WITW - Mark's poorly Dolphin
 

Next up in the workshop is Mark's Dolphin Grey S8:

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1619814309

Its nice to have a Dolphin Grey in the workshop again while mine is still in winter storage. It feels 'comfortable' for some reason.

Why poorly though? This is the contents of the sump :(

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1619814309

There is no oil in the coolant, so its not the oil cooler. Logically therefore its either a headgasket or a crack somewhere. Obvious we're hoping its just a gasket, but I'll be doing some pressure testing to find out once the engine is stripped down.

I'll start on removing the engine and gearbox tomorrow.

Ooooh another Dolphin. She looks lovely :love:

I’m trying to work out the user is on here?

Looking forward to this one as usual +++

Markiii - I'm sure he'll check in soon.

This one is another variant on the dolphin theme as it has blues interior with vavona, and light uppers, so we have at least three different combinations now. Well, four if you count my custom interior, but it was originally black and maple.

That's not pretty. :tuttut:
I recall Mark's thread a little while back where the opinion was probably "just" a failed oil cooler, but it sounds like it may be rather nastier..... :mad:

Best wishes for a speedy recovery as the saying goes!

yep tis mine, I'm crossing my fingers is nothing terminal

I really wasn't sure on the blue interior as I ha da 911 with blue leather and swore never again. But in the flesh I rather like it

And that particular wood trim really lifts it

Engine out today. It didn't start well as the main bumper bolts refused to come out so I had to take it off with the supports. I'm getting quite good at this now though since the last four I've done have been like this! I am running out of new bumper bolts though :rolleyes:

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1619901795

The power steering fluid is past it's best so I'll change that.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1619901795

After the bumper, everything else came off just fine - no other seized bolts and it all went really well :) Front panel off:

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1619901795

Oh, well apart from this

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1619901795

At some point in the past there has been an issue with two of the connectors in the electronics box and someone has made a really nice job of splicing the body harness to the engine harness. Unfortunately, the engine harness must come out with the engine - its nigh impossible to get it off with the engine in and completely impossible to refit it like that, so I had to cut these apart :(

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1619901795

I'll fix this later with some original connectors.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1619901795

Everything on top disconnected, so on to the underside

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1619901795

Strap the suspension up so it doesn't destroy the upper arms when the lower arms are removed from the subframe

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1619901795

The spring on this exhaust bracket is awol for some reason. I have spares though.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1619901795

I could tell the gearbox had been out in the past as this heat shield is loose. For some reason, every single 8 I work on which has had the gearbox out has this particular stud broken off. I've never taken the gearbox out with the engine in place so I haven't discovered why this is so.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1619901795

This is interesting on the gearbox. New OE replacement perhaps rather than a rebuild?

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1619901795

All the coolant hoses are distended so will need to be replaced. This one is especially bad

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1619901795

A pile of tools, as is tradition

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1619901795

Which allowed me to assemble this pile of bits

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1619901795

Engine out. 6 hours in total which is pretty good. Apart from the bumper and the wiring harness, everything behaved itself which is a pleasant departure from recent projects!

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1619901795

Before I removed the engine I opened the sump plug again, and was rewarded with 3/4 of a litre of clean coolant, then a cupful of the brown slime, so the coolant is leaking in while it is just sitting there. That means whatever is causing it should be relatively straightforward to find.

I'll split the engine and box tomorrow and then strip the engine.

blimey never seen a coolant line like that before, what causes that?

Just age I think. Its getting to be an increasingly common problem.

Is it possible to change that particular line whilst the engine is still in the car?