Woodsy is Back - new engine instalation project

[Woodsy_is_back 0]

A very big hello to everyone on here,

 

I'm a long time owner of my 1.8 16v, had it for over 12 years now but unfortunatley my C has been off the road for most of the last 5 years and for the past 2 years due to a major engine malfunction - see pic for the chunks of metal that came out of the air manifold :shock:

 

I had spent a good £600 getting the head done but it lasted 60 miles and then the 4th cylinder disintegrated in a huge way - :censored: of a garage washed their hands of blame and refused to rectify the problem so i'm having to do it all by myself. Tbh it's a bit of a daunting prospect as i've never embarked on such a major mechanical challenge but having been down to my last £1 and still not sold my C I want to get it back on the road the hard way.

 

Expect loads of stupid questions, no seriously expect schoolboy questions on basic car mechanics cos i've not really got a clue what i'm doing when it comes to refurbing/re-installing my lump - have succesfully stripped out the engine bay in prep for taking out the old engine so it's going well so far

 

Will hopefully be taking the opportunity to uprate many aspects of the engine so i'm finding the forums a very usefull tool - Hope you will bear with my limited terminolgy and knowledge as I am a true Corrado worshipper

 

Best wishes to all

 

Woodsy

H26 GPM

 

Chunks out of my lump :shock:

[swiftkid 1]

Best of luck to you! any questions and im sure anyone will help you out! any idea how its happened or you going to strip it to find out?

[abrargill 0]

Goodluck Woodsy.

 

Like yourself, I too own a 16v 1.8 on a H plate and for around 12 years. I have just returned mine back to the road after 2 years SORN and previous 3 years on and off (more off road).

 

Although I can't help you technically as I too have limited knowledge I understand where you are coming from and hope the project goes well.

[Woodsy_is_back 0]

Quick progress report:

 

Have removed my old KR engine - found a nice hole in the back of the block on cylinder 4 so it's a new engine for me, gonna stick in an ABF lump as it makes little sense to put back a 20 year old 1.8 when I can have a 13 year old 2.0 in it's place - looking at around £300 - £350 for that. Separated the engine from the gearbox and have been busy cleaning up old parts for re-instalation, even painted up my rusty old manifold with some 650 degree heat proof paint :norty:

 

Have spent most of the weekend taking the opportunity to clean out 20 years of gunk from the engine bay using degreasant and a toothbrush, very time consuming but you could almost eat your dinner out of the engine bay now. Went to town with the black smooth hammerite on loads of bits, re-sprayed the engine bay with colour coded paint and undersheild. Now looking for some decent fabric electrical tape to re-insulate all the wiring loom as all the old stuff has perished away.

 

Have compiled a list of bits to get from VW, loads of odd bits - does anyone know if you can get the bonnet foam inserts replaced? mine have perished away and need replacing? also I bent the metal gaitor on my driveshafts when taking out the old lump :censored: so if anyone has a couple spare for a 1991 16v 1.8 let me know :help:

 

It's nice that I have the spare time and motivation to make sure everything is brand new before the new lump goes in, really wanting to make the car as brand new as possible as I still want it on the road in good nick in 10 years time 8)

[Woodsy_is_back 0]

Further progress report:

 

Have bought a replacement engine, came out of a mk3 Golf GTI - 2.0 16v :grin:

Had the electrics on my truck pack up on the way back from picking it up from Essex :censored:

 

Cheesed off cos I was finally starting to make headway on the C project and will now be landed with a big bill from the commericial stealership which could have been used to get the bits I need to finish but things are never meant to be easy are they :(

 

Anyway, i've had the day off wok cos i've had no work transport so have started to convert the Golf engine to fit my C, all seems to be working well as it's the same block but with different add ons - have found that the alternator assembly is completely different and there was no power steering pump on the Golf lump, have changed the required bits but have come to a grinding halt on replacing the pulleys for the altenator and power steering & water pumps. The Golf ones are wider with grooves as supposed to the thinner ones from the KR lump, have replaced all that I can but am stuck on one pulley wheel that connects the cam belt to the altenator & water & power steering pumps (pic to follow as even my craptop has packed up at the mo :bad-words: )

 

Have been doing really well but really didn't want to have to touch the cam belt at all - I think I have no option but to remove the grooved pulley from the Golf lump and replace with the one from the C. Can anyone give me some do's and don'ts for removing this pulley? :help:

 

I'm presuming that as long as I mark the exact positions of the pulleys before removal then I can't go wrong - can someone give me a heads up on retensioning the cam belt and should I replace it while i've got the chance? Also cos the engine is out of the car when I try and get the bolt out that holds the pulley the enging turns over and I can't get any purchase on the bolt - stuck a metal bar in the top pulley on my old KR lump to get the pulley off my old lump cos it's knackered and doesn't matter if it gets damaged but is there a more correct way of doing this?

 

Hope someone can help cos my whole restoration poject hinges on getting this pulley changed :pale:

[tandino 0]

So what was the cause of the bottom end letting go?,

And in what relation was having the top end fixed related to the bottom end failing?.

Did you ever get to the bottom of this?

[Critical_Mass 10]

A bit late but Good luck Woodsy! Youre a brave man, but full respect of taking on the challenge.

 

Keep the updates coming! :D

[Woodsy_is_back 0]

So what was the cause of the bottom end letting go?,

And in what relation was having the top end fixed related to the bottom end failing?.

Did you ever get to the bottom of this?

 

Bottom end letting go was because of D Thompson & Sons, Ryebrook Road, Leatherhead Surrey making a complete balls up of repairing the head gasket - never ran well and blew after 60 miles, make a note of the name and never use them ever. Am pretty sure the timing was never set correctly as I have the spark plug that came out of cylinder 4 and the end has been smashed which suggests that valve has met piston at some point - the car wouldn't start propperly and was really underpowered. They completely washed their hands of it and tbh if I wound myself up about it I would have ended up in trouble for causing grevious bodily harm so I filed a report with trading standards and walked away with dented pride and pockets . . .

[Woodsy_is_back 0]

OK, so have to change the bottom pulley on the new golf lump - have had to change pretty much everything to revert the new block back to being a newer KR with larger capacity. All the anciliaries bolt on fine btw, wanted to do this so I can connect up my wiring loom as is rather than have to mess about rewiring bits and peices - most of it is the same, just sensors in different places etc.

 

 

Am going to give it a go tonight, all I need to know is where do you get the 2 pronged tool for re-tensioning the cam belt and how tight does the belt have to be when I put it back together ??? :help:

[eddy.h 0]

helo & i hope it all works out good 4 you :grin:

[Philuk 0]

well done for going ahead and trying ti fix it! looks like youve got yourself in for it now! hope it all goes well :)

[Woodsy_is_back 0]

Thanks guys, i'm really enjoying doing the conversion - luckily I have a nice garage (with beer fridge!) and spare hours in the late afternoon/evenings. It's fascinating to see what's what in the engine, and as i'm planning to keep my C running till i'm old and grey it's a crash course in engine mechanics that will serve me well in the future.

 

It also helps that it's 20 year old technology and all you need is a decent socket set :grin:

[Woodsy_is_back 0]

It's been a while since I posted, have had so many other commitments that the re-build has been somewhat delayed . . .

 

Update so far, completed engine project but noticed small damage on the cam belt so am now replacing that before re-instalation of the engine. Was the tiniest chink of a notch taken out but really couldn't put the block back in knowing it was there and much easier to replace while the engine is sitting on my garage floor.

 

Managed to get a replacement driveshaft from a Golf at the breakers down the road, £20 so not beating myself up too much over bending the flange on the last one :mad2:

 

Now have to save up a few quid for new fluids and hoist hire and we are good to go, hopefully 8)