Bad day with cam install... think I found the reason.... FIXED & RUNNING.

[Jim 2]

Thing is the engine was fully rebuilt a little over a year ago... reason I tore it down to replace the tappets is because they had gotten really noisy (and can see they were replaced) and I am pretty sure the valve stem seals were done at the time. The situation with the split in the head gasket is confusing though.

[Portent 0]

sounds kinda sensible Jim

 

& I am sure it would probably only play on your mind if you choose not to renew the gasket

 

however, once the head is off will it not be too tempting to have the valve seals renewed - seeing as the head is off I'd say it would be worth refurbing that too

 

sorry I know it would be a case of in for a penny in for a pound lol

 

plus that is how I ended up spending so much on my head refurb as it kept being a case of 'oh well it is apart & being refreshed, lets not put old parts back on & get new ones'

 

Just be careful of getting a bit carried away like Daren did. He only started by cleaning one of the nuts under the bonnet and look what happened:

 

http://www.the-corrado.net/showthread.php?89690-Diamond-Black-Vr-major-works-!&p=1090770&viewfull=1#post1090770

[g0ldf1ng3r 15]

Thing is the engine was fully rebuilt a little over a year ago... reason I tore it down to replace the tappets is because they had gotten really noisy (and can see they were replaced) and I am pretty sure the valve stem seals were done at the time. The situation with the split in the head gasket is confusing though.

 

ahh I see

 

hopefully you can have full confidence in the head then but it sounds odd the head gasket has split in such a short time (assuming it was replaced during the rebuild)

[Kevin Bacon 5]

I popped them both out. The right hand one was nice and springy and easy to push in and out. However the left hand one was rock solid. Pushing it in place in top of the valve there was absolutely no movement. I pulled it out and put it into a G-clamp, I had to twist using some ridiculous amount of force before it began to move, and then was nice and springy like the other one. Putting it back in place I could now push down on it in place.

 

 

Hmmmmm, I would have taken those tappets back and got another set personally, or at least replaced the defective one. Hope the tappet valve doesn't seize up again!

 

As for the HG, unless it's weeping a lot of oil, I would leave it personally.

[seanl82 23]

If they've put a bit of gasket sealant on the chain covers, maybe removing them has caused the gasket to split there.

I'd be reluctant to change it though Jim, can of worms and all that. Its adviseable to have the head skimmed every time its removed due to slight warping when the tension comes off. (Its microns, but that is all that is taken off the head when being skimmed anyway). But its another expense, and the valves would need to be removed to skim, and coupled with the very shallow chamber on the VR6 you can only get away with it a few times as well. I'd just put a bit of gasket sealant on the affected area and leave it as is mate, or it could end up causing more problems than its worth and the niggling thing could seriously snowball!

[Jim 2]

Cheers guys. Will leave it alone for now then and just look to rebuild!

[dr_mat 0]

I might send a huge snottogram to my tappet supplier too, suggesting they fork out for a new camshaft.. Just for kicks like, doubt they'll comply. "Buyer beware", and all that.

 

Pain in the ass these old cars though? Sheesh.

[Jim 2]

No kidding. The last 48 months, I've been through a fair amount with this car, financially and emotionally! It leaves me in a dilemma of "sell it because it's been such a pain in the ass" but similarly with so much invested in it financially & emotionally, it's kinda hard to even consider letting it go. And anyone who owns these cars knows, the day when the weather is great and you're warbling along with the VR on song, often makes up for all the heartache!

[g0ldf1ng3r 15]

And anyone who owns these cars knows, the day when the weather is great and you're warbling along with the VR on song, often makes up for all the heartache!

 

indeed we do m8

 

I could see the potential for tears when it was driving away if you sold up lol

[Jim Bowen 1]

Have you ever watched that Eric Bana Film, The beast? Worth a watch, you won't sell after that.

[Jim 2]

Yeah - it's a cracking movie! :)

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Pain in the ass these old cars though? Sheesh.

 

'Modern' cars aren't without their problems either, and the parts are considerably more eye watering. Got a defective steering rack in your MK5 sir? That'll be £1200+VAT please. Springs snap, dampers leak, CV boots split, electronics fail, gearboxes break, injectors fail.......and we're talking WAY before 100K under their belt in a lot of cases.

 

No kidding. The last 48 months, I've been through a fair amount with this car, financially and emotionally! It leaves me in a dilemma of "sell it because it's been such a pain in the ass" but similarly with so much invested in it financially & emotionally, it's kinda hard to even consider letting it go. And anyone who owns these cars knows, the day when the weather is great and you're warbling along with the VR on song, often makes up for all the heartache!

 

Yeah I know that feeling only too well!

 

Personally if it were me, and you're really not gonna like what I'm about to say - chuck that engine in the bin and get a lump, harness and ECU out of a MK3 Highline :D

 

There seems to be a problem with 'rebuilt' 2.9s failing at the moment. MikeVR6 had 2 blocks go on him (professionally built), that guy who posted recently with 2 failed engines over 400 and 6 miles, Roger Chatfield with his cams welding themselves to the head and now your issues. OK, so it seems like it may be down to a duff tappet, but if that's what you're gonna get from aftermarket parts, personally I would just cut my losses and move onto something better - engine wise. I know you don't want to R32 it, so the next best thing would be that OBD2 lump + management. It really is something else next to that old OBD1 dinosaur!

[Jim 2]

If I was starting over Kev, I think I would go that route - plenty of low mileage MK3 VR's out there to cannibalise. But I'm becoming more and more determined to keep a pretty original Corrado on the road even if it does mean it has it's foibles and weaknesses in terms of the engine management.

 

Will see how it goes with this motor though longer term.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

I admire your steely determination!

[g0ldf1ng3r 15]

If I was starting over Kev, I think I would go that route - plenty of low mileage MK3 VR's out there to cannibalise. But I'm becoming more and more determined to keep a pretty original Corrado on the road even if it does mean it has it's foibles and weaknesses in terms of the engine management.

 

Will see how it goes with this motor though longer term.

 

Kudos Jim

 

Personally, in the VR, I think it is the original 12v VR lump that is the heart & soul of the car despite its flaws

[dr_mat 0]

'Modern' cars aren't without their problems either, and the parts are considerably more eye watering. Got a defective steering rack in your MK5 sir? That'll be £1200+VAT please. Springs snap, dampers leak, CV boots split, electronics fail, gearboxes break, injectors fail.......and we're talking WAY before 100K under their belt in a lot of cases.

 

Well yes, but at least you can get the parts..

 

Not looking forward to the mk7 golf ageing. The amount of weirdo electronics that are likely to be a) problematic and b) bloody expensive is pretty scary.

 

The issue we are seeing more and more with maintaining an older car is definitely as you say quality of part supply.

[Jim 2]

Pleased to report that Jon from Stealth Racing popped over earlier and kindly double checked the timing and reinstalled the cams for me - no breakages this time! So that's that worry off my mind. Going to order a few more nuts and bolts ordered and some RTV sealant for the upper plate, and can hopefully think about rebuilding the rest of it in the next week or so.

[Dox 23]

Pleased to report that Jon from Stealth Racing popped over earlier and kindly double checked the timing and reinstalled the cams for me - no breakages this time! So that's that worry off my mind. Going to order a few more nuts and bolts ordered and some RTV sealant for the upper plate, and can hopefully think about rebuilding the rest of it in the next week or so.

 

Have you cranked the engine over using a spanner on the crank pulley?

[Jim 2]

Not since the cams were reinstalled, but we did turn it over by hand to check / reset the timing, prior to reinstalling them. I will wait till I've reinstalled the top plate and put the chain tensioner bolt back in before I try turning it over by hand again.

[Jim 2]

OK. Had another couple hours scratching my head on this one and given up before my fingers freeze off as it's not warm outside :)

 

I've subsequently found that I can basically get the cam sprocket cover plate successfully installed *without* the two pegs / pins that sit at towards top of the cover plate. It means I can install the two M8 bolts on the underside sufficiently to be able to tighten them up (with the plate leaning slightly away from the head), and then push the plate into place and then install the 8 remaining bolts (all of which seem to line up OK).

 

However if those two pegs are in place, I just can't get the plate installed. The pegs I'm talking about plug in here, and are kind of akin to wooden dowels you have when you're building IKEA furniture:

 

 

So I've removed it all again and come back in to seek the collective advice of the forum. I'm so desperate to get this damn thing back up and running, is having them removed likely to cause me problems assuming everything else is correctly installed including the liquid gasket stuff, etc?

 

Thoughts appreciated.

[seanl82 23]

As you say Jim they're simply locating dowels, so as long as you are confident of getting a good seal, removing them should be fine mate.

[Jim 2]

Excellent. I think we may be back in business :) I think I may have found the reason why this problem is occurring. So I noticed that it's possible to insert M8 bolt on the underside in such a position that it's a few degrees askew and jams in place and would attempt to cross thread itself if I tried to tighten it up. I think when I'm attempting to install those bolts with the sprocket plate in place, the bolts are (for some reason) getting into that position and therefore will not tighten up. However if I lean the plate back a bit it enables me to overcome whatever reason it's ending up like that and start tightening them up - and can then push the plate into the correct place and tighten them up properly and also the longer M6 bolts which all seem to locate correctly / happily.

 

Having finally made that breakthrough, I think I might get out there and get that damn plate reinstalled finally.

[Jim Bowen 1]

Good news. Nice one. Don't forget the o-ring that fits into the cover. For the tensioner bolt. Didn't see it in your last pic.

[Jim 2]

Yeah - it's there mate. That picture was of a new old stock cam sprocket cover I managed to get hold of for comparison / testing.

 

Pleased to say the cover is BACK ON and the cam cover is back in place. What a feeling of sheer joy to get this particular hurdle overcome - I was utterly mortified last week and at the verge of getting someone to just come tow it away and scrap it!

 

Decided it's a good time to put down the tools, and if I get some time tomorrow afternoon may look at getting the refurbished injectors and injector rail reinstalled.

 

Also gave the engine a full turn over by hand on the crank bolt to ensure timing is good and everything is moving freely and can confirm it all seemed quite happy and rotating freely. Phew.

 

Picture as it stands this evening..

 

Just hope it actually runs when I get it all back together and turn the key....

[robrado974 1]

A big sigh of relief there then Jim . Perseverence has paid off . Well done .