Engine advice needed

[PeterBiggerstaff]

Hi Guys,

I humbly come before you in the search for wisdom.

A few people here probably know by now, after replacing most of the fuel system on #10985 She started for the first time this weekend, since I bought her 12 months ago. Video link here: https://youtu.be/r--5_U7hZ48

Since starting her, I've learnt a few things. She's not taking air though the air meter, but rather though the idle motor bypass. Also, the exhaust manifolds are both leaking and some of the bolts are broken going though the manifolds.

The idle motor pipe, that comes out from by the (spark) distributor was held in with some sort of nasty orange gunk, I believe this would have been what we call in NZ 'Gasket Goo' to seal the pipe in. I can get the pipe back in the hole under the intake manifold, but only after hours of poking around with my endoscope and even then it's loose and does not seal.

Also, the wiring is horrendous, there are bare, melted and broken wires everywhere.

With all this in mind, and as you can hear in the video I think its not firing on all cylinders, attempting to rev her just causes the engine to die... What would your next course of action be?

Should I take the inlet manifold off and see if I can get to the exhaust manifold and fix up the idle motor etc? or do you think it's time to pull the engine out of the car?

[Ron]

I'd pull the intake, repair/replace the wiring, install a new pipe-of-agony o-ring and seal cup, then see how it ran...assuming there are no leaks where the engine and trans mate up.
Not worth it for mainly exhaust, imho.
(Good time to check out the injector flow as you go, if you haven't already.)

[Bitsyncmaster]

Congrats on getting it running.

After all that work, you will need to make adjustments of most everything on the engine. Since it's running you can adjust mixture and check the timing. I see you still have wiring issues with your volt gauge and fuel gauge not working.

First thing to get fixed is pipe sealing on the idle motor. Any large vacuum leaks will upset the engine running. There should be a brass ring that holds the O-ring seal into the intake where that pipe goes. I used a locktite sealer to hold that brass ring from falling out. Also put some grease on the pipe and o-ring so the pipe slides in easily.

[David T]

I find myself agreeing with Ron, the intake manifold should come off and start there replacing all of the seals, hoses and gaskets. Since you found that orange goo you can assume someone was there and messed things up. Probably because the "O" ring is not there. You can get the motor running with bad exhaust leaks but you will need to fix them up along with any broken hardware sooner rather than later.

[PeterBiggerstaff]

Thanks for the advice guys,

Having slept on this I agree the best path is to take the intake off and work from there.

I also think I'm going to pull the heads, so I can get the exhaust manifolds off and machined. Apart from marking the positions of the cam sprockets, is there anything else I need to keep in mind while removing the heads? I think I'll order a service manual from DMCH, as I am aware the head bolts need to be torqued correctly and tightened in specific order.

I am aware the manual is online, but I'd like to hold it physically while I do the work.

[David T]

Thanks for the advice guys,

Having slept on this I agree the best path is to take the intake off and work from there.

I also think I'm going to pull the heads, so I can get the exhaust manifolds off and machined. Apart from marking the positions of the cam sprockets, is there anything else I need to keep in mind while removing the heads? I think I'll order a service manual from DMCH, as I am aware the head bolts need to be torqued correctly and tightened in specific order.

I am aware the manual is online, but I'd like to hold it physically while I do the work.

Do not pull the heads. Do a compression test and try removing the exhaust manifolds without removing the heads.

[Ron]

...is there anything else I need to keep in mind while removing the heads?
$.02
Probably not a good idea since the pistons travel in liners that are very easy to unseat.

The exhaust studs aren't all that bad...I'd say the worst is possibly having to use a 90° drill on one by the starter.
..maybe get the manifolds off and start soaking the studs while you do the other things.

[PeterBiggerstaff]

Do not pull the heads. Do a compression test and try removing the exhaust manifolds without removing the heads.

Thanks!

Hopefully things will be a lot easier to get to once the intake manifold is removed. Another quick question (sorry guys...) The air meter is purely vacuum controlled right?

So if I block up all the leaks and get the idle motor fixed up, the engine should start sucking air though the air meter by default, there are no cables or anything linked to this?

[David T]

Thanks!

Hopefully things will be a lot easier to get to once the intake manifold is removed. Another quick question (sorry guys...) The air meter is purely vacuum controlled right?

So if I block up all the leaks and get the idle motor fixed up, the engine should start sucking air though the air meter by default, there are no cables or anything linked to this?

Yes.

[PeterBiggerstaff]

Yes.

Thanks for the help and advice, much appreciated.