Seanl's 8v Money Pit!

[Seanl]

Point taken! Will try to accomodate your request at the weekend weather permitting. Needs a good clean first as its been about a month without now! 

[stow1985]

 

[Seanl]

Well the old girl has died a horrible death! 
No idea what is wrong tbh, probs oil cooler, gaskets, rods, pistons, rings the lot!
Changed the rad last week, been driving round town all week and all good. Had to go to Bristol today though for nephews b.day, got as far as Exeter, and coolant light started flashing. Noticed temp was at about 110 which I should have noticed sooner but oh well! So pulled over, and left to cool for half an hour, before topping up. I wasnt sure if I had bled it properly last week, so assumed it was that. Getting the water out of the boot though, and the boot lid was all greasy. Didnt think anything of it at the time, but thinking back now that was probs another indication! Anyway, Carried on my merry way, got about another 15 miles and off it went again, and temp quickly rose. Decided to check oil temp, and was up to about 140!  . Needless to say, I sh!t me pants and pulled over again and left to cool down. Topped up again, and decided to try and limp the rest of the way. Got about another 5 miles and oil temp flew up! Then cut out and that was that! Managed to coast down the hard shoulder to a slip road just before Taunton, and had to phone the old dear up as I dont have breakdown cover Doh!!!. She came after about 2 hours of waiting! Needless to say I missed the party! We tried to jump start the car, as the battery was drained as well, but no go. Doesnt seem to be firing on all cilinders, and sounds rough as fook! So had to get a tow all the way back home. Trying to bump whilst driving was emotional! Sounding like a tractor when being pulled along in gear, but as soon as I put my foot on the clutch, revs would die and it would cut out again. Had to keep jumping in gear though as I had no brakes really without power, and noticed whilst looking through the rear view mirror, black smoke pouring everywhere! That is obviously where the greasy boot came from! So what next? Break it or Engine conversion??? Hmmmm see what funds are available from the boss first! 

[dazzawest1987]

Sorry to hear this mate, just a heads up notice a 8v engine on eBay for £45 if you wanted a cheap straight swap ends in about 7 hours though

[snifferdog]

As dazza said, 8V engines are really cheap to buy mate if you wanna do a straight swap, they come up at least twice a month for £50 or less.

Or is it time to move on now?

[stow1985]

 

Look forward to what you do next !

[Seanl]

Cheers for the heads up guys. Without transport atm cos funny thing is we sold the missus's car thursday!  Gonna get a decent car now I think to get us round for a while, take this off the road and start looking for something with a blower! Gonna have to find a garage to rent though as I dont wanna do a Dan Monday if I can help it, an do a conversion in the road! Will also give me some time to start getting everything together, and getting the exterior spotless, so maybe its a blessing in disguise! Kells, expect a PM in the not to distant future! BAM, BAM BAM!!!! 

[Seanl]

Ok so a couple more hours have passed, and my head is now on straight. Have been looking into sorting my bay out for a while now, and just tarting it up. My head was up my arse a little after what happened, and mind was running wild with possibilities for conversions! Obviously this would cost me stacks, and I would never see anywhere near a return to what I would put into it. (very sensible of me lol!) So I am now just gonna stick another 8v in there. Never done anything engine wise apart from a service so wouldnt know where to start, even with the shed load of guides and people willing to help on here for a conversion. So just had a looksee at the engine now. Coolant has almost completely gone and I dont no where! No leaks visible, so only 1 place really! Oil seems fine on dipstick and cap, with no mayo and no hint of water in it. Doesnt seem too thin either. There is a little sticky mayo in the expansion tank though, so points toward head gasket, or oil cooler as I thought before due to massive oil temps. If there is water inside though, the internals are probs fooked so have decided to go for a straight swap. Gonna get a new car over the next week for the missus anyway, so at least we will be able to get something almost new without me wasting thousands on a 14 year old car that keeps breaking down! It will then give me time to do this over the next couple of month, and do it exactly how I want it without rushing jobs! It will also give me chance to get the bay looking mint which is good. Everything can be had for about 200 notes as well, so at least I wont be too much out of pocket by the end of it all. 

[stow1985]

I think this is a good idea 

is it worth doing anything to the engine before it goes in? Replacing gaskets? how about a 4-2-1 manifold?  cam? or perhaps just a rebuild?? good time to replace clutch and fit a lightened flywheel 

[Seanl]

I think this is a good idea 

is it worth doing anything to the engine before it goes in? Replacing gaskets? how about a 4-2-1 manifold?  cam? or perhaps just a rebuild?? good time to replace clutch and fit a lightened flywheel 

Exactly what I was thinking tbh. Dunno about cams, but deffo gaskets, clutch and lightened flywheel. Mani is an interesting idea as well! Hmmm better start having a look in to that then, Cheers Stow!