My Murple

[MikkiJayne]

The timing belt arrived today, which was nice. I'm using a Gates belt here as they're an OEM for this sort of thing.



Craig who does tig welding also does powdercoating as part of his wheel refurbishment business (The Ally Cat in Crediton). I have been quite set against powdercoating in the past because of its tendency to split along sharp edge, however Craig being a perfectionist like myself has learned how to tune the setup of the kit to avoid this problem. As he's providing a boutique service, rather than maximum throughput for minimum cost like most such establishments, he can spend the time to get it right which I am more than happy to pay for I'm very cautious about painting the inside of sumps as not much can withstand 180 degree oil, and loose sheets of paint can easily clog up the oil pump. In this instance, Craig blasted and coated the outside but didn't touch the factory coating on the inside.

Tl;dr - I had the sump powdercoated satin black It came out rather smart, and saved me a ton of time painting it.



This really is the only way to successfully seal these things properly - take the engine out and flip it over With the engine in the car there is guaranteed to be a drip of oil somewhere which will ruin the sealant, no matter how much you clean it. I've not bothered cleaning the carbon deposits in here, because they're everywhere in the bottom end so it would be for visual effect only. If any of this drops off it'll get captured by the filter anyway.



All the bolts in, tighten in a diagonal pattern to avoid distorting the pan



These are for the oil sensor and need sealant on the threads. Its surprisingly common for replacement sensors to be fitted without sealant on the bolts, and then of course they leak everywhere.



A nice, mostly even bead of sealant once the sump is torqued. Mostly.



I dislike the bare paper oil filters because you can't fill them up after an oil change, meaning the engine has to move 1/2 a litre of oil at least before the bearings see any lubrication. Except you can pre-fill when its upside down



Now the sump is on and the engine is staying the right way up the water pipes can go back on. These don't clear the engine stand so I can't flip it with them attached.



Knock sensor attached



The next big thing I'm waiting on is the gaskets for the inlet manifold so I can put that back on, then the engine is almost complete again and I can make a start on the gearbox.

[David's8]

Nice, neat work again MJ

[tc4332]

Originally Posted by MikkiJayne

Interesting - that is designed to push the seal in without the bushing. Something I have not enjoyed. Mine is the opposite way round to that tool and pushes both in together.

This highlights the difference between the way different people view a problem.

1. The Germanic follow the laid down plan meticulously.
2. The let us look at this properly way of a beautiful and clever young English magician.

[steamship]

Originally Posted by MikkiJayne

Tools are scattered around the workshop, as usual

A place for everything and everything in it's place... so you can lay your hands on them.

Originally Posted by MikkiJayne

Write-up with pictures, narrated slide show, or real-time video?

Personally, I'm more of a 'write-up with pictures' sort of person, as you get the closer shots and exact details. It also means being able to print them off and have them with you when you're doing the work.

[homer simpson]

Originally Posted by steamship

Personally, I'm more of a 'write-up with pictures' sort of person, as you get the closer shots and exact details. It also means being able to print them off and have them with you when you're doing the work.

I agree. Whilst I don't own a D2, pictures and text are usually easier to follow and print out.

[MikkiJayne]

Noted. I will make it so.

A little while back someone mentioned a product called 'Elbow Grease' in a D3 thread. I can't find the thread now to give proper credit to whoever it was, but this stuff is amazing! I thought it was worth a shot for a pound a bottle, and I am now giving serious consideration to filling my parts washer with the stuff!

By way of visual demonstration, here it is getting to work on the inlet manifold:



Before:



After:



For something solvent-free to cut through thick grease and crud like this stuff does is remarkable. It has some pretty powerful detergents in it as well as whatever is dissolving the oils - it seems to brighten up aluminium parts much more than solvent degreasers do. I will definitely be trying it in the engine bay when I get to that



The front has a bit of corrosion, but still cleaned up well.



Breather pipes back on, and I'm just waiting on inlet manifold gaskets so I can put the manifold back on. Hopefully tomorrow for those.

[David's8]

And Asda has 2 x 500ml for £1.80 online

[steamship]

Originally Posted by MikkiJayne

Noted. I will make it so.

Aye aye, Captain.

Originally Posted by MikkiJayne

A little while back someone mentioned a product called 'Elbow Grease' in a D3 thread. I can't find the thread now to give proper credit to whoever it was, but this stuff is amazing!

It was 89forever in the following post:

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/showpost....0&postcount=39

Initially I thought he was taking the p*ss with the name, but after seeing it advertised, I wondered why no one had used the name before.

[tintin]

Originally Posted by David's8

And Asda has 2 x 500ml for £1.80 online

+ linky, for those (like me!) who are interested...

https://groceries.asda.com/promotion/2-for-1.80/ls90774

[steamship]

Since my 'local' Asda is 16 miles away, I checked and B&M stores also sell it at 89p per 500ml. Link provided but they don't sell online:

https://www.bmstores.co.uk/products/...r-500ml-345773