Meh...a little JB Weld and it'll be good as new
Meh...a little JB Weld and it'll be good as new
I got home on Tuesday and tried to install the new dipstick tube on Wednesday, it was a no go. It was the right part, but to get around the headers would require too much bending. So i did the next best thing, I ordered a flexible one from Lokar. It arrived yesterday, and it took minutes to install. I went for a drive through the neighborhood in first gear, letting it rev up quite a bit, and it didn't lose a drop of oil!
So now I can get back to working on smaller things.
I did a bunch of research and ended up ordering the v-belt alternator mounting kit from CVF Racing, I think it'll work well with my existing pulleys.
In addition to the missing alternator bracket, I was missing some bolts. Thankfully I keep EVERY factory bolt I pull off a project car, even if I'll never need it again. That bin of bolts allowed me to bolt up the power steering pump. I don't have an HVAC system right now, so I bolted the ignition coil in place of the A/C compressor.
I need to order some 1/0 wire terminals, and a harmonic balancer bolt, and then it should be ready to run. If I had that wire terminal I could have started it up today.
Pic of how it sits right now:
I spent a little time in the garage today. I finished getting everything bolted to the crank, then worked on the alternator. The new mount looks pretty great!
The mount is intended to use inner pulley groove on the whole system. However, the stock power steering pump uses that groove. Because I have that trick double pulley on the alternator, I was able to "misalign" the alternator enough to use the middle groove for the alternator. The only issue now is that my belt is about 1/2" too short, but that's an easy fix.
One way I was able to push the alternator forward was to use the ground lug as a spacer, and put a spacer in the kit between the head and ground lug. While I was at it I trimmed the charge and ground cables for a cleaner look, then bundled them with the starter wires.
After all that was done I fired it up. He ran, but on ok, and died shortly after. The EFI has a "learn" table that makes adjustments once your tune is done, I think I need to clear the table to reset it back to a good tune. Also, I think I need to reset the idle from scratch. But first I have to put the cooling system back together, do an oil change, check the timing, and put the rest of the oil pan bolts in. All of these I can do the day after I get back from the trip I leave for tomorrow.
I got him running great, better than ever before, but I had another massive oil leak from the il pan gasket. Ugh. So yesterday I dropped the oil pan and learned that the previous owner wasn't really into oil changes.
So today I spent some time prepping the pull the engine, trans, and transfer case. If I'm going to rebuild one, I might as well rebuild them all.
Here is what he looks like right now:
It turns out, you can fit a 2-ton engine hoist in a Miata, the top even closed!
Everything is disconnected from the engine and trans, and It's partially pulled. This is what it looks like right now:
I have friends coming over later to day to help wrestle it out and push the Bronco it's it's parking spot.
I can't wait to pull the engine apart and see what it looks like inside.
The garage is a mess!
I tore down the engine tonight, the garage is a mess! The bores look fine and I can still see crosshatching through most of the walls. The cam has a weird wear pattern, but the lifters are fine. The top of the pistons have a ton of carbon build up, same with the combustion chambers in the heads. Everything the oil touched is pretty black as well.
But man, take a look at the rod bearings! The bottom row is the cap side, the far left is the front of the engine.
And the main bearings. Again, the bottom row is the cap side, left is #1.
It was definitely time for a rebuild!