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1993 (Phase 1) 1.4i (No.33)

I did so many expensive things when I did my head gasket...

Don't really want to spend out on it all again...

I take it head bolts are best new...?
 
It is, behind the crank pulley. Careful though Ed, you could get a complete, good running engine for £not a lot more!
 
They don't wear too badly but can get sloppy at high mileage or if oil changes have been neglected. More of an issue is a stuck relief valve, which can easily go unnoticed if it sticks in the halfway position. That's enough to put the oil light out, but not really be sufficient to pressurise the top end well.
 
Years back I bought an Astra GLS with the X16XEL for cheap. The engine was seized solid at 46k... Anyway I threw another engine in it which made it into a nice car that I sold on. I hadn't bothered to look at the original engine but put it to the back of the garage to look into one day.
Fast forward a few more years and I needed a head for one of these engines so I started stripping the seized one. Weirdly, although it was locked solid, everything looked to be in perfect condition... until I removed the oil pump.
It had broken internally, shattering the gear. This locked the crank solid, making it look like a seized engine! With the pump removed, the engine turned beautifully and would have made a good runner again.
Never seen an oil pump do that since, something must have got into it and caused the failure.
 
Update, sort of.

A mate gave me a load of followers, I went to change the broken one yesterday, found out I needed a tool to hold the valve down, as that's the only way without removing the head. None in stock locally.

Ordered one, picked it up this afternoon.

Pinned the valve down with it, managed after much poking to liberate the other half of he broken follower.

Could not get the new one in, definitely not enough room.

I'm thinking maybe the camshaft hadn't pushed the valve down enough as the follower was broken.

Tried screwing the tool down more, slipped off.

Got the tool back on, started again, got to what I think is almost there, and tool started slipping again. Was getting dark so I've packed up and gone home.

Might go out later with a decent torch, but pretty pissed off, so might not.

I just wanted to change the broken follower, see how it runs, maybe do a compression test.

Sounds so simple. :(
 
Today's update.

Turned out the valve was jammed.

Gave it a tap with a hammer, valve is no longer jammed.

It's rolling around loose in the cylinder now.


So. Where do I go from here?

I'm still unsure about going through with a head swap.

I've got a rounded off water pump bolt, which I will probably need to be able to put a belt on again once it's all been apart.

I don't want to pay out for a skim, but I've always been told it's a necessity.
 
Adding to the decision making...

Rear of sill still needs welding,
Rust patch appearing mid-sill,
Fuel filler area rotten
I can't raise the front suspension any further
I can't fit bigger wheels
It's struggling to tow
 
edessex said:
Turned out the valve was jammed.

Gave it a tap with a hammer, valve is no longer jammed.

It's rolling around loose in the cylinder now.
Click to expand...

Which valve, the actual engine valve?

edessex said:
I've got a rounded off water pump bolt, which I will probably need to be able to put a belt on again once it's all been apart.
Click to expand...

They're not too bad to remove, hammer in a torx bit or something :)

edessex said:
I don't want to pay out for a skim, but I've always been told it's a necessity.
Click to expand...

It's absolutely not. Especially where there has been no HGF.

edessex said:
Adding to the decision making...

Rear of sill still needs welding,
Rust patch appearing mid-sill,
Fuel filler area rotten
I can't raise the front suspension any further
I can't fit bigger wheels
It's struggling to tow
Click to expand...

Welding repairs aren't the end of the world, especially with the 'theme' of the car, it wont hurt if it's not pretty!

Front suspension is an issue yes unfortunately, I don't think there is a cheap option to solve that.

I bet you could fit bigger wheels with the aid of a grinder lol.

It should tow better once it's back up to full strength!
 
Full strength? I think that went about 60k ago! :lol:

Exhaust valve is loose in the cylinder.

Even doing the welding is an issue, can't get the welders to run right on generators.

Can't fit bigger tyres without raising suspension.


The Astra is really balancing on a fence ATM.
 
Most of that list isn't 'that' bad.

It's done alright so far, considering it wasn't really meant for the amount and type of work it's done.

But it's up to you at the end of the day.

As Andy says, unless it's been boiled it won't need the head won't need skimming. Just clean all the old gasket off before refitting it. Plus I think the collets must of jumped out when it was tapped. Can happen.
 
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