Engine replacement
- Details
- Hits: 5837
The engine had a lot of fuel in the sump - not good. The coolant looked pretty grim too. The time taken to diagnose and fix means it was easier to replace with a known good engine, and whilst off it looks like the piston rings may have had it. So a replacement one is in (video here), though straight away we had overheating. We replaced the (most probably original 26 year old) thermostat with a new one, and all was well.
It drives ok, especially as it's raised right up for conservative road settings, a bit more steering wobble than I remember but that could be the road wheels. It's going up Tuesday for a good check over suspension wise. It also needs good clean inside, it's pretty dusty... but it's had a Morrisons car wash at least!
Antirollbar bushes
- Details
- Hits: 5845
This wasn't as straightforward as I'd hoped...A few tips to get the roll bar off first: I disconnected the lolipops and gearbox cover. Then (without a press), I used a combination of bottlejack to lift to get the rubber in.
I took this picture before tightening everything. I lowered everything first, then tightened. That is now all the suspension bushes on the car replaced.
I should also point out you can see the Mondeo ARB links that people recommend - they are a perfect replacement for the slightly more complicated bracket and bush (even more nuts to shear off!) original off the car.
Bodywork
- Details
- Hits: 6000
Went up to the garage to have a final look, and there's a bit of a difference! Below is before and after... There is some bad news however, cylinder 5 appears to have a compression rating of 50psi about a third that is should be, so that could be a major problem if it's a piston ring. Would certainly have been down on power! But either way we're making progress.