With the engine out, SERVICE other parts. E,G Overhaul the front prop shaft or do any maintenance that is easier with the engine removed. Take the radiator to the radiator shop to get it rodded. If you can afford it, get a new radiator if it is over 12 years old. Have the starter overhauled because it is extremely hard to remove if it fails whilst in its fitted position.
Look for any issues with wiring looms and connectors – especially corrosion or hardened wiring indicating higher than normal current draw. Spray EML contact cleaner and lubricant on all the injector and sensor connectors in the engine bay at this stage - get it from Jaycar. EML ensures you get low resistance on the connector terminals when you refit.
WARNING: Only use genuine seals for the valley end seals, rocker covers and any o rings and crank oil seals.
Do not use Britpart or ALLmakes valley end seals or rocker gaskets – they become brittle after only 2 years.
Regarding the valley end seals – only use Genuine as Ive tried 3 different aftermarket ones and they all have poor fit compared to genuine - anyway the genuine ones are similar price.
Follow the TSB on RAVE as to sealing the valley.
Valve stem seals- buy a Valve spring removal tool on ebay to do the valve stem seals - Double check the piston is at TDC before releasing the valve collett!! Check valve stem tips, spring resting length, compressed length etc
Change o rings on oil pickup, and both coolant pipes that connect to the lower intake. Go easy refitting as its easy to tear the o rings.
Use locktite on the oil pickup pipe fasteners and the oil pump cover.
You must do a coolant pressure test to ensure you have no coolant leaks before you do the cam break in.
BTW: Do not run the engine with coolant overflow bottle lid off - as the engine warms up coolant will spill out into your fuse box. The dealers did that to my car and caused major problems.
I forgot to add to renew the orings on the injectors - they should be in your VRS kit along with stem seals.
You could also fill the fuel rail (injectors fitted )and leave it pressurised with 40 lbs overnight to check for any leaking injectors. It is easy to make a fitting to do this - 5 minutes. Just orientate the rail with the injectors nozzle down on coloured paper - look for staining in the morning.
If you want to get more technical you can also connect them to 12 v and flow test them with a timer circuit or you can pay to get it done.
Once you do these tests you will be confident about your injectors - although they are extremely reliable parts.
I removed the lower intake manifold to find a large amount of grey sealant has been used on the valley gasket around coolant ports. So much in fact that the rear coolant ports on both heads were almost completely sealed off ? Also found scratching around head ports from past gasket removal. I'm guessing head gaskets or heads were replaced at some stage? Plus there was a large amount of black gritty gunk inside valve covers and top of heads? I'm not sure if this is normal for an engine with 130k and full service history?
After removing rocker assembly and lifters I inspected and found only slight wear to bottom of the lifters and they slid out with little effort..
I then removed camshaft same again only slight wear and the cam bearings were in reasonable condition,
besides the one that had slipped out (2nd shell from rear) which had been resting between cam and lifter and had perfect semi circle cut out of it...
I removed 4 cam bearings but I couldn't get the rear cam bearing out without damage, maybe if I remove the rear engine cap/plug I could get to it but engine stand will obstruct me..
After all this it may not be possible for me to correctly install the new cam bearings as it looks like a special tool is required or they possibly need to be pressed into place?
I have not yet removed the heads or pistons as I was hoping for a easier rebuild..
Does anyone think I should continue with this rebuild ?? As it may be a little out of my league and might cost me more than its worth? ImageUploadedByAULRO1388554577.288347.jpgImageUploadedByAULRO1388554600.915097.jpgImageUploadedByAULRO1388554625.947747.jpg ImageUploadedByAULRO1388555248.593933.jpg
To answer your question whether to resurrect this engine, we need to know the condition of the heads via a leak down test. If each cylinder has a good value then next question would be know whether it used to use water. Look inside each cylinder to. see if any piston tops are steamed clean.
If the leakdown check is good and no tops of the cylinders are steam cleaned then I would encourage you not to give up. Don' t touch the heads. The motor just needs new cam bearings - change front and rear crank seal, crucifix seal on rear cap, and do the other other items from my post and it will run reliably for a long time yet.
BTW, whoever used all that sealant on the coolant galleries was a complete amateur. You can use some on reassembly if you wish but very sparingly . There is a guide to this at CannibalV8
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