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Greasy-ass Imported EUDM VVT Rods-only Refresh Something
Here's a little bit more about where I'm at currently: https://www.miataturbo.net/meet-gree...ly-new-102604/
Relatively experienced in the way of Miata, done some cross dressing with MSM motors in NA6 chassis, but I've never built an engine. Generally speaking, I take instruction well, can measure, can assemble, and have the extra space, time and cash. So, I bought a motor from UK Prestige Spares, or whatever. Couldn't afford not to. At this point, I had no plan, but cool, I've got a motor! I've spent five bills in a lot worse ways. My original thought was throw a lot of money at fancy internals and throw a lot of boost at it. My current thought is, patsmx5 may be my spirit animal: https://www.miataturbo.net/engine-pe...d-89553/page2/ First post will just show what I got off the truck. I was concerned. It's "greasy, Julian". Things didn't get any better once I cracked it open. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ea208ab117.jpg Lookin' pretty scrungy, for 70-something K. Is that miles or kilometers? Either way, oof. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...c0e9c933ce.jpg Huh, some cam lobe pattern wear. Apparently this is normal. Look at that nasty oil build up and varnish though... https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...7951981f46.jpg Fuckin' hell, gross. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...4cc1062c4f.jpg Varnish, yay. |
So, I wasn't impressed. But it's in one piece. Decided to leakdown test it, and was pleasantly surprised with no major leaks, in the acceptable range, with a little bit of observed leakage on the intake side. Exhaust side seemed to not make any noise.
In my head, I've decided that I may be able to get away with no machine work, at least on the top end, so far. First stop, I'd like to just disassemble the head, observe if there's anything that reeks of "no go", get the lash set right, new valve stems, and clean it up. Here's some of what I did/bought:
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...84a238d440.jpg Doesn't seem to be any major red flags in the cam caps/bearings https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...23aa0e8fb5.jpg Looks pretty normal here https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...c5e894c3f6.jpg Pretty normal here too. Not really visible, but I can say the crosshatching looks good, and only a couple of minor instances of vertical scoring. Coolant passages look like ass, though. Reminding myself I need a 99 head gasket... https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...2c9721d0a8.jpg Learning how to read the micrometer, ignore my mistakes. I was able to re-arrange the intake side with no new shims, but ended up buying for the exhaust side. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...fac9c8b91e.jpg Testing out if I can de-varnish. Exhaust side cam caps soaked for an hour in brake cleaner, with no real improvement. Soaked the intake ones in Simple Green for 10 minutes. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...b48b98e397.jpg Intake side disassembled and prepping for some cleanup. |
Goals for this weekend:
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Had some success yesterday:
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...67dbbaac67.jpg Nice and narrow purpose-built pliers. Just grip, twist, yank. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...49e650da1e.jpg Old vs new valve seals. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...054327dc5e.jpg I had a hard time visualizing valvetrain components/process before I started. Maybe the following will help someone else. The EuroXport valve tool presses down on the outside of the retainer (looks like a cymbal). https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...8b77984207.jpg Tool installed using cam cap bolts. Don't need much if any torque. Slowly add pressure. Keepers are still in place. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...22732cc403.jpg Keepers loose. I've had to tap the top of the tool with a screwdriver/mallet to free them up. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...03e8b37cf7.jpg Collect keepers with magnet. You might need to use the small flat screwdriver end to pry a bit. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...b13fe0e921.jpg Collect the rest of your prizes. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...94eb7b403b.jpg Don't forget the valve seat -- total of three components. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ce164b34e3.jpg Making a mess. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...619cbaac85.jpg Hot water, about 5gal and 2.5 gal of Simple Green. Tight fit. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...3d4c37d1d3.jpg After 30 minutes and a hose down. Not perfect, but a lot better. Unsure how I feel about it. Hit it all over with WD40 for the time being. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...4430d71fc0.jpg Trying to clean the baffles. They're disgusting. Overnight with 100% Simple Green seemed to clean the left half, but seems to etch the surface, as I somewhat expected. |
Take the head to a machine shop and have them hot tank it. Should be like pretty cheap and get it cleaner then you can do at home.
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Yeah I'll likely give them a ring. A little bit of Coronaboredom and wishful thinking made me give it a shot.
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Originally Posted by jt@namiata.com
(Post 1567771)
Yeah I'll likely give them a ring. A little bit of Coronaboredom and wishful thinking made me give it a shot.
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hit the head with a degreaser, gently scrub with a plastic wheel cleaning brush, then pressure wash the caked oil off.
head is aluminum, nothing will rust or like said above, have it hot tanked at a machine shop. |
Since I'm going to have the head cleaned, didn't re-assemble today. Did get some good results with VHT Wrinkle Black that I had left over though... Heat gun on high was the secret. After three really heavy coats, it looked glossy, but after about 20 minutes worth of heat gun, the paint began to flash and got the results you see here.
Thinking about using a pipet to drop a contrasting color into the recessed letters. I've only got high temp grey in pint on the shelf, unless I decide to purchase something saucier. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...aa9071a262.jpg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...a05fd55b9b.jpg |
Originally Posted by jt@namiata.com
(Post 1567809)
Since I'm going to have the head cleaned, didn't re-assemble today. Did get some good results with VHT Wrinkle Black that I had left over though... Heat gun on high was the secret. After three really heavy coats, it looked glossy, but after about 20 minutes worth of heat gun, the paint began to flash and got the results you see here.
Thinking about using a pipet to drop a contrasting color into the recessed letters. I've only got high temp grey in pint on the shelf, unless I decide to purchase something saucier. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...aa9071a262.jpg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...a05fd55b9b.jpg |
Originally Posted by borka
(Post 1567779)
hit the head with a degreaser, gently scrub with a plastic wheel cleaning brush, then pressure wash the caked oil off.
head is aluminum, nothing will rust or like said above, have it hot tanked at a machine shop.
Originally Posted by Simple Green FAQ
...Therefore, contact times for unprotected or unpainted aluminum surfaces should be kept as brief as the job will allow - never for more than 10 minutes. Large cleaning jobs should be conducted in smaller-area stages to achieve lower contact time. Rinsing after cleaning should always be extremely thorough - paying special attention to flush out cracks and crevices to remove all Simple Green product residues. Unfinished, uncoated or unpainted aluminum cleaned with Simple Green products should receive some sort of protectant after cleaning to prevent oxidation.
I thought about painting the letters first, but was not confident in my ability to control wax/grease/masking material. Maybe the pipet/paint method won't work out and I'll ruin it anyway. |
Dropped the head off for cleaning today. Quoted $70. Seems a little high.
Valve cover status: Fucked it up. Put silver spray paint in a cup and plopped it in with a pipette. No good. Lifted some of the VHT and had a capillary effect outside of the letters, like it creeped up somehow. Now need to clean it up. Lovely. Saw some suggestions of candle wax for masking as well. I don't know that I could control grease to good effect... |
Quick update. Looking forward to trying re-assembly this weekend!
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...f4e2bfcf04.jpg A hell of a lot better than it was. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...8b7427a766.jpg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...fa67554e0e.jpg Eh, not perfect, but not terrible. Plenty of time to do something else if I feel like it. |
Great progress and pictures. Sub'd for when I complete this same task.
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Thanks!
So, good news, it's assembled. I'm not going to document the entire process, as I'm not doing anything hugely groundbreaking, but I think I've got a couple of things to add that I haven't seen elsewhere. Stuff not mentioned before that I used today:
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Not too much going on, just wanted to peek at the bottom end. It's pretty gross as well, but no chunks of metal or anything screaming "stop". Doing some more reading, haven't decided on if I'm going to stick with rods only, or throw pistons into the mix. I did not realize that any aftermarket pistons are not stock bore size up until a few days ago! Pretty sure the block has to go in for cleaning anyway, so maybe I'll just succumb and have it set up for forged pistons as well.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...3e986a4bc0.jpg Looks and smells like about a 35k oil change interval was used on this one. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...91f7eb3cd3.jpg I am not enlightened enough to understand why there's an OEM-looking cotter pin in my oil pump. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...e093b00776.jpg Baffling how gross this looks. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...2327fe27ed.jpg Time to start crackin' nuts. |
rods-only you say? :likecat:
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Originally Posted by 18psi
(Post 1569634)
rods-only you say? :likecat:
S'pose I'll need someone to tune it too. |
Block is apart, I tried to create a linear procedure that made sense with the steps in the manual -- as the manual is not linear. Lots of jumping around. Maybe my "index" will help. Once you get going it's a piece of cake.
Can someone check out main journal #3, below? Pictures may not be perfect, but that one shows (and slightly feels) scored, but measures out the same as the others w/ plastigage. Anything to worry about? Again, I'm trying to avoid the machine shop within reason. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...bd2c5d196a.png I worked my way from the top towards the bottom. At least this way you can just punch in a PDF page #. Still need to decide on measuring the bore. I plan to check everything after that as I'm re-using the pistons. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...8bfdd3b958.jpg One of these main journals doesn't look like the others. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...8a594939f6.jpg #3 main https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...913d671d1d.jpg Want to measure crank end play? Don't have a magnetic base dial gauge? Sure, just tighten down the crank pulley and clamp your caliper to the oil pump. Push the crank toward the back of the engine. Zero the caliper against the pulley, then pull the crank forward. Repeat to judge accuracy. Looks good to me. |
Working on a parts list. Feel free to comment: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing
This is just to get the motor back together. Still need intake mani, tb, fuel pump, fuel rail, and any miscellaneous NA -> VVT bits. |
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