Well done on taking it on yourself mate. You've saved a few bob and feel good at the end of it all!
Well i did when i did my first one, was only an XR2 though.

 

You're right, I do feel good about it. When it fired (on all four cylinders in the correct order) I was over the moon, even if it did sound like a sack of spanners doing the spin cycle.

I've learned the top end of my engine inside out, and understand how everything goes together, and ultimately, how simple it all really is. I can also say "I did it", which I think is something to be proud of.

I'm also glad I saved myself from an exorbitant bill for labour.

I think I've spent the best part of £500, maybe even closer to £600, but that's just parts, including £350 on headwork. Even though I had some help, I'm proud to say that I did it mostly by myself. But next time I'm going to have an engine hoist!!!!!

 

We're proud of you .

 

mike: can u explain to me why there is non of my friends that have cracked a block yet and why the only block i have cracked was with std headbolts then?

Fredde from sweeden has ALWAYS used arp stud and nut kit, and engine the same as his also works just fine, my engines and those i have build over the time has never, and i mean NEVER crack a block, ant they ALL use arp stud and nut kit?

 

I think you will find that the Scandinavian tuners are aware of the problem and I know for a fact that some of them use standard stretch bolts on the four problem areas, and then ARPs on the rest as a cheap way of improving clamping force, without resorting to long studs .

It really only becomes a BIG issue on cars used aggressively (on track or high speed runs - hence why the people that build race engines discovered it first ). Thermal load is the enemy here.

Also, you won't find out if it has cracked until you next do the gasket . Keep us informed . I also understand from my Swedish friend that you lot tend to do very small mileages per year, which means that the gaskets that would last a year in an English car, could last 3-4 years in a Scandinavian car .

 

It´s only the norweigans that are happy for the track, but this is for drifting
Most of us use the cars for the dragstrip, but also a LOT of street and normal driving, and all the engines i have build drive 20-30k km a year and no faults yet?
Yes thomas knows what he says, but he is still building engines that use arp stud and nut kit, because there havent been faults yet?(not that i know of anyway)
If i understand you correctly, then the block crack after long time driving and not from power? is this right?

 

your not in our club ! your in the 100.000 plus club the only one in it i think ! my engine whent 30.000

 

That is a bit backwards isn't it?

It's like me giving the advice that you shouldn't buy brand X of dishwasher because it has been known to crack the enamel of a certain brand of mugs and instead go for brand Y because that has been proven not to crack the enamel on that same brand of mugs. I just give that advice on the basis of experience. Advice is free and also voluntary to follow. To ask me for a guarantee and money back if the mugs cracked after all is a bit misguided isn't it? If I were the manufacturer of brand Y and stated the above, then I agree there might be some relevance to me paying you a refund. But there shouldn't be a situation were people aren't allowed to give their advice based on knowledge and experience even though that advice might contradict my own personal view. Yes, off course, let people get on with their choices but I greatly appreciate it when others give me advice. I might disagree with them, but that doesn't make me ask for their money or guarantees if I choose to take up their advice. It's my obligation to evaluate if the advice given is based on evidence, experience, knowledge and sound arguments. I might reject or take up the advice but it's MY decision and hence I should take the responsibility for my choices.

(Obviously I'm talking about DIY modifications done by myself or on my instructions, not having my engine at a tuner and just let him spec the engine. If that was the case and his spec ended up destroying my block then I wouldn't be too pleased...)

 

i used a ARP stud and nut kit and never had any problems; to be fair i was only running a strong-ish stage 3 (370hp) but i did drive it hard

from my experience i didnt have a problem, but i was ultra carful about putting them in and didnt just whack em straight in and hope for the best

i'm not saying its right or wrong and i appreciate peoples experiences - but my experience was a good one

 

If those that have fitted the ARPs are seeking reassurance that they have done the right thing by justifying it to me, then you're wasting your time . You may be lucky and have a slightly better cast block (as there is the usual wide disparity between tolerances, so some are stronger than others for no apparant reason), but there have been so many that HAVE failed with ARPs, that it is just not worth taking the risk in fitting them (IMO). But as I said, if it does crack the block, DON'T THROW IT AWAY, as it is still salvageable (if it is a 200 block) by long studding (depending how bad the crack is - as in providing it hasn't extended through to the bore).

I just thought you might want to know why the top UK tuners avoid them like the plague .

 

Mike R speaks the truth about ARP and cosworth blocks not gettign along

 

the heat exspanding and retracting properties are quite different from block to stud from what i understand

 

Just taken her out for the first movement under her own steam!

Can't find any more water leaks at the minute, thankfully. The oil's also still black, thankfully, it ran fine (even though the brakes had two months of oxide on them ), but...

This smouldering around the turbo came back, and I think I've ben a bit of a tit. It seems to be coming from the joints for the exhaust manifolds. Does anyone happen to know what temperature Copaslip burns at?

Also, the temp gauge went all the way up to 'N'!!! Didn't go higher though - I guess there's an airlock or something. I came back from the drive panicking, but left it running. The temp gauge didn't go higher after I pulled up. After I shut off, the coolant sounded like it was boiling so I guess that's just an air leak? I released the cap so it could vent the excess pressure away.

Opinions, advice and verbal slaps for innappropriate use of copaslip welcome

And btw - it felt like a COMPLETELY different machine!!!! Amazing what a few hours of elbow grease can do!

 

had a new pressure cap recently? mine used to make noises like that after a drive, stopped when i got my new bottle and cap

well done, though mate. i'm part way through my diy rebuild, so i have the nervous first start to come lol

 

It didn't do it before, and the tank and cap are relatively new, so for now I'm guessing it was an air lock. I'll find out for sure tomorrow when i hope to start it in daylight.

I tell you that I was laying an egg when it got to that 'turn it on' moment, but as long as you point the dizzy, cams and crank in the right directions, it'll be fine There's a knack to tensioning the cambelt too. Remember that you'll need to get the crank pulley off to get the belt on the crank sprocket

 

thanks to all for their insight on the above, nice to hear experiences from a 2 sided story. each to their own guys and it was an interesting read for someone who will be doing engine work at somestage or another

 

bubbling noise on shut down is quite normal!might of had abit of air somewhere fella!congrats on getting it done tho fella!!!

 

Cheers mate! Still wondering whether or not it was a good idea to copaslip all the exhaust manifold threads (obviously I used thread locker on the head sides of the manifold studs )

 

welcome to the cossie club mate. ad my 3 door for 3 month and the head gasket went and craked the head

 

Right, although everything's largely normal, there's only two things left to work out.

1) a nasty burnt rubber smell, the source of which isn't immediately obvious
2) a slight air leak preventing full boost from being achieved

At first I thought the hot rubber smell was the oil feed pipe, which I'd routed incorrectly between the heater hoses. I've re-routed it now, so it's not interfering with anything. Then I found the wiring for the fans was rubbing against the PAS pump pulley, which was not nice, so I sorted that one out, but while the smell's now not as strong, i can't find the source of the damn thing for toffee.

And, there's a small air leak somewhere that's preventing it reaching full boost, I expect that's one of the small vacuum hoses thats not secure.

Anyone have any other places to look for this rubber smell or had the same?