thanks to j seaman for this guide. - omega...

1 Thanks to J Seaman for permission to use this information on: www.omegaowners.com Made into PDF by iggy21uk

Thanks to J Seaman for this guide. Well, I was going to do a guide to do a compression test or at worst cam cover gaskets but unfortunately I stumbled upon what looks like a blown head gasket. This is the start of my how2 which you can use to see how to do the cam cover gaskets but I will develop it further into how to do a head gasket. There are quite a few clips and hoses I removed to improve access - you don't have to do it but I think it was worthwhile to gain better access to the nearside cams. Also, can you clarify the following: - What sensor is it in step 8 - throttle position?? - What is this hose for in step 12 - Is step 14 should the grommet be positioned like that? - Step 31 - what is the thing at the rear of the head?! - Step 33 - what is the connector for - cps? - Step 34 - what are the vacuum lines going to? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Step 1 - Remove the 4 intake plenum bolts + the small bolt holding on the black plastic cover for the breathers

Step 2 - Loosen the jubilee clips for the two large intake pipes at the

Step 3 - Loosen the jubilee clips at the other end of the intake pipes so they can be swivelled away/removed

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Step 4 - Undo the jubilee clip for the hose to the idle valve

Step 5 - You should now be able to remove/swivel the large intake pipes as shown. Hopefully you won't see the mayonnaise-like signs of emulsification of water in oil!

Step 6 - Squeeze the clip then retract it down the hose so that the pipe to the coolant overflow bottle can be pulled off



Step 7 - remove the bolts at either end of the plenum which attach brackets to the cable shield. See the second picture for access to the rear bolt

a b Step 8 - Remove the plug to the TPS (Throttle Position Sensor) by pushing the metal clip towards the butterfly valves then slide off

What sensor is it in step 8 - throttle position?? Step 8 - Yes, throttle position sensor, or TPS. Step 9 - Disconnect the sensor for the idle control valve by squeezing the sides and sliding towards the bulkhead



Step 10 - The idle speed control valve should now be free. Ease it away from the manifold and then slide forwards to remove

Step 11 - I found it easier to undo the jubilee clip holding the feed hose to the control valve so the valve could be removed completely

Step 12 - Remove the large nut holding the brake servo line to the plenum

What is this hose for in step 12? Step 12 - Brake servo house, creates the vacuum in the servo for servo assisted brakes.



Step 13 - Slide the grommet (Circular rubber thing that holds the accelerator cable in place) towards the offside of the car and guide it downwards for access to the mounting bracket bolts

Step 14 - Shows how the throttle cable assembly mounts in the bracket

In step 14 should the grommet be positioned like that? Step 14 - Yes, check the accelerator pedal has no play, if it does, move the cable back. Step 15 Shows the 3 bolts you need to remove to get rid of the EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) valve - note, you might not have a red line around your unit



Step 16 - Note that the EGR valve will not come away yet, this image shows you what it will look like with the 3 bolts removed

Step 16b - OK I already finished 17-32 and couldn't be bothered to re-number everything - I actually did this later on but makes far more sense to do it now! Anyway, undo the final retaining bolt for the EGR valve

Step 16c - Undo the bolt connecting the metal pipe to eh EGR valve (Shown with the arrow after removal), and the complete assembly is free to be removed



Step 17 - The plenum should be free to lift up slightly now so you can gain access to the 4 bolts holding the butterfly valves onto the plenum and remove them

Step 18 - The front assembly should come away as shown. Note that I just placed the unit to one side so don't forget to undo the fiddly piece of metal that holds the throttle cable in place if you want to remove it completely

Step 19 - The black plastic bit on top of your engine should be free - this contains breather pipes which should be clear. In the picture shown you can see white goo around the edges of my breathers - not a good sign. If yours aren't clear then you should give them a thorough clean up.



Step 20 - There is a pipe running along the rear of the plenum which needs to be lifted from its retaining clips. Also make sure the small vacuum line (With the rubber hosed elbow joint) doesn't get caught on the wrong side of the hose restraint when you remove the plenum.

Step 21 - Remove the vacuum line. I took this from where the read arrow is so that the t-piece and two joining lines were left behind.

Step 22 - The plenum should now lift out. I didn't remove the plastic breather bits so I just pushed that up whilst I removed the plenum, however I would advise removing them first if they need a clean - just makes more sense (Keep reading for removal instructions)



Step 23 - Not a step at all, this is what the underside of the plenum looks like

Step 24 - Another false step! This is a shot of the inlet manifold - you can see the fuel rail with all the connectors to the injectors (Note I'm having to hold the breather bits out of the way because I didn't remove this!)

Step 25 - Remove the pipe running along the oil filler cap side next to the wiring loom plastic casing. Arrow shows the plastic clip the pipe sits in



Step 26 - Remove the cover for the wiring loom running along the front of the engine (Will help improve access to the nearside cylinder bank later). These are just a bunch of clips that you squeeze and it pops off

Step 27 - Dave turned up at this point and here you see his hand removing my rubber seal in front of the black plastic scuttle.

Step 28 - Pop off the two plastic caps on the wiper base (Just a finger nail is suffice, don't go breaking them with screwdrivers!). Then undo the bolts holding the wiper arms on. You might need to wiggle the wipers a bit to free them off, helps if you pop the bonnet shut and bend them up (Like when you wash the car) to free them



Step 29 - Sorry, no picture for this yet but in Step 28 you will see the rubber running along the base of the whole windscreen. This peels back to reveal a bunch of screw-like devices which you need to turn 90 degrees so they are vertical rather than horizontal. These hold the scuttle in. There is also one bolt which is just below the end of image 28 that needs to be undone before the scuttle can pull away. Step 30 - Undo the whole bunch of bolts holding the intake manifold on (About 12) and it should pull clear of the engine - takes a little wiggling.

Fill the inlet ports with some rags to stop them getting filled with dirt etc. Note you are looking at the cover for the oil cooler and the thermostat is on the right hand side of the picture (I've drawn a red square around it for you) Step 31 - Finally doing the breathers! Remove the vacuum hose that connects to the thing at the rear of the head. Second picture shows that it is the second hose (from the left) on the plastic cover in case you mix them up!

Step 31 - what is the thing at the rear of the head?! Step 31 - The unit that all the breathers connect to. There is a name, but not 100% certain. Step 32 - My pic was blurred but undo the jubilee clip holding the two outer (Larger flexible) hoses to the head. The breather stuff should now pull away for cleaning. Step 33 - Remove the cam position sensor connector on the wiring loom

Step 33 - what is the connector for - cps?



Step 33 - I think, it's the cam position sensor. Step 34a - You see the two vacuum hoses for the multi ram pipes running across the exhaust side of the cam cover? Remove them

Step 34b - First hose

Step 34c - Second hose

Step 34 - what are the vacuum lines going to? Step 34 - Multi ram pipes.



Step 35 - Pull off the plastic cover next to the battery which houses the ECU and some fuses/relays - there's a clip near the battery which you simply pull forwards to release it. Then Undo the small green connector so the ECU can be pulled out (This helps get clearance for the right hand cam cover shortly)

Step 36 - Remove the ECU - then the ECU slides upwards. Also, follow the beefy netted cable that connects the ECU and you'll see a square of rubber (See red arrow on pic), slide this up so it is also free.

Step 37 - Free up the two purple relays by pressing the clip towards the engine bay with a screwdriver. These should then slide up.



Step 38 - Remove the connector by any means necessary! I had to force the metal retainer off completely with pliers then bend it back into shape and refit it.

Step 39 - How could I forget a picture for this one?! Anyway, undo the bolts running across the cam covers (Think there are 3 per cam so 6 per head), then they should just lift clear. Mine were caked in oil/water so I used cotton buds to clean them up.

Step 40 - Not very clear I know but there's a connector there that I'm removing to help free up this blasted loom that is in the way. You can also see three 10mm nuts which have ground wires connecting to them. It's fiddly but I think worthwhile to remove this lot so the wiring loom can be moved around a bit more - better access for refitting cam covers and less chances of snagging.



Step 41 - The DIS pack! After all this you can see half of it - crazy place to put it but at least you'll be able to see where your HT leads go ... well, half of them anyway!

NOTE : In step 42 you can see the coolant bridge which is at the back of the V between the two heads. It is held on my a couple of 22mm bolts and I removed this. Just thought I'd add that because it improves access to stuff round the back of the engine. Step 42 - Compression test. Not exactly done by the book to say the least but seeing as I was going to show how to do one I figured I'd throw it in. After stripping this down I figured my oil leak had to be more than just cam cover gaskets so I did a quick and dirty one on a cold engine. I positioned the cam covers on and held them by hand. All plugs were out and crank position sensor was disconnected (So no fuel or spark). Go through each cylinder turning over the engine with the throttle depressed fully (If you have the throttle still attached that is!). Don't forget to remove the rags in the inlet tracts before you start!

You should have 174-218 psi according to my manual in each cylinder and a difference of no more than 14.5 psi in any two cylinders. I had about 100psi difference in one cylinder so I've got serious problems. Hopefully you won't! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Right, that's where I'm up to so far. If you were doing cam cover gaskets then you'd need to grab a set of gaskets, some sealant and then stick it all back together. Some time soon I'll be adding head removal (Just the offside mind you!), then how to fix a head gasket and stick it all back together... if I can remember how!! Hopefully you can see from this that there's nothing too hard on it although it can be quite time consuming and there are a lot of connectors/hoses to remember. This document should help you though so you've got no excuses - sort those oil leaks!

How 2 Various continued ...

What is the big metal thing in step 54 - can't be bothered to look it up! Anyone got the head bolt sequence on them, I think I know it but want to be sure it's right.



Annoyingly I can only include 6 images per post so sorry for breaking it up so much Step 43 - Loosen the jubilee clip to the air box

Step 44 - Disconnect inlet air temperature sensor

Step 45 - Remove bolt securing the multiram system

Step 46 - I didn't have a bolt on this plastic bracket but I'm guessing there should be one. If so, remove it



Step 47 - Once the bolts are off, ease the multi ram pipework upwards. There is still a connector attached to the back (Nearest the engine) of the pipes. It's easier to get at it when you have the pipework out here.

Step 48 - With the induction pipes out of the way you can start to remove the timing belt cover. Two bolts at the top and one at the bottom (Pictures a and b respectively). See step 57 for final bolt

Step 49 - Ensure all wires are removed from the cabling sheath. Note there are two bunches running down (Only one is shown on the picture). Move them clear of the cover.

Step 50 - Before you remove the ancillary belt, take note of the routing. Here are 3 pictures showing the route for the pulleys 50a : Belt goes under the alternator pulley and up over the tensioner



50b : From the alternator the belt goes up over the water pump then does a backwards S shape under the crank pulley

50c : From the crank pulley the belt goes around the power steering pulley and back over the top to the tensioner

Step 51 - Bit blurred I'm afraid but turn the tensioner pulley clockwise as though you were tightening it up. The pulley will move down and release the belt (See step 53)

Step 52 - Slide the belt off the pulley completely



Step 53 - Time to remove the awkward metal pipe running across the front of the engine bay, would probably be easier to do this before you start removing the belt. Get a socket on the bolt shown and a pair of grips on the rubber mount (Shown in second pic),this will stop the mount from turning.

a b Step 54 - Remove the connector going into the XXX by pushing the metal retainer down and sliding it off

Step 55 - Remove the metal clip with a pair of pliers then slide off the hose

Step 56 - It's a bit hard to see but just to the left and below the big thick hose (rad hose), there's a metal clip which you need to remove and then pull off the pipe.



Step 57 - With the pipework out of the way you can see the final bolt holding the timing belt cover on, remove this.

Step 58 - The previous picture shows you the water pump pulley clearly. This is it being removed. You need to hold the centre nut with an open ended spanner and then remove the 3 small bolts holding it on.

Step 59 - Wedge a socket extension bar (or something similar) through the power steering pump pulley and crack off the 3 bolts. Easy way to remove them once they're cracked off is to hold a socket on as shown and then just rotate the pulley clockwise. This unscrews the bolts without messing about with ratchets

Step 60 - If yours is anything like mine then the power steering pump pulley will not drop away like you might hope. I gave it a

persuasive tap with the handle of a lump hammer as shown.



Step 61 - You should be able to work the timing belt cover free now and hopefully it won't be as tatty as mine. Looks like the previous owner got a little impatient during the removal process!

Step 62 - Next to the battery you will see a large multiplug with a cover on (shown in the picture). There are 3 clips on it which you should ease off with a flatblade screwdriver and then remove it

Step 63 - You need to rotate the top half of the connector and it will come away from the bottom so you can drop the wiring loom out of the way

Step 64 - I was changing the water pump so removed the 3 bolts retaining it



Step 65 - Retain the crank pulley centre bolt and remove the surrounding bolts so that the pulley and be removed. NOTE: You should have aligned the crank pulley to TDC before removal Pic ture a: Shows how to remove bolts, Picture b: Pulley coming away, Picture c: What you leave behind

a b c Step 66 - I took pictures of the cam pulleys and where the timing marks sat

a b Step 67 - I also wanted to know where the cams were positioned because I was removing both sets

Step 68 - The keen eyed amongst you will notice I've already removed the cam retainers. This was a mistake, you should do this step first so the cams are held in the correct position and there is less risk of causing damage. Lock the cam shaft in place with a large spanner and undo the single bolt retaining the cam pulley on. NOTE : When you remove the camshaft pulley you will see that it has a recess which the shaft locks into. Pay careful note to this and ensure you refit it correctly. The second picture shows the pulley with a slit in it and the shaft that locks into it. The best thing you can do is remove the pulley and shaft then reassemble them as shown in the third picture

a b c



Step 69 - Remove each of the exhaust cam retainers - work in a spiral pattern in stages to reduce the chance of damage to the retainers or shaft. Note that if you damage them you are supposed to replace the whole cylinder head. The pattern for undoing them is (standing in front of the engine) 1 2 5 6 8 7 4 3

Step 70 - This shows all the bolts removed and I am about to remove the retainers

Step 71 - Here they are, these are what hold your cams on. Note the front "A bearing" is thicker than the others. Don't mix these up!! They MUST stay in this order Step 72 - Back to cam belt stuff then. Remove the 3 bolts holding the idler in place

Step 73 - If you have more luck than me then undo the torx bolt which should give you access to oil pressure regulator spool valve etc. Can't give you much info on this because, all the teeth decided to release themselves from the bolt-see the second picture

a b



Step 74 - Release the head bolts. They will be very tight and probably make some horrible groaning and cracking noises, don't worry this is perfectly normal. It is very important yo u undo the bolts in the correct order or you can warp the cylinder head. Again, it is a spiral sequence for undoing the bolts

Step 75 - Another blurred shot, sorry my camera was a bit of a let down but hey, it was snowing! You should be able to see the screwdriver being used to release the vacuum line. Also there is a blue and red connector in the shot, this needs to be removed too (My picture for thta was blurred also!)

Step 76 - Remove the metal clip holding the rad hose onto the metal pipe running down the side of the head. Pull the clip back down the pipe and slide the hose off

Step 77 - Remove the 8 bolts holding the oil cooler down



Step 78 - Once they are removed you need to undo the two large bolts holding the oil lines to the cooler

Step 79 - I don't know what the proper method is to get the oil pipes out the way but I just eased them up with my breaker bar

Step 80 - Remove the 2 nuts that sit under the oil line bolts so that you can remove the oil cooler cover - you won't be able to get it out without removing them so don't even try!

Step 81 - The cover should now be free to come away from the car



Step 82 - This is the oil cooler. The only connections to it are the feed/return you have disconnected so it simply lifts out now (Shown in second picture)

a b

Step 83 - Thought this deserved a shot of its own. Be sure to keep all the washers together so you don't lose them for refitting

Step 84 - The thermostat, I figured that seeing as I'm this far down I'll end up doing it anyway so I removed the 2 bolts for the stat

When the snow started to actually settle on the engine I was forced to stop! It's pretty hard going to do this lot in a hurry but if you work through it slowly then it really isn't that bad. I can safely say that the oil cooler isn't as bad as I was expecting and removing the cam belt is a doddle ... refitting it might be slightly more challenging though!! Anyway, all being well there will be a third part to the guide next weekend finishing off the strip down and then I'll probably do a final one to show you fitting of a cam belt and any bits that are different when putting it back together (Assuming the head gasket has clearly blown and there are no other problems otherwise I'm ditching this heap of junk!!). I've put the pictures on this time rather than links as requested and when the guide is finished I'll stick it into a proper thread and you can do what you like with it. Hope you all like it as much as the first instalments God that was hard work! That’s the inlet air temp sensor, the maf is just below it. Can't see a step 54....although I suspect its the throttle pot.



Bolt un-tightening sequence is the reverse of the tightening and on tightening you start at the middle and work out... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ the sensor in Step44 is the air intake temperature sensor. Measures the temperature of the incoming air __________________ The Shin; A Wonderful Device, Used To Find Furniture In The Dark Geffd Its best to loosed off the water pump pulley and the power steering pump pulley with the aux belt on - this saves trying to hold it. When loosening the oil pump regulator bolt - use an extension and have an assistant push down while you turn the breaker bar. Looking at your engine James - think it would be a good idea at this stage to take the oil pump off - there’s oil everywhere - classic sign of high oil pressure mate! also looking in the cylinder heads you can see carbonised oil - sticking rings come to mind - or lack of oil changes in the past! To do this you need to do the following. remove crank bolt & crank pulley (not as easy as it sounds) drain oil ,remove sump pan ,remove oil pick up pipe (that i imagine might need a good clean mate) remove the E12 sump support bolts from oil pump (inside sump),undo the oil pump remove oil pump (lash in the nearest skip and have one donated from a kind omega owner) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Went to loosen the power steering pump pulley with the belt on and it just turned hence me removing it then wedging Completely agree about the regulator, I was trying to do both those things Figured it might be high oil pressure, there was just too much oil everywhere. I know the oil was like treacle when I got it so might not be sticking rings - anything I can do if the rings are sticking? I REALLY don't want to remove that crank pulley but hey, if it's got to go it's got to go! Thanks Geffd Its best to loosed off the water pump pulley and the power steering pump pulley with the aux belt on - this saves trying to hold it. When loosening the oil pump regulator bolt - use an extension and have an assistant push down while you turn the breaker bar. Looking at your engine James - think it would be a good idea at this stage to take the oil pump off - there’s oil everywhere - classic sign of high oil pressure mate! also looking in the cylinder heads you can see carbonised oil - sticking rings come to mind - or lack of oil changes in the past! To do this you need to do the following. remove crank bolt & crank pulley (not as easy as it sounds) drain oil remove sump pan remove oil pick up pipe (that i imagine might need a good clean mate) remove the E12 sump support bolts from oil pump (inside sump) Remove lower alternator bolt / slacken top one and move alternator aside undo the oil pump remove oil pump (lash in the nearest skip and have one donated from a kind omega owner) Part Four ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sadly I didn't get much time to work on the car this weekend - had 3 other vehicles to sort which were a higher priority than the Omega. This means the engine isn't out - still have to separate the transmission and snap ... I mean remove the bolts for the exhaust down pipes. My engine hoist didn't materialise anyway so that's going to be a job for next weekend. My plan is to probably remove the engine next weekend, have a full strip down guide the weekend after (You'll have Geff to thank for that) and then start the long haul of putting it back together. That's all assuming my neck/back becomes slightly less knackered than it is now thanks to working on frigging cars! I've had to buy a temporary car now (Just a pug 205 diesel) to tide me over while I fix the Omega. I've got to admit I've really struggled this weekend to get motivation to put this much effort into what was supposed to be my reliable maintenance-free daily driver. Ah well, I guess this is just the low point where I question whether it's worth the effort etc. We'll see. Anyway, here's the next instalment - looks like quite a lot now but I think I spent more time writing it up than I did doing it!!



Step 86 - Remove the two plastic end pieces (One either side of the car) at the front of the engine bay by rotating the screw and lifting the plastic away.

Step 87 - Under the plastic covers you will find a torx screw. Remove this so that the centre piece will lift away. You will now be able to see the radiator (Second pic)

a b Step 88 - Remove the clip & hose to the coolant overflow bottle

Step 89 - Undo the banjo bolts on the driver's side of the radiator, the first picture shows the bolt at the top of the rad, second picture shows the bottom bolt. They will probably be quite hard to crack off but then they'll unscrew very easily

a b



Step 90 - There is a piece of plastic across the back of the rad which houses the fan. A wiring loom runs across it too and this should be disconnected. I had cable ties but I guess that's not a factory fit item so whatever you've got remove

Step 91 - Using pliers, squeeze the white cable connectors holding the loom to the fan shroud. This will then pull out and the loom will be free.

Step 92 - Unplug the connector to the fans by lifting the locking tab up and sliding it off (You can see the connector better in step 94 - this is a bit too close to figure out really!)

Step 93 - Looking down the nearside of the rad you should see a blue connector in this picture. On the under side of the connector (You can't see it from above) there is a locking tab. Just like in step 92, lift it up and it'll slide away



Step 94 - One final cable tie held my wiring loom on

Step 95 - Time to remove this reservoir running across the front of the engine. Use some pliers or a monkey wrench (Works very well because it locks and allows you to slide the connector back down the pipe), release the clip and remove the pipe.

Step 96 - Remove the connector on the resorvoir by squeezing both sides and it should be free to lift out

Step 97 - Use locking grips for this and it makes it easier - either side of the rad are two metal clips, squeeze them in pretty tightly (They won't give much resistance but the more you compress them the easier it is to get them off) and they can be manoeuvred out so the rad can be lifted free. The second picture shows you what the clips look like and how much I squeezed them

a b



Step 98 - Taken at a very strange angle (I guess I was holding the rad with one hand so apologies for this, it wasn't meant to be artistic or anything!!). You're looking at the nearside of the rad and that's the top hose coming off towards the engine. Underneath is a connector going to what I assume is a thermo switch. Slide the metal tab up and it will come free.

Step 99 - Remove the top hose. Again, squeeze the clip, slide it down the pipe and then pull the pipe off The rad should now be free. To remove it, simply pull it vertically and it will slide out - there will be a very small amount of resistance at first because it sits in a couple of holes but it shouldn't need much force. Work it up by "Wriggling" it so you pull the left side then the right side but not forcefully. It's easier than lifting straight up. Second pic shows the rad when removed

a b Step 100 - The fan can be removed now, it simply pulls away by leaning it words the engine bay. In the picture you can see the little stud that comes out and sits in a rubber retainer to hold it in place. You need to remove the connector before you lift it away from the car (Shown in picture 2)

a b

Step 101 - Back to the coolant overflow, remove the clip and pipe to the underside of the bottle



Step 102 - Remove the metal clip at the side of the reservoir, mind just needed fingers but if necessary use a screwdriver to free

Step 103 - Free the coolant bottle by pushing it towards the engine as shown in the picture. Note there is one hose attached

although you've already disconnected the other end so pull it free with the bottle

Step 104 - Time to sort the wiring loom a little more. You see the two bolts which both have two wires going into them - undo them. The main body of the thing (The circle bit) is connected to the loom. Once we remove the other 4 wires this is free to move around so we can have complete access to the front of the engine.

Step 105 - Moving down to the power steering pump now, undo the nut holding the metal pipe to the pump. Note : I didn't drain the fluid before I did this so had to catch it as it came out at this point. I'd advise you drain it first (Assuming you can, you'd have to refer to Haynes for that!)



Step 106 - To gain access to the bolts holding the pump on you will need to remove the ground cable. Undo the bolt shown and move the wire out of the way

Step 107 - You'd be forgiven for having no idea what I'm trying to show here! It's the other end of the top rad hose being removed, bit awkward but work the pipe out of the way so you can get at the power steering pump

Step 108 - The electrics was still getting in my way so I decided to remove the other two big connectors. Just like earlier, three clips holding each one together - ease them off with a screwdriver and then unscrews the connector to remove it.

Step 109 - I stopped at this point and looked at how my engine has changed. Quite different from when I started!! Right, enough slacking off back to work...



Step 110 - Undo the jubilee clip holding on the pipe to the power steering fluid reservoir

Step 111 - Remove the 3 torx bolts holding the power steering pump bracket in place. Looking back, I don't think there was any need to do this so skip this step unless you can't remove the pump once you've done the following

Step 112 - Took me a while to figure out what this was! Remove the jubilee clip on the other end of the pipe which goes to the power steering reservoir.

Step 113 - Remove the cable bolted to the front of the oil pump so you have access in step 114



Step 114 - Right, 3 bolts hold the power steering pump on, you can see none of them. First one I tackled was in the middle in a recess you will be able to feel with your finger down the side of the pump (Picture 1)

a b

c d You can see in picture 2 how long the bolts are so there's a fair bit of turning to do for these bolts - bit of a pain when you can't see them but with time they WILL come out! Second of the three bolts is below the first (See picture 3), much the same as before and equally long bolt! The fourth picture is blurred but I left it in because it shows you the location of the final bolt and also that I had to use a small extension bar to reach it. Step 115 - Remove the blasted pump! Here's what it looks like

Step 116 - All that work means we can finally get to the engine mount. Really easy bolt to undo so don't worry that it's still pretty awkward to reach. Once cracked off it'll come out with your fingers



Step 117 - Pop round the other side of the car and you've already got access to the other engine mount. Again, crack it off and it'll be easy to undo

And that's it so far. I'm now going to try and figure out how I can turn my head without wanting to die - good got that hurts! Any motivational speeches would be good right now before I burn this heap of junk! OK, this is a very small addition and is more for me to ask for info than a guide but for those of you who are eager for the progress report (Yeah right). Anyway, I found I was able to move my neck AND back last night so here's what I did . Step 118 - Jack the car up and secure with axle stands. I threw a couple of tyres under and could really have done with ramps/a pit/something better

Step 119 - Crawl under to the point where the engine meets the transmission (This is an auto gearbox). You should be able to see two bolts on the driver's side as shown in the picture. Undo and remove both of these - they're not too tight so an easy job

Step 120 - Round on the passenger side there's a similar arrangement, two bolts to remove



Step 121 - Back to the driver's side again, there's a bigger bolt to do now. This might take some force to crack off and it will be pretty tight once it has gone so get yourself into a good position to undo it. I cracked it off with my foot by levering against a spanner - very easy that way.

Step 122 - As before there's a counterpart on the other side. This shot shows the spanner on the bolt. I put the spanner on as shown

and then got out from under the car, went round and grabbed the nearside wheel for support and pushed it off with my foot again.

Step 123 - On this side there's a further bolt to get off. You can see it is below the oil filter and will once again require quite a bit of force.

Step 124 - The down pipes both need to be removed. This shows the view from under the car on the driver's side of the car. You can see how one bolt has sheered off and the other (which is a sod to get to) is still untouched. For me 3 of the 4 bolts sheered

a b The second picture shows you a selection of the extension bars I had handy to get to the bolts on the downpipe.



Step 125 - The passenger side is easier but still a bit of a pig, especially nearest the bell housing (gearbox cover), which is the only one that didn't - sheer-typical!

Step 126 - Remove heat shields as necessary. Around your exhaust are heat shields which usually corrode and start to rattle. I've shown a picture of one of mine, not in the greatest shape so that'll get removed.

Anyway, as I said this is so I can ask a question - before I go wrenching at the engine, who knows whether or not I've done everything?! I couldn't see any more bolts on the transmission but fully expect there to be some hidden away at the top. Is there anything else to do before separation? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Part Five ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Don't know if any of you actually read all this stuff but if you do then can you let me know of any mistakes made in this one. I seem to be missing a couple of pictures but they weren't required because the text covered it. s This covers work I did Saturday - the big one was on Sunday with GeffD and that's in progress but there's a lot to do - about half way through it now. Here it is : Step 127 - Use a flat blade screwdriver to remove the metal clip on the bonnet lifter strut



Step 128 - Disconnect the blue plug by the lifter

Step 129 - Unplug the water line for the washer jets from the front of the car (Picture 1), then trace the hose back and remove it from the moulded channels it sits in (Picture 2). You will then be able to pull the hose right back to the bonnet lifter bracket. Remove the clip which holds the connector and water hose to the body and they will now be ready for bonnet removal (Picture 3)

a b c Step 130 - Undo the two bolts securing the bonnet to the mounting bracket. Note : I left one bolt in although it was only on the last few threads - this was so the bonnet couldn't drop backwards and I could easily remove it later

Step 131 - Remove the clip for the lifter on the offside of the car



Step 132 - Remove the two bolts holding the bonnet to the hinge on this side

Step 133 - To remove the lifters, simply push them sideways away from the engine and they will drop off. I did the driver side lifter once the bracket was removed (Both bolts this time), then pushed the lifter on the passenger side clear but the final bolt I left in prevented the bonnet from moving. I then held the bonnet in position and undid the last few threads of the bolt before lifting the bonnet clear

Step 134 - Time to get the ECU out of the way so we can manipulate the wiring loom easily when we pull the engine. Pull the metal tab away and it will free the connector to the ECU. Picture 2 shows the pins on the ECU and connector-lots of them! Might be worth putting these in carrier bags to prevent water ingress

a b Step 135 - Remove these vacuum lines from the clips in the plastic router for the loom



Step 136 - Another vacuum connection, I removed this and placed it where the pollen filter sits (second picture shown at end of doc)

a b Step 137 - Remove the connector on the union for coolant between the two heads

Step 138 - Now remove the spade clip from the union

Step 139 - Bad picture, I'm actually putting mole grips on the clip for the coolant hose behing the metal connection shown. The second picture shows the hose I was working on - I eased it back with a flatblade screwdriver because it was a bit stubborn to say the least

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Step 140 - Remove the clip/hose which joins the metal pipe running down the side of the offside cylinder head. This improves access to the bolts holding on the metal pipe itself.

Step 141 - It's quite awkward but you can get a socket and extension on the bottom bolt to the metal pipe now as shown in picture 1. Equally awkward but you can get to the top bolt also - picture 2

a b Step 142 - One more bolt and you can get rid of the rigid pipework and get another step closed to finally removing the cylinder head.

Step 143 - A few twists and turns and you'll be able to remove the pipework as shown in the picture



Step 144 - Undo the top bolt for the idler

Step 145 - The foreground shows the length of the bolt but in the bakground is the lower bolt to undo. The assembly will then come away easily.

Step 146 - That's it, now you simply lift the cylinder head clean of the block. It'll be a bit stubborn and if necessary (I didn't), give it a tap with a rubber mallet. Try not to do anything that could damage the face of the head or block during removal. The site you will be faced with on removal will hopefully not be as bad as this!

Step 147 - Examine the gasket for deformities, weaknesses, breakage etc. You can clearly see mine was separated into two separate entities in these pictures.

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c d I think the fourth picture shows the devastation the best!



Step 148 - Examine the head for cracks, valve problems, warpage. First pic is the head. Second picture is all my valves and the third is a close up on the valves - all looked fine. The fourth picture is another shot of all the valves - couldn't resist after the effort

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c d Step 149 - A bucket removed from a valve. These simply pull off (Magnetic parts tool is handy for that), and then you can get to the valve if you are re-working the head properly

Step 150 - On a roll now so decided to go for the next cylinder head. As before, remove the cams with a spiral pattern working inwards and be sure to do 1/2 turn on each to gradually release the pressure effected on any valves



Step 151 - Learnt from my mistake, once the cam retainers are cracked off I used a spanner and breaker bar (Not the ratchet pictured I might add!), to remove the cam gears

Step 152 - The A bearing (The bearing at the front of the camshaft which is bigger than the others) is slightly different on this head in that it has the sensor attached to it. Remove the clip shown and you should be able to remove the cams as before.

Picture missing

Step 153 - Can't really remember this!! Looks like I removed another vacuum line to the t-piece shown.

Step 154 - Remove the 4 bolts holding the rest of the breather system to the area around the back of the offside cylinder head (Well, it was while it was on the car!). Once the 4 bolts are undone it will just pull away (Second picture shows this)

a b Step 155 - You now have access to the last three transmission bolts as shown - third one's a bit awkward to get to and the fourth picture proves I was actually on a bolt! They are all a little difficult to crack off but then just finger tight - grazed knuckle alert!

a b c



Step 156 - Remove the connector from the EGR valve, can't afford to have any mechanical bits attached to the wiring loom when we remove it because it will break things and be too awkward. Once you disconnect the connector, the black socket it plugs into should pull away from the EGR unit so the loom is now free (Shown in second picture)

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Step 157 - Bit of a funny angle (Upside down largely!) but I'm removing the bolt which holds a bracket on next to the pipe connecting to the thermostat. This will then allow the stat pipe to be withdrawn.

Step 158 - Unplug the connector at the rear of the head as shown



Step 159 - With the tool I was using to undo the head bolts there's no way I could get the second head off without 'modifying' the metal work around the head. Rather than do this I decided to pull the engine now and continue work outside the car. One last thing was the engine dampers - can't believe I forgot a picture of these! Crawl under the car and you'll see them attaching the engine to the chassis, dead easy - just a couple of bolts and they're free. I left them attached at the engine end. The first picture here shows them once the engine was removed Here goes then - chains, straps, whatever you've got but make it secure! Hydraulic dampers (Picture 1) I had a 1 ton strap running under the front of the engine (Picture 2) A large chain going over the offside engine mount (Picture 3) A large bolt going through the chain to lock it to the rear of the head I left attached (Picture 4)

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c d Step 160 - The hoist! I figured this deserved a shot of its own - I borrowed this off a friend but I can tell you after swapping engines with a forklift (Kind of fun but not the most practical solution), nothing at all (Very bad move) and with a proper hoist there is no question what you should do. Rent it, buy it, borrow it, steal it but get one!



Step 161 - At this point a friend of mine turned up which made things much easier. It's always good to have two pairs of eyes and hands. We hoisted the engine up and it popped off the mounts. It didn't seem to separate from the gearbox though. We angled it quite high, the front must have been raised about a foot from where it started. I then checked under the car and the transmission was actually separating OK underneath (good sign!). I decided to prop the transmission (in its current position while it was raised) with an axle stand and then got my mate to lower the hoist. The top half cracked away then due to the pivot effect of the axle stand. Then it was a case of hoist it up again and wiggle it a bit to free the engine from the transmission but lo and behold ... it worked! If you've followed the guide to the letter than not a single plug, hose, connector or bolt was missed and the engine glides out. I lifted the engine straight up and rolled the car backwards which I found was the easiest approach.

1. Engine being hoisted clear 2. View from the torque converter end 3. The gearbox being propped up with a jack to prevent stressing it

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c Step 162 - Remove the two bolts holding the backplate onto the nearside cylinder head. so that the head can be removed



Step 163 - Undo all the head bolts (1/2 turn each first then undo them in your spiral pattern), and lift the head clean of the block. Much easier out of the car but get an assistant to prevent the engine from turning - not on mounts any more!

No Picture ?

Step 164 - You'd be forgiven for thinking this was the other head - you guessed it, the gasket is not healthy although showed fine on the compression test because the compression rings are still in tact Pic 1 is the whole thing then close up on each cylinder

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c d Step 165 - Another look at the gaskets themselves. The nearside one actually came apart as two sections. Picture 1 shows the compression rings and picture 2 shows the rest (Note this was carefully removed and still looked like this). Picture 3 shows the offside gasket in all its glory - held together by a thread!

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Step 166 - This is just for interest. You can actually see the water jacket around the pistons where the coolant flows here

Step 167 - Remove the final 'bolt' for the back plate (Picture 1) then undo the 'quasi-bolt' shown in picture 2. You should now be able to remove the whole back plate

a b Step 168 - Another pulley to get rid off, nice and easy

Step 169 - There are a whole cluster of bolts around the crank pulley - about 7 or 8. Remove them all



Step 170 - I wasn't removing the crank pulley at this point so I moved down to the sump. Shed load of bolts (about 15) holding the sump on. You can see from the picture a lead indentations in the metal - each one has a bolt to it and they go all the way round. Get them all off

Step 171 - Once they are all out, carefully lower the pan but be aware there is a cable going to an oil level sensor so you don't want to just drop the sump.

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Lower it down on to something and undo the two bolts holding the sensor down. Handy tip shown in the second picture - screw the sensor into one of the screw holes around the sump so that it doesn't get damaged or strain the cable. Step 172 - Still more sump stuff to do yet - undo 6 bolts (3 each side, see picture 1) which are on the secondary sump towards the rear of the engine.

Step 173 - More bolts still. Shown in the picture are the bolts to undo which are inside the sump pan looking up into the engine. See 174 before doing them all!



Step 174 - Undo this connector before step 173! I spotted this before it caused any harm but make sure this cable is undone before the sump surround drops away.

Step 175 - Here's what you should now see when looking at the underside of the engine ( Picture 1). Note you can see the bottom of the dipstick :o) Undo all the bolts holding this metal frame (splash plate) on as shown in picture 2

A b Step 176 - Once you've undone the 6 small bolts and 4 bigger bolts the metal piece can be slid towards the torque converter and removed First picture shows it being removed and second picture shows it once out

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Step 177 - Real engine stuff! Now you can see the big ends for the con rods and the cranks. Not far off the best bits now!

Step 178 - When draining the engine oil I popped the filter off and with the engine out you can see the little ball bearing of a pressure relief valve. Thought it might be worth showing

And that's it! I was doing this very late at night and was tired so please let me know of typos, mistakes etc if you can Cheers James Step 136b - Couldn't fit it in the doc 'cos I can only post 6 images at a time, sorry! Part Six ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sorry it took so long (But I'm sure you see why!). GeffD is the guy to thank here - he gave me pretty much all the information and I'm just writing down his tips and advice. Big thanks to him, not many would do what he did - top bloke Oh, any mistakes here are mine not his and as always I hope he/someone can let me know if there is anything wrong or missing Step 179 - Use two sockets to remove the top alternator bolt



Step 180 - Undo the bottom nut but leave the bolt in so the alternator stays in place because it still has wiring to the starter connected

Step 181 - I undid this bolt because I was going to take the starter and wiring off, don't bother just go to 182 (This is so I remember to put it back on!). Step 194 finishes off the alternator

Step 182 - Unplug this connector, just lift the tab and slides off



Step 183 - Undo the small bolt below the oil filter housing. This is a hall effect sensor (Crank poisition sensor) which works by magnetically pulsing at a metal wheel (Which you can see in step picture 2). The disc has 58 cut outs and 2 'blanks' (gaps) for the 1/4 mark. Basically, when pistons 1 and 4 are at 40 degrees before TDC the blanks are under the sensor - this is then used in conjunction with the cam position sensor for the ECU to decide which cylinder is at TDC. The third picture shows the sensor itself. It's blurry but it gives you an idea of its size I also removed the damper shown in this picture

a b Step 184 - Undo the oil lines shown in these two pictures

a b Step 185 - Unbolt this knock sensor by the dipstick



Step 186 - This lattice of metal is called the torsion ladder and it holds all the main bearings in. I unknowingly undid this but it allowed us to have easy access to the bearings (That hold the crank in), so I've left it in the guide. If you remove this you'll need to replace the bolts with new ones

Step 187 - Remove this pickup pipe/oil strainer so it can be cleaned. The second picture shows the o ring which you replace on refitting

a b Step 188 - The torsion ladder removed



Step 189 - This is the view on the underside of the engine. The holes you can see are either side of the main bearings. The bolts are the bottom hald of the rods (The big ends) At this point Geoff arrived so everything from this point forward is excellent stuff! [Geoff used to work at V6 engine plant]

Step 190 - The locking tool in picture 1 was used to allow us to remove the torque converter from the flexplate (flywheel on a manual) Picture 2 shows the access we had with the sump removed so we didn't need to use the rubber bung over the access hole shown in picture 3. Two bolts were removed then the flexplate was rotated until the next two were visible etc The fourth picture shows a marking on the flexplate bolt. Note that the orientation of the flexplate and spacer is important - it'll only actually go on one way. The best way to deal with this is by matking everything before removal. Makes refitting a lot easier. The final picture is of the part removed from the vehicle

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c d

e



Step 191 - You should now have access to the flexplate as shown in the first picture. Again the locking tool was used here to hold the flexplate in place while all the bolts were removed (Picture 2)

a b Step 192 - You can now see the rear crank oil seal (This is known as the driven end and the front of the engine is called the free end). The sealant you can see holds the bearing in place and will need to be forced out in a moment

Step 193 - Remove the metal spacer ring (Only on autos) from the crank, this might be quite hard to do and may need a tap with a hammer.

Step 194 - Undo the two bolts on the alternator holding the wiring loom on, then remove the alternator from the engine. Note this is different to how I was initially dealing with this in step 181



Step 195 - At this point we put the engine on a stand to help us gain access to the top and bottom by pivoting it over. The stand is shown in this picture and you can see where it attached to the block

Step 196 - Rotate the engine so the crank is facing upwards

Step 197 - Now we can remove the metal surround for the crank seal (Number 4 main bearing cap as it is more properly named!) by screwing a bolt (We used one from the torsion ladder) into one of the two holes in it and levering with a spanner. The second picture shows another spanner being used to allow it to come even further out Notice how the metal separates in this picture so the crank seal can easily be accessed

a b Step 198 - Slide the old seal off the crank



Step 199 - You can see in the first picture that the bearing isn't badly scored. The line down the middle of it is an oil pathway which enters through the hole in the middle The second picture shows a side view of the bearing and the 'channels' down the side where it slides in to be sealed need to be cleared of any sealant.

A b Step 200 - This is how the engine will look at the moment. The second picture shows a close up around the crank seal, this also needs to be cleaned where the sealant was holding the bearing in place (You can see cross hatching on it here)

a b Step 201 - Take a new crank seal (picture 1), and one insertion tool (picture 2) then put the new seal around the plastic cover of the tool to protect the edges of the seal (You can use insulation tape for this). Push this onto the crank (Picture 3) and the seal should sit flush up against cut outs in the block (picture 4). Note that this was easier with the rear main bearing off, otherwise the second part of the tool would have been used to hammer the seal into place.

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c d



Step 202 - Put the bearing back in place (With its cleaned passages and no sign of sealant) and this will be finished off later

Step 203 - Handy tip, take two bolts and put them in the main bearing caps where the bolts normally go through to hold them in place. Squeeze the bolts as shown in the picture and you'll be able to easily lift the cap up clean of the crank

Step 204 - Inspect all four mains for signs of wear, scoring, etc.

Step 205 - Inspect the crank for signs of wear too - the bearing and crank should be in a similar condition, if one's damaged the other will most likely be damaged too. Mine were fine.



Step 206 - Oil the crank before replacing the bearing as shown here

Step 207 - Tap the bearing into place with the back of a hammer and tighten the bolts back up. Do from 203 to 207 for each of the 4 main bearings

Step 208 - The bearing nearest the free end of the car should leave a marking on the crank similar to that shown in this picture. The second picture shows the bearing itself with its oil feed and path

a b Step 209 - If you scrape the dirt off the block you should be able to see a number stamped into the casting to tell you the type of bearings used. This is due to machining differences during the manufacturing process and should you replace the bearings you will need to have this information



Step 210 - Replace the torsion ladder at this point before we move onto the rods and pistons. Picture 1 shows it in place and picture 2 shows it being torque down. ANY TORQUE AND ANGLE BOLTS (That are tightened to a particular torque value then turned

through a set number of degrees) SHOULD BE REPLACED not reused because they stretch.

a b Step 211 - At this stage we injected the sealant into the bearing at the driven end where re replace the crank seal. You should watch for the sealant appearing out the very small hole at the bottom of the crack where the two surfaces meet. Until that happens it isn't sealed properly and it will leak if you don't do it right.

Step 212 - Remove the cover used for fitting the rear crank oil seal

Step 213 - For the 4 bolts on the torsion ladder with the flanges on them, use a small amount of loctite before refitting them. The second picture shows these being torqued up

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Step 214 - Clean up the surface where the sump gasket needs to seal

Step 215 - Crank pulley bolt removal, bloody hard! This tool of Geoff's is the ideal thing for the job, borrow it if you can - there's a mammoth amount of torque on it. Picture 1 shows the tool on the block Picture 2 is the other part of the tool which uses the crank pulley bolts to lock onto the crank. Picture 3 shows the two when the crank has been rotated so they are locked together.

a b c Step 216 - Get a VERY big breaker bar (picture 2) on the crank pulley bolt (picture 1). Put a lot of effort in and you'll get the bolt shown in picture 3 out

a b c Step 217 - This shows the inside of the crank pulley and you can see the keyed design. This is a sintered part and will sheer if you don't use the correct method to remove the crank pulley bolt.



Step 218 - With the crank pulley bolt removed, the oil pump can be pulled away from the block (It is sealed in place so might need a screwdriver to assist in its removal. You can see in picture 1 that mine was in a sorry state indeed! Oil enters the spool valve from the small hole you can see at the top left of the pump in picture 2 (In the corner of that oil channel). At pressures of >= 5 bar, the spool valve is actuated so that oil is not pumped into the engine (Instead it recirculates back to the pump itslef). When the pressure drops below 5 bar, the spool valve overcomes the resistance of a spring and the oil flow continues to the engine. Following that channel down (Looking at picture 1 now), there is a feed to No 1 main bearing then the oil pressure relief valve which opens around 10 bar and dumps oil back to the crankcase as a failsafe. Further along still (where mine was full of that nasty blackness) the oil pressure switch sits at the end of the oil circuit. In the second picture you can see that below the oil way is a perfectly clean part of the pump. This was due to the spool valve being stuck on my engine which meant that when I hit 5 bar+ the oil was thrown into the engine instead of being recirculated. This very quickly finds weak points in the oil system.

a b Step 219 - Remove the seal in the oil pump and you will see a "whirr ring" where it is worn on one side only. No need to replace the part, simply spin it round and make it wear on the other side!

Step 220 - Here you can see the block face where the oil pump sits and Geoff was explaining the oil flow to me



Step 221 - Use a gasket scraper/flexible wallpaper stripper to clean up the surface

Step 222 - What an oil pump should look like! This is my replacement pump

Step 223 - This stuff is amazing, spray it on the engine, wait a few minutes then wash off with water. Better if you can do it on a warm engine but does the power of good for us. IMPORTANT : If we had time we'd have cleaned the engine up a lot more than we did. To do the work we did in a day was a real push so if you can afford the time, clean up the parts properly and put some effort into removing all the oily crap

Step 224 - Insert the crank pulley bolt back in so that we can use it to help spin the engine round while we do the pistons



Step 225 - Mark each piston with its number so there is no danger of mixing them up. We took each one out at a time but this is well worth doing if you take more than one out

Step 226 - Rotate the crank so the piston is at the bottom of its stroke. This makes it easier to get to the bolts holding the rod together. Undo the two bolts

Step 227 - Note that the bearing cap (Which is removed in the same way as the mains using two bolts), has a marker for direction (picture 1). THIS FACES THE DRIVEN END OF THE ENGINE. The piston has an arrow (Blurry so you probably can't see but picture 2) on it WHICH FACES THE FREE END OF THE ENGINE. Don't get them wrong!!

a b Step 228 - Once the cap is removed, use another of Geoff's tools (A threaded bar welded to a t-bar) so you can screw into the rod and push it downwards. This makes the piston slide out the top of the cylinder (See picture 2)

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Step 229 - With the rod and piston out, inspect the following : 1. You see the side of the piston has a cleaner patch on, this shows contact with the bore and although isn't good, this isn't too bad either. Piston slap is where the piston is making sideways contact with the cylinder According to Geoff, mine looks as if it has had seized rings in the past - and someone has definitely used an engine flush which has freed them off. You don't often see engines with the amount of crap mine had all over the place that have nice clean pistons that rock free when removed! 2. Check the rings - ensure they are free to move and in tact. Make sure the gap (each ring has a gap in it), on each of the top two rings is offset to the other by 180 degrees so compression isn't lost. 3. Check for movement, apparently it's not uncommon for the piston and rod require force to move but all mine were excellent and the rod could easily be moved in the piston. This is assumed to be due to an engine flush 4. Check the underside of the piston (See picture 2) for carbon deposits. Ensure the 4 oil holes are clear - This is a 'Splash fed' oil system where oil from the splash plate is splashed onto the cylinder bores when the con-rod big end bearing passes by, this is then scraped from the bores by the oil control rings (scraper rings) and is fed through those small holes to lubricate the small ends (gudgeon pin) The piston and rod are held together by a gudgeon pin and in my case this was an interference fit item that is pressed in and not removable. On the 3.0 apparently circlips are used which means you can separate the two if need be

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Step 230 - This shows the rod with the big end held next to it. NOTE : The rod is broken roughly by a laser cutting it then the metal is "snapped" which strengthens the joint over having a clean 'sliced' finish. Look very closely and you will see the join is erratic

Step 231 - Where necessary ,use a piston ring remover to remove the rings (duh!) and clean out the grooves where they sit (Another of Geoff's tool collection!). First one shows the ring being removed and the second picture is the ring after being taken off the piston. Note you can see the number 5 we marked on the piston crown (top)

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Step 232 - Here we can see the two compression rings (The other is an oil scraper ring), keep these in the right order and the right way up when they are removed (It does say "TOP" on them in small letters). Clean them and refit. Careful on removal and refitting because this is where they get broken

Step 233 - With the rings removed, the groove can be cleaned out

Step 234 - A good shot of a piston, rod, rings and gudgeon pin

Step 235 - Bad picture but you can see that we are oiling the bores here before we replace the piston



Step 236 - Rotate the crank so the journal (Bit the rod connects to) is at the top of its stroke as shown in the picture (looking down the cylinder from the top of the engine)

Step 237 - Piston ring compressors can be used but Geoff had the original cups used in the factory which made the job WAY easier. Simply oil the cup, put the piston in (Picture 1) and place it on the block as shown in picture 2 (Note it is shown without the piston in for descriptive purposes). The third picture shows a piston about to be inserted

a b c Step 238 - IMPORTANT: There is a marking as shown in picture 1 on the rod which faces the driven end just like the bearing cap! Ensure this faces the right way then slide the rod/piston assembly from the piston cup into the cylinder. It should make contact with the crank

Step 239 - Use pressure on the piston with your fingers to ensure the rod stays in contact with the crank as you rotate the crankshaft (Use the ratchet you put on the crank pulley bolt as shown in picture 2), until the piston is at the bottom of its stroke again.

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Step 240 - Take your big end cap (picture 1) and fit it to the base of the rod (picture 2). You can see in the third picture which bolts we changed, the others were all covered in burnt oil, oil pressure relief valve failure for sure. Picture 4 shows us using the angle gauge for the bolts

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c d Step 241 - Go through the steps above for each piston. We only checked the rings out on cylinder 5 which was low compression but that looks like it was due to the head gasket alone. Shown here is the piston from the next cylinder, I won't do them all!

Step 242 - Here's a picture of the crank where the big end bearing was sat. All of mine we clean and had minimal scoring but do check each one



Step 243 - This was a clearer shot of the piston being put into the cup on one of the other cylinders

Step 244 - You can see the crank has been rotated here after the rod and piston have been inspected and now the bearing cap can easily be fitted

Step 245 - A bit blurred I'm afraid but you might be able to make out that the two top compression rings have end gaps which are right next to each other. This will cause a loss of compression, watch out for this and ensure they are rotated to be as far apart as possible

Step 246 - Here's a good shot of one of my bearings - they all came out looking like this, if yours do then they're fine



Step 247 - Handy tip for you, put a piece of white paper underneath a bore and you will be able to see way more detail than any torch would reveal. Amazing how much difference it makes - this is just a piece of kitchen towel thrown in but it highlights everything

Step 248 - Take your time and work through each piston and make sure you line up the arrow and casting marks on each one correctly. Once they're done you can move onto the oil pump. Omni fit was used to seal the gasket, picture 1 shows it being applied and in picture 2 you can see it being spread (A little roller would be ideal here)

a b Step 249 - This image was to try and show the dowel pins which are in the block and used when locating the gasket. There is one at the bottom right (nearest the camera) and one at the top left. One of mine went with the oil pump so we removed it and tapped it back into the block with a hammer

Step 250 - New oil seal required. Picture 1 shows the old pump, pic 2 shows the new pump with the seal about to be fitted and picture 3 shows the evidence of how it was done. Get a very large socket which matches the size of the seal and then tap it in with a hammer.

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Step 251 - Put the water pump on the engine and insert the reversed ring which we spun round due to the "whirr ring"

Step 252 - Torque up all the bolts for the oil pump

Step 253 - Oil the crank pulley bolt (important!), there are huge forces on this and the type shown in the picture has a thicker flange than my old one. Apparently these are pretty much impossible to remove without a torque multiplier (Which applies more force than you can)

Step 254 - Using Geoff's super tool (Spun around) we tightened up the crank pulley bolt



Step 255 - Moving to the sump tray, remove the old gasket

Step 256 - Now clean up the mating surface and gasket recess. Picture 2 shows my method - small paint brush bse through a rag then turn the brush over and sweep out any dirt

a b Step 257 - Insert the new gasket, note the tab in the gasket - it can only fit in one way round! Then seal the inside of the gasket with Loctite 5900 if you can get it

Step 258 - Clean up and fit the oil pickup pipe and splash pan



Step 259 - Now refit the bottom engine cover and torque all the bolts down

Step 260 - Clean up the engine a bit / lot if you can - we were pressed for time so did what little we could

Step 261 - Clean out any gunk from the sump prior to refitting

Step 262 - Another bead of loctite 5900 around the inside of the sump gasket



Step 263 - Re-attach the sump to the car and tighten each of the dozen or so bolts down

Step 264 - Inspection of the cylinder heads revealed some signs of corossion but it was between two waterways so not a huge problem.

Step 265 - Here you can just about see the process of cleaning the heads up in progress. Simply clean the surface up with a soft wallpaper stripper (No skimming here because it wasn't overheated although you can get yours checked, pressure tested, skimmed etc if you need to)

Step 266 - Here's a blurry shot of one of the hydraulic tappets. On yours you should be able to see a small hole, this is what helps them to fill up with oil and expand to the correct gap



Step 267 - Clean your breathers out ... it's amazing how clogged they can get!!

Step 268 - Pop your oil cooler back in and clean up the surface of the cover. Run a bead of (loctite 5900) sealant around the cover and fit it ack in place. Picture 2 shows Geoff (Very quickly it would seem!) tightening it up

Step 269 - It's important you scrape of the excess at the driven end because this will harden and prevent the transmission from attaching properly otherwise

Step 270 - Reinstall the oil cooler nuts



Step 271 - Attach the crank position sensor and run the wiring as it was before removal. Alternatively you could run this up the side of the block to avoid the hot oil pipes which are potentially damaging to the sensor's cable

Step 272 - Attach the two oil cooler lines. Note that Geoff had a special socket with a cut out for easier access to these

Step 273 - Geoff brought new replacement oil lines for me so I didn't have to mend the ones I bent. If I was doing the engine removal again I would have taken them off after it was out to save bending them

Step 274 - Apply a small amount of omn- fit to the parking on the deck of the block. This is a reference to piston sizes and should be filled to aid sealing



Step 275 - Forgot to take a picture of the head gasket being fitted but it's dead easy - just make sure you get it the right way up!! If you don't, it will fit on and block up holes you really don't want blocked. Make sure it lines up properly with all oil/waterways

No Picture

Step 276 - Put both cylinder heads back on

Step 277 - Spray your cylinder head bolts with WD40 and then insert them into their holes

Step 278 - FOLLOW THE TORQUE SEQUENCE to tighten the head bolts. You'll need to angle them too as shown in the second picture

a b Step 279 - Oil the buckets and cam shaft bearings prioer to installing the shafts



Step 280 - Place the cam shafts in so they sit properly on all the buckets (Don't worry about orientation yet), and fit new end seals by pushing them on as shown. The second picture shows you the end of a cam shaft without the seal so you can see where it slots in

a b Step 281 - Oil the cams too and ensure they are free from grit and dirt

Step 282 - The A bearings must be sealed in because they have an oilway in them. Apply a small amount of omnifit and smear AWAY from the oil-way. This is to ensure we do not block it

Step 283 - Refit all the cam bearing caps. You should have ensured they were not mixed up but note the lettering/numbering on them in case you need to re-order them. Check your camshafts too, they will have an E or an F on them - E is exhaust, F is inlet, make sure they aren't wrong (Mine were!)



Step 284 - Insert and torque down each spark plug

Step 285 - Clean up the backplate (picture 1) before refitting the cam pulleys then fit it in place and tighten its bolts (picture 2). Note : On later engines they used patch lock bolts here for the back plate and other arears of the engine - tap it (Picture 3) or you will damage the thread

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Step 286 - Attach your water pump (Mine was a new one), ensure the sealing ring is fitted properly and torque down the bolts. there really!!

Step 287 - Insert pulley and loosely tighten the bolt



Step 288 - Right, cam belt goes on now. Start by putting each pulley on in the right place. There are two numbers on each pulley (1 and 2 or 3 and 4), ensure the notch in the cam shaft sits at the correct number on the pulley. As shown, the far left bank of cams (The 1-3-5 cylinder bank) is on the number 1 (exhaust cam), the intake of the left (1-3-5) bank is on number 2, inlet on right (2-4-6) bank 3 and exhaust of right (2-4-6) bank is on 4.

Step 289 - The cam pulley bolt should go with the thick part of the washer to the bolt as shown. Scrcew it in finger tight

Step 290 - Get an old/cheap 24mm spanner and grind the edges of it for a much better range of access (Thanks to Geoff for that one), then rotate each camshaft until the marker on the pulley reaches the marker on the backplate as shown in picture 2

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Step 291 - If you've got a Geoff with you then he'll have a tool like this which helps to line up the marks! The second picture shows the right hand bank with the inlet pulley '3' mark lining up with the backplate and the exhaust pulley '4' mark (Note there are two on each pulley) lining up with the back plate as well

a b Step 292 - Another cracking tool, this locks the cam gears properly together. Do not try to use the cam belt locking tool for this as it will damage the cam gears!!! Picture 2 is the right hand cylinder bank

A b Step 293 - With the cams properly locked you can tighten up the cam pulley bolt correctly, trying to do this with a spanner on the cam shaft is never going to be as good as the proper locking tool - contact GeffD for it and he may help you out

Step 294 - Insert wedges (They are numbered and coloured) to prevent the cam shafts from moving in relation to each other



Step 295 - Attach the pulley wheels that came with your kit to the block (New 40NM E14 bolts should have been provided). Second pic shows it in place and third pic is it being tightened up (Only the second wheel/top roller which sits between the two cylinder heads)

a b Step 296 - Ensure the crank points at TDC (Picture 1) with the mark on the pulley matching the oil pump housing cut out and slide part of the locking kit over the crank pulley (Picture 2)

a b Step 297 - It is then rotated until it hooks on the water pump and is then locked in place. Do this slowly, don't use force or you will bend the tool and not get true TDC

Step 298 - The arrow on this pulley should be set to 12 o' clock



Step 299 - The belt itself 1. This shows the direction the belt should travel in (The engine turns clockwise as you stand in front of it), and also shows the timing marks for camshaft 1 and 2 (1-3-5 bank) 2. Here you can see the marks for cams 3 and 4 as well as another indicator of direction 3. At the very bottom of the belt you should see a double line as shown here - this is for the bottom of the crank pulley

a b c Step 300 - Slide the belt over the two left cam pulleys (1-3-5) so that the white lines match with the mark on the pulley / marks on the back plate exactly

Step 301 - Guide the belt as shown over the idler

Step 302 - Hook it over the crank pulley & the bottom roller then make sure all the slack is moved from the tensioner to the bottom roller



Step 303 - Back at the top end, run around the top roller and over the next bank of cams and the white line should match the marks on the pulley /backplate

Step 304 - Guide the belt over the bottom roller as shown here then move all the slack back towards the tensioner & line the double mark up with the crankshaft / cut out in the oil pump

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Step 305 - Camera started playing up here so sorry for the quality but the double-line mark should be at the base of the crank pulley

Step 306 - Use a cranked large spanner to tighten the tensionier (picture 1) which is on an eccentric bearing. Place your spanner over the large bolt, slacken the small E12 torx bolt, rotate until the arrow is in the 9 o' clock position (picture 2)

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Step 307 - The pulley next to the water pump needs to be turned as above to remove the slack from the belt - just as the 2-4-6 cams start to move the arrow should be around 12 o clock hold the spanner and tighten the bolt

Step 308 - Final step in tensioning the belt - get an allen key to rotate the pulley, loosten the hex nut and roate it (Shown in picture 1) so that the small line (You can see in picture 2), sits on the right hand edge of the segment tighten up the 13mm hex nut

<MISSING PICTURE - WILL FIND IT!> Step 309 - Release the locking tool from the water pump

Step 310 - Roatate the crank through 720 degrees (Two full revolutions to reach TDC again) Step 311 - Attach the water pump lock again



Step 312 - Check the timing marks against the bacplate (Don't worry if they are out). The marker on the pulley on the left should now be in the middle of the segment as shown in the second picture

a b Step 313 - To correct the drift : If the 2-4-6 bank is out, use the bottom roller to adjust it. If you turn clockwise to slacken it, the marks will move to the left of the gaug. If you go anti clockwise to tighten it the marks move to the right of the gauge. Same for the other bank - only use the top roller You need to turn the crankshaft 720 degs after every (VERY SMALL) adjustment. Geoff: If you follow this guide you will not have to make any - forget the vauxhall college book you bought off ebay putting the belt on backwards and all that - that was a long time ago and a lot of things have changed since that was written (by a bloke i know well - who's not happy its on ebay lol)

Step 314 - Rotate through 720 again and you should find your marks align

Step 315 - Now you can torque the top tensioner fully 40NM



Step 316 - Torque the tensioner to 20NM and the bottom roller to 35NM as well (this was dropped from 40NM as some guides will state - due to oil pump leaks!)

Step 317 - Now get one of these special service tools and put it to good use

Step 318 - Say a very big thank you to this man Iggy21uk : Think this must be Geoff also known as: Geffd, To be updated



Step 319 - Put the beers down, we're almost out of time! Although it doesn't look like it, that breather box has been cleaned and now needs sealing before refitting. Note that the exhaust heat shield might get in your way a little on the refit so check this won't cause a problem before you apply grey sealant (pic 2 is the check)

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Step 320 - Refit the flexplate in position

Step 321 - Using the locking tool from earlier, lock the flexplate and tighten all the bolts down

Step 322 - At close of play we looked like this



Part Seven OK, here we go again - prepare to share the pain of disaster! Step 323 - Remove your heatshields - mine had corroded bolts so I just bent them out the way

Step 324 - remove the two bolts holding on the metal pipe as shown. The second picture shows you the length of the pipes - they will need a bit of wiggling to come free

a b Step 325 - Remove the nuts around the manifold



Step 326 - Remove the lower heatshield. The second picture shows how to deal with deformed nuts - hammer on a socket and then crack them off. They will be tight because they are heat cycled by the exhaust - don't be surprised if they break Picture 3 shows the last resort - smack em!

a b c Step 327 - The lower manifold bolts also come off

No Picture Step 328 - Because I bent my heat shields away, this is what I was greeted with when I removed them. I just snapped the metal off around the broken bolt

Step 329 - Remove the manifold and the gasket (shown in the picture) and see how many studs you end up with sticking out. For me about hald the studs came out instead of the nuts

Step 330 - Same the other side, remove the heatshields by any means you can



Step 331 - Two metal pipes again

Step 332 - And a heatshield

Step 333 - Note the bolt at the end of the manifold this time

Step 334 - Both manifolds removed



Step 335 - I did my leads at this point. Notice that the firing order is shown on the 2-4-6 side cam cover as shown

Step 336 - The numbers are also on the DIS pack itself when you take the leads off. Second picture shows the DIS pack with leads

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Step 337 - Set of new leads

Step 338 - On to the DIS pack with them. One at a time replacing leads for equal length and you can't go wrong.



Step 339 - Clean up the cam cover gasket surface

Step 340 - Ensure you do around the A bearings - a screwdriver will help but careful not to score it

Step 341 - Lay the cam cover gaskets in the ridge of the plastic cam cover. In the second picture I'm trying to show that you can run your finger down the gasket and it should pop in nicely - with the other hand just hold the gasket above the cam cover and guide it in

a b Step 342 - Once you've laid the 4 gaskets in, pop out all the little o rings with a small screwdriver



Step 343 - Although the O rings might look OK, when you get them out you may find they are brittle and deformed from the plastic moulding

Step 344 - I used cotton buds to clean up the cover under the o rings

Step 345 - Take your new O rings and roll them in grease - this will help you fit them

Step 346 - Use your thumb to press them in place and then press down in a circular motion across the top of them to ensure they are seated correctly



Step 347 - All four gaskets and all the O rings greased and fitted. Takes a little time but worth doing properly

Step 348 - Using black sealant, apply a layer to the U at the rear of the head and also at the sides of the a bearings (Pictures 2 and 3)

a b c Step 349 - Place the cam covers gently in place being careful not to disturb the gaskets and watch in case any O rings drop (Shouldn't if you used grease)

Step 350 - Tighten down all the cam cover screws in a spiral from the inside out using the appropriate torque figures



Step 351 - Fit your leads into the appropriate cylinders. Use the guides in the cam covers as shown in the second picture

a b Step 352 - Fit the cover to the other head and put your leads in place then you should have something like this

Step 353 - Remove the rags protecting the inlet valves



Step 354 - Give the surrounding area another clean if you have the time

Step 355 - Get a thermostat rebuilding kit and you should get a cardboard tube which you can use to ease out the old stat with a bayonnet style fitting. Push down, twist and out it springs then the opposite to fit a new one

Step 356 - With the new stat in place (Picture 1) you need to ditch that old O ring. Remove it with a flatblade screwdriver or a stanley knife as shown in picture 2 then fit a nice new O ring as shown in picture 3

a b c - Step 357 - Remove the O rings from the thermostat extension pipe

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Step 358 - Replace with new O rings

Step 359 - Pop the stat into place

Step 360 - Shown here tightening the stat bolts prior to torque wrench use, don't do this. The stat housing is fragile and prone to fracture - get straight in there with the torque wrench then leave well alone!

Step 361 - Slide in the extension pipe from the nearside of the engine



Step 362 - It should finish with a gap between the bracket and the head (Picture 1) but is fully inserted (Picture 2). You may need to twist it from side to side to fit it but try not to stress the rubber O rings too much

A b Step 363 - Got my manifolds back now after having to restud them. Clean up the gasket surface on the head

Step 364 - So much for the nicely restudded manifold (I had three broken studs removed for £35), they threw in the bolts but it's not what I was after

Step 365 - put the exhaust manifold gasket in place over the studs that remained in the head



Step 366 - Then slide the manifold on and hold it in place while you do up the bolts (Picture 2)

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Step 367 - Same the other side, clean the surface

Step 368 - Offer up the gasket

Step 369 - Then the manifold itself



Step 370 - At this point I remembered the breather box (Working right next to it helped!), so I got a needle and poked it down this very small hole. It got rid of a blockage and I was able to blow down it by the time I finished

Step 371 - Refit the pipework you removed from the exhaust manifolds

Step 372 - And clean it up a bit with some carb cleaner (magic stuff - literally just spray it on and it does all the work for you)

Step 373 - Did the alternator as well



Step 374 - Oh, and the metal coolant pipe

Step 375 - Went round various bits of the engine with the carb cleaner (Don't get any near that nice new timing belt mind!)

Step 376 - To give you an idea of how effective it is. Take on dirty power steering pump, add a few minutes and look at the results :

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377 - I stuck an oil cooler on to reduce the chances of getting dirt in the oil ways when refitting the engine - in hindsight this got a bit battered on the engine fitment so might not be a good idea



Step 378 - Take your torque converter

Step 379 - DON'T fit it to your transmission! I found this very hard to line up and ended up putting the torque converter back on to the pressure plate so it went in how it came out as a single piece

Step 380 - Take your nicely built engine and hoist it up again



Step 381 - Carefully take it to your vehicle

Step 382 - Don't let this happen. Many hours of work nearly destroyed here

Step 383 - Right, the hardest thing (In my opinion) you will do on a rebuild - putting it back in. I spent two days on this and eventually managed it but believe me when I say I could have happily walked away from the car for good during those two days! It was an absolute swine to get back in the car The biggest tip I can give you is to set up the chains/straps as best you can so the angle of entry to the car is going to line up with the transmission.

Step 384 - You should already have a jack under the gearbox – get it nice and high so you can drop the engine and transmission together at an angle which allows you to clear the engine mounts. The second picture shows you the ideal place for the jack so you have full swing with the handle



a b Step 385 - At this point we reattached the torque converter, you should do this before you even try!

Step 386 - Don't use axle stands, they don't help Step 387 - Do use a brick to prevent the engine coming forward and sliding out of the spline after you spend f***ing hours getting it to finally go in it!

Step 388 - Eventually we got the balance right and it sat nicely in. There were two of us for this and we could've done with at least one other person. It really was the worst part of the project. Broken the DIS pack, tore a hose in half, ripped a connector clean off - BE MORE CAREFUL THAN ME!



Step 389 - The damage. This is what the result of the fall was, lucky really - could've been a lot worse. Had to do the cam belt all over again but without access to the cams because I didn't want to do the rocker covers again. Lazy I know but it was a hard few days

So the engine is back in, I've got a broken plastic lug on the DIS pack which I'm going to have to live with and hope it doesn't spark to random places. It seems pretty well insulated but the plastic has been broken around the bit the lead boot sits on. Real shame that. Got a connector to fix some time and I'll need to source a hose and I don't even remember what it does yet. Ignoring all that (And the fact I have to hook everything back up again), things are progressing nicely. I've had some fantastic help from members and I've learnt loads but I've got so many cuts, bruises, problems left to fix etc that I really wish I never started! Just so anyone who attempts this knows what they are in for that's all - it is no picnic! Nothing's too hard if you've got the time and resources but as soon as you are under pressure (I needed to return this engine hoist), it becomes a real drag. That's not to put you off though, as I hope I've shown it really is all nuts and bolts. I've never done most of this stuff before and it's not thrown anything at me that I couldn't handle. Enough waffle - there will be another part to this guide to highlight any bits I think you'll need to know on reassembly and then I'll string it all together into a single HUGE thread. If I ever get the car to run again I'll be putting it up for sale so what's it going to be worth? I don't intend to keep it, I have no affection towards it and I will be happy when it has disappeared from my memory! That said, this is the single biggest mechanical guide I've ever done and I've been very pleased by the response/comments from the members on here so thank you --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Work In Progress 14/09/2008 Will try and find missing pictures? Few tweeks needed.


thanks to j seaman for this guide. - omega...

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