Manda 16v has gone through a major engine overhaul.. It was burning oil and there was a fair bit or blue smoke coming out of the exhaust. There also was a leak at the Cam box gasket, oil was dripping on the exhaust manifold giving the car an unpleasant greasy, oily smell. That bad that i was getting headaches if driven more than 20mins..Not what I call a tidy motor! Also, although my mot is not due for another 5 months, there was no way she would have passed emissions.! It had to be sorted as soon as possible because I am enjoying so much the benefits of the engine swap.
There are 3 reasons why an engine would burn oil and smoke. 1; valve stems seals worn (easiest and cheapest option) 2, valve guides worn (not cheap and only a machine shop can do it, and probably means one or more valves might be worn or slightly bent) 3. Piston oil rings faulty (not cheap, but a possible DIY job)
So, I got the car off the road, borrowed a mates car to take me back and forth to work, and started working on the car.
First the head had to come off for inspection. I found the valves had a ridiculous amount of carbon deposit and had a shiny sticky film, which indicated oil was definitely getting where it shouldn't.
So I took the head down my favourite engine rebuilder/engineering shop in charlton , south London. Had the man inspecting the head, valves, seals, springs and to give a good clean and a gentle skim.
When I got it back he said there was nothing wrong with seals and valves, so i went ahead and ordered a set of piston rings and a set of new end shells. I now narrowed down the fault, but my wallet was feeling the pain..
It is is a fairly easy job to do, provided you have the tools and patience to see it through. The main issue is that, because you have to turn the crankshaft to get the pistons out, you lose your timing completely. Remember the 1242 16v have no timing marks.. Fun fun fun....
So carried on I cleaned up the pistons nicely, fitted new rings and shells and finally gave a quick hone to the cylinders to help the new rings to wear in.
I then went on and fitted a new head gasket. Now, I recommend anyone doing this job, to pay particular attention to this step. I found that it is possible to get the gasket the wrong way around, and that would block the flow of oil to the head and cambox. You have been warned!
Here is a pic with gqsket around the wrong way.
As I started to refit the cambox, I was unhappy on the resistance i could feel when i was turning the sprocket by hand. So, took a trip to the machine shop again. He overhauled it, resealed it and now the cams turn beautifully.
Went back and fitted it to the newly installed head. And that's when disaster struck. As i tightened one of the bolts that hold the cambox to the head, the thread in the head stripped. At this point I was nearly in tears. luckily, it was a fairly easy repair with an m8 helicoil insert. The original bolt was replaced by a m8 cap head bolt. It torqued well, and big sigh of relief from me....
Now comes the fun part..... Timing!
The good news is that there are only 2 coil packs, so there are only 2 possible combinations of timing. This is a "wasted spark" engine, so the spark plugs operate in the exhaust stroke as well.
The bad news is that if I time the engine 180, to set it right, the cambox has to be loosened in order to allow the crank to turn 180. Otherwise, at the end of the stroke (when i turn the crank with a spanner) 2 pistons will hit 4 valves, possibly causing damage.
Sure enough, the fist time I got I wrong. Soul destroying.
Anyway, after all this, I got it timed correctly. I let it run a good half hour to 40 mins on idle, with the odd little play on the throttle every so often. It reached good temperature, no leaks, no weird noises... Test drive went well. Nothing fell off and it run exceptionally smooth.
Gave myself a pat on the back, had a little dance and celebrated with a few beverages down the pub ( I owed my mate a few drinks for lending me his motor)
Yes, the engine is running again, better, cleaner, cooler. No more leaks, no more messy driveway. Most importantly, hopefully I have extended its life enough to live as long as the panda.
Long live the manda!
