the index as, but anyway) and it wont be there, instead its under... forward thrust child deflector, or something like that!

i end up trying to thing of everyname possible just for one part lol

[novaguy08]

yup ive had that before............ takes me a few mins to stop myself from setting it alight & shouting at it to talk english

[Stuart]

hmmmm either its been reprinted in difficult language, or the pair of you are retards..... I'll assume the latter :p

[Tidy Max]

damn hes on to us novaboy! act intelligent!

[novaguy08]

I am intelegent *EGO!!*, but when its going on about removing the thing like in fig C when there is NO fig C or see another chapter then do this, or remove the doodad with the thingymabob and then jump up n down 4 times before drilling a hole in a completly different and uninvolved bit whilst patting your head and rubbing your stomach :WTF:.......... either everyone has a different book to me or i prefer to use my sences on how to do things! i suspect the latter lol

And max, its novaGUY lol ;)

[supernovaxe]

if i was u max, which im not but if i were id make sure u have a complete understanding of the internal workings of a combustion engine, this could save u lot of time and effort and give u a wider knowledge of "the big picture". if u dont know how everything works dont start fekin with major components in ur lump coz it will all end in tears, i dnt know how to post links but check out howstuffworks.com and look in "auto", then ,"under the hood". might be helpful

[Tidy Max]

i know novaguy, but i wanted to make you sound more super hero like! NOVABOY TO THE RECUE

lol sorry mate, my mistake, and cheers supernova, im not completely dumb to the internal workings, i understand it, but only in theory really, i will check out that part off howstuffworks though for sure, and thanks for the advice!

[Gashgusher]

i can give you a lift with stuff if you like, no super hero but ive re built my top half of 1.4 mpi, replacin lots of bits inc lappin new valves in etc. common sense and a haynes will get you far, but it helps if ur mate's a grease monkey on the end of a phone/ round the corner. good luck

[Tidy Max]

cheers gusher :) excelled myself tonight, removed a few more bits and bobs including the tailgate, popped the lifter off.......without suppporting the ******* thing, BUT LUCKILY

my head was in the way so its all good lol

felt like a proper c unit, its all learning... i suppose!!

thanks though mate, i may take you up on that offer, managed to decide what im going to do with the car, matt black engine bay, satin white exterior, and just get it as comfy aqnd nice to drive as possible, should make a very nice car for someone when(if) im finished!

[novaguy08]

lol ouch, be carefull mate, hit my head several times, usually sitting up whilst being just not far out enough from under the car........ but ive had a tailgate drop on my head after finding out the lifter was knackered! lock hit me dead top of my head and knocked me on me ****! swore a bit but narrowly avoided a trip to hospital!!

Injusries are part & parcel of doing things like this mate, you should have seen my hands after changing the cam!!! Nice big scar on one of my fingers after slipping & slicing it open quite nice knowing some of my bloody was circulating in the oil till i changed it lol

[Tidy Max]

haha, you put your blood and sweat into that car!

polished up my rocker cover last night, looks mint, only took 4 hours lol

[Stuart]

you learn more from "how not to do it's" than from getting it right first time ;)

[Tidy Max]

now that sir, i can believe!

off for the 7th day of trying to find the astra vans diesel leak now, i feel like crying when i open the bonnet of that sodding thing

[taffnova]

you should be able to rebuild these in day maybe two just make sure you got no bad scoring on any shells or crank and re horne bores take the glaze off if your doing bottom end