Valley of Death

[pezzonovante88]

I'm really not mechanically inclined (yes I own a DeLorean) and I just want to know what kind of labor time I'd be looking at to disassemble the top-end and clean out the VOD and then put it all back together. Is it like a ten hour job, or what? (general time for someone who knows what they're doing).

[sdg3205]

Give yourself a weekend

[DMC81]

The first time I did mine (this past fall) I took a lot of pics with my cell, then all the parts I removed like clips, bolts, ect. I put in zip lock bags with a description written on the bag with a Sharpie. I numbered each bag in the order I removed the items inside and then just reassembled in the reverse order. That's just my 2 cents.

[Rich]

I'm really not mechanically inclined (yes I own a DeLorean) and I just want to know what kind of labor time I'd be looking at to disassemble the top-end and clean out the VOD and then put it all back together. Is it like a ten hour job, or what? (general time for someone who knows what they're doing).

Getting in and out for normal maintenance and with proper tools for a DIY-er would probably be 6-8 hrs. - a decent mechanic or anybody who has done the job correctly and repeatedly could likely do it in 3-5 hours. On top of this is a coolant flush-fill if only because the Y-pipe hose is coming off.
Normal maintenance:
- Cooling hose replacement (water pump to Y-pipe)
- Checking vacuum hoses for hardness, cracks, leaks
- General wipe-down
- Replacing all of the intake o-rings and the W-tube gaskets
- Giving the heater control valve a look

Add time if you:
- decide to replace all the vac hoses
- need to replace the water pump
- find a great deal of grime and debris or are super-tidy
- want to paint/refinish the VOD areas
- decide to flush the clutch slave while it's a bit easier to get to back there
- find leaks at the Y-pipe connections
- break any studs or otherwise discover surprises in there

[David T]

Getting in and out for normal maintenance and with proper tools for a DIY-er would probably be 6-8 hrs. - a decent mechanic or anybody who has done the job correctly and repeatedly could likely do it in 3-5 hours. On top of this is a coolant flush-fill if only because the Y-pipe hose is coming off.
Normal maintenance:
- Cooling hose replacement (water pump to Y-pipe)
- Checking vacuum hoses for hardness, cracks, leaks
- General wipe-down
- Replacing all of the intake o-rings and the W-tube gaskets
- Giving the heater control valve a look

Add time if you:
- decide to replace all the vac hoses
- need to replace the water pump
- find a great deal of grime and debris or are super-tidy
- want to paint/refinish the VOD areas
- decide to flush the clutch slave while it's a bit easier to get to back there
- find leaks at the Y-pipe connections
- break any studs or otherwise discover surprises in there

As you can see you can turn a big job into an even bigger job. The big unknown is if you break any bolts. That can quickly overwhelm a novice with limited skills.

[mluder]

When I did it, I also replaced all the gaskets - Timing chain cover, rocker covers, vacuum lines, o-rings, repainted the engine and engine bay, repainted fuel distributor and anything else in there that needed it. Finally I cleaned anything I could touch before putting everything back. Working a few nights a week for a 4-5 hours a night it took me over two months. Of course I had absolutely no experience working on cars prior to this.

I started with this:
DSC05417.jpg

And ended up with this.
photo 1 (2).jpgphoto 2 (3).jpg

It was well worth the time and effort.

Cheers
Steven

[TTait]

Go to your local pick a part and look for a volvo with the same engine (not too common, but you can get lucky). Strip that engine in the field, and get whatever salvage parts you decide you want - always easier to do it the first time on a donor engine if you can...

[AugustneverEnds]

Definitely any broken hardware will slow you down but don't let that stop you.

Getting the idle speed motor tube (Pipe of Agony) back into the mixture unit really isn't as bad as its been made out to be.

Figure on replacing the heater control valve; if it's the original one chances are it has corroded and seeps ever so slightly so it's a really good time to change it.

Makes a lot of sense to throw a new set of spark plugs in. (Bosch silver tip HR6DS)

I'd say a weekend it a good estimate for a dedicated novice to accomplish this. This was me last spring Happy wrenchin!

[jawn101]

Do it enough times and you'l get really fast at it! I can get the manifold off and put it all back to running in about 4 hours total now... but I've done it 5 or 6 times now, and all the unknowns of broken bolts/bad lines/etc have been flushed out and replaced already. And I'm no expert!!

Best thing is to have someone experienced there with you. I can't say enough good things about having Clint with me to help me through it all the first few times. If you have a local owner who's done it, get them involved!