FRAMING JOHN DELOREAN - ON VOD www.framingjohndeloreanfilm.com
Page 2 of 3 FirstFirst 1 2 3 LastLast
Results 11 to 20 of 29

Thread: VIN 6298's restoration

  1. #11
    Not a DeLorean Guru
    Join Date:  May 2011

    Location:  Rochester, NY

    Posts:    2,405

    My VIN:    01049

    The drain plugs are right above the alternator, and another one hidden behind the cat converter. They are square drive.
    If you drain the block from those points, you'll spill a little coolant onto your engine. If you don't drain from those points, you will spill A LOT of coolant.

    And that looks like somebody has welded your block. It has possibly rotted through before.
    -Mike

    My engine twists my frame.

    1981 DeLorean, Carb LS4 swap completed
    1999 Corvette, cam/headers/intake manifold, 400 rwhp
    2005 Elise, stock
    2016 Chevy Cruze

  2. #12
    Senior Member
    Join Date:  Oct 2013

    Location:  North Florida

    Posts:    183

    My VIN:    6298

    Club(s):   (DCF)

    Quote Originally Posted by opethmike View Post
    The drain plugs are right above the alternator, and another one hidden behind the cat converter. They are square drive.
    If you drain the block from those points, you'll spill a little coolant onto your engine. If you don't drain from those points, you will spill A LOT of coolant.

    And that looks like somebody has welded your block. It has possibly rotted through before.
    Thanks. I need to get a longer extension.

    This engine wasn't original for my car. The previous owner bought the engine used, rebuilt it, and I guess it was damaged.

    Everything ran well for 10-15K miles and a few years before I parked it. Hopefully this engine is still in good shape despite the previous repair.
    Bill

    VIN 6298 - '81 Gray Auto

  3. #13
    Senior Member
    Join Date:  Oct 2013

    Location:  North Florida

    Posts:    183

    My VIN:    6298

    Club(s):   (DCF)

    Passenger side drain bolt came off easily with a 24" extension after soaking in PB blaster. The drivers side has not come off yet and I will let it soak more. I was hoping to find some longer extensions at the auto store. 24" for this side won't work. Had to go shorter and use the breaker bar deeper under the car. No dice yet and even with a SnapOn 8mm socket I've distorted the plug slightly.
    Bill

    VIN 6298 - '81 Gray Auto

  4. #14
    Senior Member
    Join Date:  Oct 2013

    Location:  North Florida

    Posts:    183

    My VIN:    6298

    Club(s):   (DCF)

    Coolant Draining

    Just to confirm.. this is the driver's side drain plug, right? (on the left as the picture shows up here... for some reason my iPhone pictures are not oriented correctly when I upload them here)

    I might have to try something different to get this one loose. It's really stuck on there and I am damaging the plug because my socket keeps slipping. Quite a bit of coolant came out of the other side so I assume I really need to get this one loose to avoid a mess once that water pipe comes off.

    2017-03-30 17.07.24.jpg2017-03-30 17.07.37.jpg

    Edit - the more I think about this, I might just poke a hole in the hoses connecting to the Y pipe and try to fish in my Mityvac extractor I use for oil changes on a different car. Maybe I can create a vacuum and suck the coolant out.
    Last edited by Bill6298; 03-30-2017 at 06:39 PM.
    Bill

    VIN 6298 - '81 Gray Auto

  5. #15
    Not a DeLorean Guru
    Join Date:  May 2011

    Location:  Rochester, NY

    Posts:    2,405

    My VIN:    01049

    Yup, that's the plug.
    -Mike

    My engine twists my frame.

    1981 DeLorean, Carb LS4 swap completed
    1999 Corvette, cam/headers/intake manifold, 400 rwhp
    2005 Elise, stock
    2016 Chevy Cruze

  6. #16
    Senior Member
    Join Date:  Oct 2013

    Location:  North Florida

    Posts:    183

    My VIN:    6298

    Club(s):   (DCF)

    Thanks. I ordered a 30" extension that hopefully arrives tomorrow. Will try to do this the right way.

    I will proceed with my compression test independent of this. If I get really bad results the whole restoration takes a much different road anyway.
    Bill

    VIN 6298 - '81 Gray Auto

  7. #17
    Senior Member
    Join Date:  Oct 2013

    Location:  North Florida

    Posts:    183

    My VIN:    6298

    Club(s):   (DCF)

    The most interesting thing I did today was remove a coat hanger that was supporting the weight of the orange hose in the picture. No idea why the coat hanger was needed in the first place.

    2017-03-31 20.05.46.jpg2017-03-31 19.55.32.jpg2017-03-31 19.54.25.jpg

    There's a very rusted item to the right of the T connector that also attaches to the hose. (3rd picture shows the corroded item underneath the red hose) I honestly have no idea what it is. I can't seem to find a picture in the parts manual that shows these hoses.

    Sorry for the pictures not displaying right side up. My phone and computer must do that automatically but not this message board software.

    Edit - the asbestos heat shield is falling apart and blocking my access to turn the crankshaft. Job for tomorrow.
    Bill

    VIN 6298 - '81 Gray Auto

  8. #18
    Senior Member
    Join Date:  Oct 2013

    Location:  North Florida

    Posts:    183

    My VIN:    6298

    Club(s):   (DCF)

    Ah, Hot Water Valve. Glad that is a cheap part. Assuming/hoping I am not pulling the engine, the parts bill alone is going to be higher than I had thought. It's going to be a nightmare figuring out which vendor has the best parts for certain components.

    Coat Hanger - I just assume the cooling system hoses were not bought as a kit from a DeLorean vendor and maybe the fit was different. The coat hanger kept the hoses off the engine or transmission. (I forget what's directly underneath.) Nothing all that interesting after all.
    Bill

    VIN 6298 - '81 Gray Auto

  9. #19
    Senior Member
    Join Date:  Oct 2013

    Location:  North Florida

    Posts:    183

    My VIN:    6298

    Club(s):   (DCF)

    Removed the muffler heat shield that was falling apart and blocking access to the crankshaft. No pictures because I didn't want to get asbestos on my phone. If anyone else is doing this and wants to get all of their tools together in advance, the bottom left bolt obstructed by the muffler is a different socket size as the rest. Grab a 10MM and 13MM socket; I think I used both 3/8 and 1/4 drives. I ended up rifling through my toolbox and probably got asbestos everywhere because I wasn't prepared for that last bolt.

    I started to remove my muffler after I was unable to get at that last heat shield bolt for 15 minutes but it was unnecessary. I started to get impatient because it's 80 outside, warmer in the garage, had fogged up goggles, and the sweaty respirator on my face. Although the three bolts are removed from the muffler and oil pan, I did not take it all the way off after all. That will be for another day. The muffler is rusted out in a spot and has to be removed for repair.

    Next up: manually turn the engine over, hook up a battery, and do the compression test.
    Bill

    VIN 6298 - '81 Gray Auto

  10. #20
    Senior Member
    Join Date:  Oct 2013

    Location:  North Florida

    Posts:    183

    My VIN:    6298

    Club(s):   (DCF)

    Well the compression test is over and the results are mixed but good enough to move forward. I started a different thread on that asking for some help.

    Next up: removing the water pump and it's a mess. I have one last bolt soaking. If it comes off okay, I won't have any broken bolts tearing things down to the VOD.

    I do have a somewhat damaged 8mm coolant drain plug. It happened with an 8mm SnapOn socket. I have a 1/2" drive 8mm square socket on order. I will raise the car next time I attempt to remove the plug. Worst case, perhaps my new cheap socket gets welded on drain plug. I can't seem to find much in the archives about dealing with this particular problem. The best I found was Dave suggesting that drilling it out with a left hand bit is a bad idea. I assume it's basically drill it out or weld a socket/bolt onto it.

    Once the car is lifted I need to inspect the radiator and figure out what I have. So far everything related to the coolant system has been severely corroded. I am expecting bad news here. There are also some hard pipes that are pitted around the ends.


    2017-04-01 19.25.33.jpg2017-04-01 19.25.37.jpg2017-04-01 19.25.42.jpg2017-04-01 19.26.03.jpg2017-04-01 19.25.49 HDR.jpg2017-03-30 17.07.37.jpg
    Bill

    VIN 6298 - '81 Gray Auto

Page 2 of 3 FirstFirst 1 2 3 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •