Yet another job that wasn't listed but had to be done, the engine service. The cambelt was questionable at best, I was honestly wondering whether it would just self combust as soon as I started the engine! For the money it just made sense to replace belt, tensioners and water pump.
The only problem was the crankshaft bolt. It needs a combination of being in top gear and a friendly friend stomping down on the brake pedal. That wouldn't work for me because I don't have a connected gearbox, a working brake system, or a friendly friend (or at least a family member that could get into the car!!). So I had to come up with a way of locking the crankshaft;
A quick bit of cutting and welding and I have a way of locking the crankshaft. It still took a mega amount of torque to undo though. After that it was really easy to swap everything over.
I did see a large amount of rust in the coolant jacket though;
I'm going to have to see what happens over time, but first thing I definitely need to do is get a hose pipe in there and just flush it through, then make sure the new coolant is a good mix.
After clearing things up, the last thing I did before closing up the engine was pour some fresh oil on to the cams and lobes. When I first opened up the engine I thought it looked really dry in there, a layer of oil wouldn't do any harm so half a cup got poured over. New gasket on the cam cover and new spark plugs and leads, the engine now just needs a regular oil and filter change.
Of course, I had planned on doing the oil change today, but having a tube of RTV sealant that was basically rubber rather than sealant kind of slowed me down a bit! A new tube and a family visit was a nice distraction, then finished the job soon after.
So yeah, another job done, a quick oil change in the morning then it's ready to run. Back to the radiator for the next job.
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