The unintentional engine project...

[ts888]

What started out as a quick head swap has gone, as ever, down the rabbit hole...

The block, scrubbed and painted, the crank tanked, and fresh bearings --



The freshly tanked head (I <3 clean parts!), and the dead head (and a tractor motor head for a Triumph TR6 I'm rebuilding) --



150k mile bearings, not as bad as I expected given the sad state of things in the oil pan that led to this OCD episode...



The compression thief, and probably the assassin of the previous turbo --



This 9-5 was a $500 car, thus my plan to fix the head and drive it. Of course, I've said that before... My prior daily is a '96 Audi that was a $400 purchase, and all it needed was head gaskets. I'm pretty good about ignoring cosmetic stuff, and even suspension and drivetrain issues, but there's something about engines that I just can't ignore. I'm sure the hours I spent with the die grinder on the heads and intake manifold of the Audi V6 were well worth it. Along with the new valves, guides, springs, lifters... Not. It did run sooo sweet, though. Until the ZF slushbox packed it in, but that was after 3 years, so my transpo costs still remained under $250 a month including gas, maintenance and insurance.

And let's not even start on the Alfa 164. Are you familiar with the Busso V6? Among the best V6 engines ever created. Makes noises like a Ferrari. Sexiest intake runners ever, hidden under the hood of a Meh sedan. Pretty much heroin with chocolate sprinkles for an engine geek. When I finished, the engine was a work of art. I wanted to take it out of the car and put it on a stand in my living room. I'm divorced, I can do stuff like that. As is appropriate for an Alfa, I got it free, and lost money on it.

I've done Saab heads with the engine in, and I hate the job, so on my own car I didn't think twice, I pulled the engine. Given all the noise about sludge in the B235, it seemed prudent to pull the pan and take a look while the engine is out. The pan was pretty clean, then I pulled the windage tray and the pickup... The pickup was essentially blocked by a giant, nasty, gritty blob. I'm truly surprised the bearings are not complete crap. Which reminds me, I need to order new oil pump gears.

I'm not going nuts on the head, just replacing the valve seals. The cams, lifters, springs, etc. are all in good shape, and will go back in. The intake valves as well. The exhaust valves are going to have to be replaced, as the ones in the head have a lot of pitting on the stems. That weakens them, and they will leak oil. I f****** haaaaaate leaks. Hate.

I did splurge for ARP head studs, but for me those also fall in the category of cheap insurance on a boosted engine. It also gets a new timing chain, new guides, and all new seals, o-rings, gaskets, hoses, basically all soft parts. The balance shaft chain will not be making a return appearance, I'll drill and tap the tensioner oil hole for a plug and leave the shafts in place. The new main and rod bearings should make up for any oil pressure lost to worn balance shaft bearings. Yes, the engine went 150k and the balance shaft chain did not fail. Whatever, I don't like the extra crap spinning around. Simple is best.

The funny thing is, I resisted buying a B234 block because I didn't want to put a bunch of money in this car.

I'm an idiot.

[ts888]

More progress -- Head, front cover and pan back on. Tappets and cams, timing chain and gears tomorrow. I also replaced the output sealss and put a new clutch slave on the transmission.

[swisssaabist]

I will be very happy to have some news when it's done ..

[ts888]

Closer...

[ts888]

Ready to drop in!



Or not...



Yup, forgot the axle. Easy to correct, but...

[Digger]

Not even close to ready. I spotted the running boards with wide whites and the sports car alloys in the background. You don't need to do a complete restoration, bit it's just not right to put a motor that shinny back into a dirty old engine compartment.

[ts888]

The engine compartment did get a good bath and de-grease, and I took the opportunity to chuck the heater bypass and replace all the vacuum lines with new silicone.

The mill is back home. Pretty much everything downstairs is connected except the axles. Upstairs there's still a bit to do.



I popped the cam cover and DIC on for show. The cam cover paint needs some touch up, I found some flaws after it dried. Hopefully I'll have the energy to wrap up the final bits before the holiday weekend. Yes, I know the colors are not a perfect match for the Swedish flag. I just used paint that was handy in the shop. It's an homage...

[ts888]

It's in, and "running." Still sorting some codes that are causing it to kick into limp mode, likely due to messing up the vacuum lines. Will smoke it tomorrow to see if I left something disconnected.

On the up side, the tappets pumped up in about 2 minutes and it idles quiet and smooth.

[geoff 9-3]

Looking good. Make sure you have all the ground/earth connections connected up.

[ts888]

Double checked all the grounds and vacuum lines today, and smoke tested -- no leaks. I started another thread with questions.