Post by wannabe on Feb 22, 2019 19:03:43 GMT
Brace yourselves, this is a monster post…
TL:DR - I would be very grateful for input on the points/questions in bold in particular!!
So, here goes…
As I am poor, the weather is dry and 10 degrees warmer than it usually is at this time of year (he says, looking out the window at thick fog setting in…), and it is apparently ‘not rocket science’, it looks like I am going to be attempting to get my borked cylinder head off on my own and sent away for decarbonising/decoking next week… (This will hopefully stop me posting annoying threads and posts about how my car is not running right
lol)
This does of course mean I will need to do the Head Gasket and all the other stuff it is wise to do while it’s all apart.
I have:
- only theoretical mechanical knowledge
- the concentration level of a slightly drunken fly, and
- the manual dexterity of a snake
but I do also have:
- the Rod Grainger manual
- the Mazda Workshop Manual, and
- the link to niggle’s cylinder head removal guide post: www.mx5nutz.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=109575&p=1304693
so I am hoping that I’m covered for all the info I’ll need…
(Side note: Is it me or does the RG manual seem to be back-to-front sometimes, where right should be left and vice versa?? e.g. it says “the intake cam is the longer of the two because it carries the drive slot for the crank angle sensor and it fits on the right”)
Barry on the other forum posted a list of things to be doing while waiting for parts to arrive in the post, which I might follow alongside the manuals:
www.mx5nutz.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=92908&p=1118106
- Depressurise the injectors
- Disconnect battery
- Drain Coolant
- Remove Radiator and fans
- Remove all pipework from the air filter to the throttle body
- Remove exhaust manifold heat shield
- Remove the manifold
- Remove all electrical connections that are connected to the engine from the block up
- Remove the cam cover
- Remove the coil pack
- Leave the inlet manifold on
- Disconnect the 2 fuel lines from the hard fuel pipes
I also found a link to a useful page:
www.mx5nutz.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=48718&p=641524
www.miata.net/garage/garageengine.html
which seems to include links to guides on:
- Cam Cover replacement
- CAS seal replacement
- Timing Belt replacement
- Water Pump O-ring replacement
- Changing thermostat
- Water Pump replacement
- Ignition/wires/plugs/timing
In terms of parts I’ll definitely need, is this list correct?
- Cam Cover gasket
- Cam Angle Sensor O-Ring
- Head Gasket (from a main dealer? mighty5s.com/thread/2525/genuine-head-gasket-where )
- Intake Manifold gasket
- Exhaust Manifold gasket
- Silicon Gasket / sealant
- Camshaft Oil Seal (two of?)
- Sump Plug washer
- Cambelt / Timing belt
- Auxiliary Belt
- Oil filter
- Oil
- Coolant
- Spark plugs
Would I also need these?
- Oil filler cap gasket
- Air Valve To Inlet Manifold O Ring
- Throttle Body To Idle Air Control Valve Gasket
- Throttle Body To Inlet Manifold Gasket
- Waterpump gasket (if I change the waterpump)
- Waterpump to Bypass pipe O-ring (if I change the waterpump)
- Thermostat cover / waterpump outlet gasket (if I change the thermostat/waterpump)
- Thermostat o-ring (if I change the thermostat)
- ‘Oil Filter Housing To Head’ gasket (Do I need this as mine’s an early Mk1 and MX5Parts listing is for Late Mk1>Mk2.5? I’m guessing I can just check the current oil filter?)
- Fuel Injector Rail Seal
- Fuel Injector Seal – Bottom
- Fuel Injector Seal – Top
In terms of tools I’ll need, I already have a big Halfords socket/spanner/ratchet set, but this list comes from things mentioned in the two manuals and what’s occurred to me otherwise – is there anything missing / better??:
- Pliers (for hose clips)
- Needle-nose pliers (for cambelt tensioner spring)
- Crosshead screwdriver(s)
- Flathead screwdriver(s)
- Crescent/Box-end(?)/T-bar wrench
- 3” extension (for cam cover / upper cambelt cover bolts)
- 5” extension (for rigid water heater pipe underneath exhaust manifold + head bolts)
- 14” of extensions (to reach exhaust manifold bolts from underneath the car)
- Torque Wrench(es) (that cover 7Nm to 80Nm)
- Breaker bar (for difficult nuts + for turning the engine (clockwise only) to TDC?)
- Soft-faced mallet (for if the head won’t lift straight off)
- Jack/ Axle Stands (to gain access to exhaust manifold bolts)
- Tube to tap Camshaft Oil Seal into place?
- Penetrating oil (giggity) for soaking bolts before removal
- Halfords Shock’n’Unlock spray / PlusGas (are these the same thing?)
- WD40/silicone fluid (to ease fuel pipe / other hose re-fitment)
- Copper grease (to put on the cambelt tensioner pulley pivot pin + pulley bracket alloy boss)
- Anti-seize compound / lubricant (for spark plugs)
- Thread locking fluid (to secure the cam pulleys on the cams)
- Grease to seal the piston/bore holes while cleaning the piston faces (but which type of grease? ‘White grease’? Would Vaseline be acceptable??)
- Brass/Rubber/Wood scraper thing, to remove gasket residue and potentially carbon build-up on the piston faces
- White paint pen / Sharpie (to label the cam pulleys and mark their position relative to each other / TDC? And also the position of the CAS relative to the head?)
- Sharpie to number up the bridge things that hold the Cams in (bearing caps?) / plastic bags of bolts etc. / which spark plug lead goes to which hole in the distributor block thing? / direction of rotation of belts if reusing them / the position of the HLAs if I remove them
- Newspaper/plastic bags to keep Cams oiled/protected
- Pipe cleaners (to clean bolt holes etc.)
- Old Towels to protect bodywork
- Plastic cups/tray thing to store HLAs etc.?
- Sandwich bags to store screws/nuts etc.
- Lint-free cloths or tissues (to block/protect fuel lines / oil/coolant channels)
- Timing light (for when it’s all together again)
Are there any recommendations while doing the work?
e.g. @ffs_Corders points out to do everything at the back of the engine while access is easy: mighty5s.com/post/37524/thread
(I’m not sure where the temperature sensor but I’m sure I’ll find it, but the 1.6’s ‘cursed water plug’ has already been changed, thanks to previously failing on me on the motorway.)
Questions!
- Does the Short Nose 1.6 use a different Head Gasket to the Long Nose 1.6? I swear I read it was but I can’t remember where now…
- Is the (in)complete
‘Genuine’ Engine Gasket Set worth buying if I’m not touching the bottom end? (www.mx5parts.co.uk/engine-gasket-complete-genuine-mazda-mk1-pri-764.html?reviews_id=5528)
- Monkfish’s Cambelt change guide on the other forum (as well as the Rod Grainger manual) mentions needing to remove the crankshaft pulley to remove/change the cambelt: www.mx5nutz.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=52586&p=683536
-- Am I right in thinking that is definitely required, because the cambelt can’t be removed/replaced without removing the pulley and the cambelt cover behind it? As mine is a Short Nose 1.6, I’d rather not touch anything around the crankshaft if I don’t have to…
- The RG manual says “From beneath the car you can just about see three 14mm nut which hold the exhaust downpipe to the exhaust manifold.”
-- Dumb question on terminology: the manifold is the branches between the head and where they meet at a single point, isn’t it? And the downpipe is the single pipe from where they meet, that goes back towards the catalytic convertor (if it had one)?
-- Do I have to separate the manifold from the downpipe or is it possible to drop the whole exhaust as one piece, just undoing the nuts where it meets the block??
- Should I change the (three-ish months old) exhaust manifold gasket?
- Is it worth changing the not-that-old (maybe a year old) Aux belt?
- Is it worth changing the (two years old) water pump?
- Is it worth changing the (two years old) thermostat?
- Is it worth changing the cambelt pulley tensioner spring? (RG says yes if >58.8mm when free)
- Is it worth changing the rear-of-engine temperature sensor if it works?
- What else is at the back of the engine that might be worth changing?
- Should I consider new injectors / getting mine cleaned?
- Do I have to remove the HLAs or can I give the whole head (bar cams) to the head-fixing chap and say ‘help!’?
- Do I need two Camshaft Oil Seals or just one?
- I’m guessing that having a whole new set of valves/guides/HLAs would be £££ and not worth it if they are generally fine?
- Do I need new head bolts?
- How do I fit the Camshaft Oil Seal if I don’t have / can’t get a ‘tube’ to use to tap it into place?
Someone pass me the Brave Pills – I only have a week to get everything together, strip it down, get the head refurbed, get it all back together (correctly…) and get it timed up and running!
If it all goes tits-up then I guess I’ll be following Daz’s engine swap guide post… lol
www.mx5nutz.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=7384&p=104876
All help VERY gratefully received!!
TL:DR - I would be very grateful for input on the points/questions in bold in particular!!
So, here goes…
As I am poor, the weather is dry and 10 degrees warmer than it usually is at this time of year (he says, looking out the window at thick fog setting in…), and it is apparently ‘not rocket science’, it looks like I am going to be attempting to get my borked cylinder head off on my own and sent away for decarbonising/decoking next week… (This will hopefully stop me posting annoying threads and posts about how my car is not running right
lol)This does of course mean I will need to do the Head Gasket and all the other stuff it is wise to do while it’s all apart.
I have:
- only theoretical mechanical knowledge
- the concentration level of a slightly drunken fly, and
- the manual dexterity of a snake
but I do also have:
- the Rod Grainger manual
- the Mazda Workshop Manual, and
- the link to niggle’s cylinder head removal guide post: www.mx5nutz.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=109575&p=1304693
so I am hoping that I’m covered for all the info I’ll need…
(Side note: Is it me or does the RG manual seem to be back-to-front sometimes, where right should be left and vice versa?? e.g. it says “the intake cam is the longer of the two because it carries the drive slot for the crank angle sensor and it fits on the right”)
Barry on the other forum posted a list of things to be doing while waiting for parts to arrive in the post, which I might follow alongside the manuals:
www.mx5nutz.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=92908&p=1118106
- Depressurise the injectors
- Disconnect battery
- Drain Coolant
- Remove Radiator and fans
- Remove all pipework from the air filter to the throttle body
- Remove exhaust manifold heat shield
- Remove the manifold
- Remove all electrical connections that are connected to the engine from the block up
- Remove the cam cover
- Remove the coil pack
- Leave the inlet manifold on
- Disconnect the 2 fuel lines from the hard fuel pipes
I also found a link to a useful page:
www.mx5nutz.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=48718&p=641524
www.miata.net/garage/garageengine.html
which seems to include links to guides on:
- Cam Cover replacement
- CAS seal replacement
- Timing Belt replacement
- Water Pump O-ring replacement
- Changing thermostat
- Water Pump replacement
- Ignition/wires/plugs/timing
In terms of parts I’ll definitely need, is this list correct?
- Cam Cover gasket
- Cam Angle Sensor O-Ring
- Head Gasket (from a main dealer? mighty5s.com/thread/2525/genuine-head-gasket-where )
- Intake Manifold gasket
- Exhaust Manifold gasket
- Silicon Gasket / sealant
- Camshaft Oil Seal (two of?)
- Sump Plug washer
- Cambelt / Timing belt
- Auxiliary Belt
- Oil filter
- Oil
- Coolant
- Spark plugs
Would I also need these?
- Oil filler cap gasket
- Air Valve To Inlet Manifold O Ring
- Throttle Body To Idle Air Control Valve Gasket
- Throttle Body To Inlet Manifold Gasket
- Waterpump gasket (if I change the waterpump)
- Waterpump to Bypass pipe O-ring (if I change the waterpump)
- Thermostat cover / waterpump outlet gasket (if I change the thermostat/waterpump)
- Thermostat o-ring (if I change the thermostat)
- ‘Oil Filter Housing To Head’ gasket (Do I need this as mine’s an early Mk1 and MX5Parts listing is for Late Mk1>Mk2.5? I’m guessing I can just check the current oil filter?)
- Fuel Injector Rail Seal
- Fuel Injector Seal – Bottom
- Fuel Injector Seal – Top
In terms of tools I’ll need, I already have a big Halfords socket/spanner/ratchet set, but this list comes from things mentioned in the two manuals and what’s occurred to me otherwise – is there anything missing / better??:
- Pliers (for hose clips)
- Needle-nose pliers (for cambelt tensioner spring)
- Crosshead screwdriver(s)
- Flathead screwdriver(s)
- Crescent/Box-end(?)/T-bar wrench
- 3” extension (for cam cover / upper cambelt cover bolts)
- 5” extension (for rigid water heater pipe underneath exhaust manifold + head bolts)
- 14” of extensions (to reach exhaust manifold bolts from underneath the car)
- Torque Wrench(es) (that cover 7Nm to 80Nm)
- Breaker bar (for difficult nuts + for turning the engine (clockwise only) to TDC?)
- Soft-faced mallet (for if the head won’t lift straight off)
- Jack/ Axle Stands (to gain access to exhaust manifold bolts)
- Tube to tap Camshaft Oil Seal into place?
- Penetrating oil (giggity) for soaking bolts before removal
- Halfords Shock’n’Unlock spray / PlusGas (are these the same thing?)
- WD40/silicone fluid (to ease fuel pipe / other hose re-fitment)
- Copper grease (to put on the cambelt tensioner pulley pivot pin + pulley bracket alloy boss)
- Anti-seize compound / lubricant (for spark plugs)
- Thread locking fluid (to secure the cam pulleys on the cams)
- Grease to seal the piston/bore holes while cleaning the piston faces (but which type of grease? ‘White grease’? Would Vaseline be acceptable??)
- Brass/Rubber/Wood scraper thing, to remove gasket residue and potentially carbon build-up on the piston faces
- White paint pen / Sharpie (to label the cam pulleys and mark their position relative to each other / TDC? And also the position of the CAS relative to the head?)
- Sharpie to number up the bridge things that hold the Cams in (bearing caps?) / plastic bags of bolts etc. / which spark plug lead goes to which hole in the distributor block thing? / direction of rotation of belts if reusing them / the position of the HLAs if I remove them
- Newspaper/plastic bags to keep Cams oiled/protected
- Pipe cleaners (to clean bolt holes etc.)
- Old Towels to protect bodywork
- Plastic cups/tray thing to store HLAs etc.?
- Sandwich bags to store screws/nuts etc.
- Lint-free cloths or tissues (to block/protect fuel lines / oil/coolant channels)
- Timing light (for when it’s all together again)
Are there any recommendations while doing the work?
e.g. @ffs_Corders points out to do everything at the back of the engine while access is easy: mighty5s.com/post/37524/thread
(I’m not sure where the temperature sensor but I’m sure I’ll find it, but the 1.6’s ‘cursed water plug’ has already been changed, thanks to previously failing on me on the motorway.)
Questions!
- Does the Short Nose 1.6 use a different Head Gasket to the Long Nose 1.6? I swear I read it was but I can’t remember where now…
- Is the (in)complete
‘Genuine’ Engine Gasket Set worth buying if I’m not touching the bottom end? (www.mx5parts.co.uk/engine-gasket-complete-genuine-mazda-mk1-pri-764.html?reviews_id=5528) - Monkfish’s Cambelt change guide on the other forum (as well as the Rod Grainger manual) mentions needing to remove the crankshaft pulley to remove/change the cambelt: www.mx5nutz.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=52586&p=683536
-- Am I right in thinking that is definitely required, because the cambelt can’t be removed/replaced without removing the pulley and the cambelt cover behind it? As mine is a Short Nose 1.6, I’d rather not touch anything around the crankshaft if I don’t have to…
- The RG manual says “From beneath the car you can just about see three 14mm nut which hold the exhaust downpipe to the exhaust manifold.”
-- Dumb question on terminology: the manifold is the branches between the head and where they meet at a single point, isn’t it? And the downpipe is the single pipe from where they meet, that goes back towards the catalytic convertor (if it had one)?
-- Do I have to separate the manifold from the downpipe or is it possible to drop the whole exhaust as one piece, just undoing the nuts where it meets the block??
- Should I change the (three-ish months old) exhaust manifold gasket?
- Is it worth changing the not-that-old (maybe a year old) Aux belt?
- Is it worth changing the (two years old) water pump?
- Is it worth changing the (two years old) thermostat?
- Is it worth changing the cambelt pulley tensioner spring? (RG says yes if >58.8mm when free)
- Is it worth changing the rear-of-engine temperature sensor if it works?
- What else is at the back of the engine that might be worth changing?
- Should I consider new injectors / getting mine cleaned?
- Do I have to remove the HLAs or can I give the whole head (bar cams) to the head-fixing chap and say ‘help!’?
- Do I need two Camshaft Oil Seals or just one?
- I’m guessing that having a whole new set of valves/guides/HLAs would be £££ and not worth it if they are generally fine?
- Do I need new head bolts?
- How do I fit the Camshaft Oil Seal if I don’t have / can’t get a ‘tube’ to use to tap it into place?
Someone pass me the Brave Pills – I only have a week to get everything together, strip it down, get the head refurbed, get it all back together (correctly…) and get it timed up and running!
If it all goes tits-up then I guess I’ll be following Daz’s engine swap guide post… lol
www.mx5nutz.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=7384&p=104876
All help VERY gratefully received!!
