Merc 300E Turbo rebuild

[NaughtyGT]

just a little job I did on the first day of owning the Mercus!

Dadaaarrrr: (drum rolls then, symbol clang)









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Gav, & you thought the coolant in the Laser head valleys was a horrid site

Located a reco'd head from a North Melbourne Service centre. Complete with VRS kit $1000 exchange. Also sending new Head Bolt kit. Arrives here by courier this Thursday

So, guess what I will be doing on Friday???

[chicaboo]

I'll catch up soon enough...

[NaughtyGT]

Originally Posted by chicaboo

I'll catch up soon enough...

race was with the little gee gees I thought

Apparently he reused suss head cause he couldn't locate a 2nd hand one.

This time I went for a reco'd one & will finish job properly. It'll be some nice work. I just got it before it hit red but, turbo (which has done less than 1000 since rebuild & high flow) I don't know the extent of damage yet. Will put it back together & see.

Friday I will start @ sparrow fart am & pull head off. Tomorrow I will be dismantling exhaust from manifold, inlet off & timing gear/radiator out etc.

I guess seller was pissed @ building this beautiful ride, spending $$$$'s& years bit by bit, to have this happen. He thought the coolant loss was just from the original blown head? This is what Mechanic told him. Give her a few oil changes U& it'll come good. Gotta love these fine technos. I don't give a toss whether it is simply a gasket or not. Full rebuild head is going on! New bolts. The lot. Spose bores are glazed know a bit?

[chicaboo]

I hope that's all it needs [surprised it even needs that ].

[NaughtyGT]

coolant in the bottom end/turbo & out the oil filler cap? Definately Head Gasket so, may as well replace the head

I got it @ a steal due to him giving up. He feels rotten cause car has been sitting for 2 years & just started, now this. I couldn't raz him too much even though I saw green. Just ahve to get her back on the road & give her a good service, tune & bigger jets later. Engine hasn't even been broken in. He gave me a box of assorted jets to see. I will talk to an expert here in lower Melbourne once it has been re-engineer cert'd & regoed. Hopefully in next month. It is pretty low so, bit worried about that passing I'll take the NSW cert with me. Years old though. Vic Roads only acept Engineer Certificates within 30 days old. Just as a RWC. They treat it the same actually as far as rego is concerned. Just obviously holds more weight.

[NaughtyGT]

^^ bump to pics Gav

[matty88]

Yummy

Is it running gas research?

[70NYD]

Originally Posted by matty88

Yummy

Is it running gas research?

oooh cheers man thats the name of the mob in vic that does awesome injection systems i forgot the name and ever since naughty started the LPG thread its been buggin me to remember

[NaughtyGT]

I'd have to check matty? This coulda been caused initially by a leaky inlet manifold gasket or reservior/resorvoir cap not sealing. The ovderheating worries me. I may retension rockers & dump oil & see what's going on tomorrow? Could be a faulty thermostat. Car has been sitting for years & just started regularly.

Will know more tomorrow

[Old Grey]

If the car has been sitting the head could be corroded between the water jacket holes under the fire ring to the combustion chamber.

I have reco a few of those heads don't remember them being crack prone but they do bend. We just straighten them and service them.

[chicaboo]

Originally Posted by Old Grey

If the car has been sitting the head could be corroded between the water jacket holes under the fire ring to the combustion chamber.

I have reco a few of those heads don't remember them being crack prone but they do bend. We just straighten them and service them.

That's what happened to my TX3 head.

[NaughtyGT]

Originally Posted by Old Grey

If the car has been sitting the head could be corroded between the water jacket holes under the fire ring to the combustion chamber.

I have reco a few of those heads don't remember them being crack prone but they do bend. We just straighten them and service them.

that's why I bit the bullet & will replace it with exchange reco'd head. I think I'll check everything like thermo; double check the mani gaskets are right when I fit the VRS; radiator flush, you name it.

[NaughtyGT]

The VRS kit is quite expensive ($350 or so) so, for $1000, I get reco'd head & VRS kit supplied (peace a mind too regarding head/gasket issues). They just want my old head sent to them when I have reassembled it all. Pretty good guys @ Merc. Head bolts come in a kit. I guess this means they come with a head bolt removal tool? If not, I'll have to get one as bolts have internal hex thread. Complete opposite to the B6/B6T which has hex external thread. At least you can use a sidchrome hex socket for them.

I just hope Bunnings has a Torque wrench this morn. I doubt AutoParts/tool shops will be open today? I was too pissed to think about it yesterday. Just sourced head (very fortunate there was one on the shelf @ Merc). I had to pull rockers to view the darn casting number so they could check stock bugger it

Paid a nickel for it considering the effort gone into it. I'm still dumbfounded why engine builder didn't get head checked over properly & had it reco'd whilst he was eassembling engine. $5k+ mind you. Then, uses old head cause he couldn't source another back then. Telling this poor bastard the "head looks very porous due to age?" Car has only travelled 55k to date! Mind you, the turbo was rebuilt & highflowed ($900 later) & now has this sludge running through it & I saw blue smoke from under bonnet when I noticed car overheating & shut it down (no coolant around). Engine cut out twice too. Then when guy asks builder why there is milky substance on dipstick & smoke coming off dump pipe, gets told, "oh, don't worry bout' it. It's only condensation & it'll work itself out after few oil changes?"

Biggest thing I am worried about when it goes for it's engineer certificate is ride height. It's pretty low

Originally Posted by matty88

Yummy

Is it running gas research?

Matty, management it's being controlled by MTD ignition etc. Does that help? I just have the head prob' on mind @ present so, can't go over it thoroughly yet

Also, just emptied about 11 litres of oil out of engine (seller said he just poured oil in before running for an hr). It doesn't appear to be holding much coolant. In fact, some oil sitting on head has disapated & looks like orig' oil colour The rest is thick just choc' milk colour. I wonder if it just had minimum coolant & therefore overheated. Some rad hoses look soft too.

Ah shat! don't needthis headache

[Rupewrecht]

Originally Posted by NaughtyGT

Vic Roads only acept Engineer Certificates within 30 days old.

And only accept Victorian engineers certs anyway

[Old Grey]

Check the top of the block for any faults especially on the fire rings.

Are those bolts the ones you tighten to a low torque and then turn them 90º and then another 90º

[NaughtyGT]

Originally Posted by Old Grey

Check the top of the block for any faults especially on the fire rings.

what exactly are the faults I should be looking for? cracks? scorch marks?

Originally Posted by Old Grey

Are those bolts the ones you tighten to a low torque and then turn them 90º and then another 90º

Yep! torque them down to 70nm. Then 90o angle of rotation. Then 90o angle again. This sounds odd! What does this poundage end up then? Am I missing something or do you end up turning each bolt (in correct sequence) 180 degress beyond their initial 70nm torgue up? Sheesh!

Btw, thanks to your question, I found this:

During engine repairs that include removal of cylinder head bolts, special care and precautions must be taken during reassembly.

Upon removal of a cylinder head bolt, it is possible for engine oil or coolant to flow into the bolt hole, filling the area of the bolt threads.

During reinstallation and tightening of the cylinder head bolt, this oil or coolant would be highly compressed by the threaded end. It is possible that the resulting pressure of the liquids in the bolt hole could cause the engine block to crack.

Prior to the installation of a cylinder head bolt, all fluids and dirt must be removed from the bolt hole by means of compressed air (be sure to observe safety precautions and wear eye protection)

[chicaboo]

Lucky I didn't do the head job on my car. I'd be the first bastard to put a bit of WD40 on a thread to help it go in easier...

[NaughtyGT]

Originally Posted by chicaboo

Lucky I didn't do the head job on my car. I'd be the first bastard to put a bit of WD40 on a thread to help it go in easier...

no Gav.....hehe. You are recommended to oil both surfaces but I think what they're getting @ is if excess oil/dirt gets down the thread hole, it will be pressurised. Just makes ya think though doesn't it

[zappy65]

The reason you go in stages is to seat the Head Gasket evenly.....70Nm -90-90 (degrees)

The reason for the degree's of rotation is to minimize any torque differences each head bolt might have against the block threads....

DO NOT!!! put any oil on or in any of the head threads, this could end in snapped head bolts, wrong torque and degree settings or even a threaded head bolt thread...

[Cosmo Dude]

Originally Posted by NaughtyGT

Yep! torque them down to 70nm. Then 90o angle of rotation. Then 90o angle again. This sounds odd! What does this poundage end up then? Am I missing something or do you end up turning each bolt (in correct sequence) 180 degress beyond their initial 70nm torgue up? Sheesh!

It's done this way because at the torque required it's difficult to keep a steady hand and you can get uneven torque settings. First time I heard of this was on an XF Falcon.