I'm finally getting around to tearing the engine down.

[lordxenu]

So, I got all my parts.

All the gaskets I need for the top of the engine.
Tensioner Bearing
Timing Belt/Serpentine Belt
An entire shim kit and the valve tool to go with it.
Guibo.

I still have some stuff to go, like a fuel filter and some hoses that we had to rip off the engine (28 year old braided hoses don't remove very well at all.)

But a few questions:

Is the timing belt SUPPOSED to be so thin? I figured it'd be the same width as the cam pulleys. Does anyone have a picture of the timing belt they have on their 2000cc?

Does anyone have the measurements of all the hoses on the top end of the car? This seems like a little much to ask, but asking doesn't hurt


If you've been reading my posts before about my idle miss and backfiring on deceleration, I think I found part of the problem: It may be out of time, but I need to do some more observations, I don't think my dad is lining the marks up right now that I think about it.

Also I'm glad we've gotten to start disassembling the top end, the timing belt has gouges in the backside of it, seems like a matter of time before the thing snapped and ruined my entire engine

Soon I'll have my oil leak fixed, and this car will be running like new

[baltobernie]

Looks like you're changing the timing belt just in time! Be sure and consult a service manual for the correct replacement procedure. There are also many posts on this subject here.

Yes, the timing belt is supposed to be "that narrow". About 3/4"

[narfire]

Clean the engine before tearing it down. Gunk engine cleaner works. There is usually, on older engines, a fair amount of oil/dirt mix that seems to migrate to whatever part of the engine your working on. When rinsing.. plastic bag over the alt if you still have it on. Is the engine comming out or are you doing the top end only?
Get a good manual, you'll need it for the tourqes when putting back together.
The IAP cataloge has a good blurb on shimming the valves.I think it is on their website as well. Helped me on my first attempt.
Have fun,the engines are simple and come apart easily. When the fuel rail comes off,check the hoses to the injectors. If they look the least bit dodgy,change them out... look whats below... starter/electrical/potential spark/potential fire...
They can be a bit fiddley to get off but I felt better knowing I have solid conections now.Use FI hose and the proper clamps.
Good luck There is no shortage of members that have torn their engines down.. and put them back together again.

[lordxenu]

Clean the engine before tearing it down. Gunk engine cleaner works. There is usually, on older engines, a fair amount of oil/dirt mix that seems to migrate to whatever part of the engine your working on. When rinsing.. plastic bag over the alt if you still have it on. Is the engine comming out or are you doing the top end only?
Get a good manual, you'll need it for the tourqes when putting back together.
The IAP cataloge has a good blurb on shimming the valves.I think it is on their website as well. Helped me on my first attempt.
Have fun,the engines are simple and come apart easily. When the fuel rail comes off,check the hoses to the injectors. If they look the least bit dodgy,change them out... look whats below... starter/electrical/potential spark/potential fire...
They can be a bit fiddley to get off but I felt better knowing I have solid conections now.Use FI hose and the proper clamps.
Good luck There is no shortage of members that have torn their engines down.. and put them back together again.

Nah, engine isn't coming out, and I'm actually not taking the head off, It doesn't consume water, and the engine doesn't smoke, so I think I'm fine there...for now. Just the 2 cam boxes to swap out the gaskets that far, and then I'll have a head gasket for later.

I'm going to have to do a mass hose buy one of these days, a couple of them ripped when we removed them :/

[lordxenu]

I have the best luck in the world.

We decided to pull the head off anyway, to change out the valve seals. Good thing too, the pistons were a little oily, and the valve seals were baked to a crisp. So we replaced the seals, and all should be well in my car mechanically.

Bad news, and here's where my awesome luck comes into play. While taking the intake/exhaust loose, a couple of bolts broke. So my dad had to drill them out, and buy new bolts. Ok, cool, they fit fine and all's well...but here's the kicker.

While torquing the head back down, one bolt broke, and 2 others started twisting, and would have probably broke as well. So now I need to buy 3 bolts, or 10 bolts, I dunno which, and I dunno if I can get them from a hardware store, or if I have to order those as well.

Because apparently IAP/Vick have these head bolts with a weird pattern on them, and they aren't hex...and the ones on mine are hex. I don't want mismatched bolts, it looks dumb and would bother me (I'm meticulous over small details like that)

So, you guys think I can find them in a hardware store? Or will I have to order a new set? IAP wants $6 per bolt, which is steep....that's $60 in bolts if i replaced the whole set with that crazy looking socket bolt (I dunno which one I'd get, apparently its random)

Also had to buy a new head gasket, as we've already torqued the new one down twice, and I don't feel comfortable reusing the gasket after we've attempted to torque the head down twice (he forgot to drill out an exhaust bolt after it broke, so he had to take it off again) So the car is out of commission until Tuesday at the latest. It's killing me

[htchevyii]

I had the same head bolt stretching issue and bought new ones. I'd recommend replacing them all and no hardware store bolt will do, although there may be a sustitution bolt from another vehicle that will work, I'd play it safe and buy them from a Fiat vendor.

[narfire]

Where abouts are you? I have a handfull of head bolts kicking about if you want them. Came from a 2L. I was told to put a dab of oil into the head bolt holes before torqing down. Perhaps some one can chime in on this proceedure.
PM if needed.

[So Cal Mark]

I ALWAYS tap all of the holes, lubricate the threads and both sides of the washer otherwise the torque values will be all over the map. ARP makes a bolt that will work for the TC. I believe it's a Toyota bolt. The comment about common hardware store bolts is true, don't attempt it. Either use a vendor or find ARP bolts online.

[lordxenu]

Where abouts are you? I have a handfull of head bolts kicking about if you want them. Came from a 2L. I was told to put a dab of oil into the head bolt holes before torqing down. Perhaps some one can chime in on this proceedure.
PM if needed.

I'm on the east coast, down in SC.

is ARP a bolt manufacturer? If so I'll see if I can find some.

EDIT: How can I make sure that, if i get them from a vendor, I get the right bolt, and not that one with the crazy star/whatever pattern inside of it? I really don't want to have to buy yet another socket tool.

I'm looking at $60 in bolts, craziness

[So Cal Mark]

ARP is a mfg. You should be able to find their catalog online. Use the thread pitch and length to determine which bolts will work. You should be able to get them from someone like summittracing.com within a day or two

[lordxenu]

ARP is a mfg. You should be able to find their catalog online. Use the thread pitch and length to determine which bolts will work. You should be able to get them from someone like summittracing.com within a day or two

Cool, thanks a lot guys! I'll dig around for a bit and see what I can find.

I'll be monitoring him the next time he torques this stuff down, if he breaks another I'll have to strangle him

[lordxenu]

Well, I couldn't find said bolt from ARP...and from what I've gathered, they want about 4.50 a bolt for other sizes that I didn't think would work, so to be safe I bit the bullet and bought 10 of them from Vick for 2$ more.

So if everything goes according to plan THIS time *knocks on wood* I should have my car back by this weekend.

Also picked up a fuel filter as well, because its still got the original one on it.

So that's $90 in bolts and a filter. I think I'm gonna be sick...

I don't think I've ever spent this much on cars...ever. Especially for a few bolts. Haha, I'm a computer guy, I'm used to throwing down hundreds on the latest video card or a set of ram, or even a new CPU and motherboard combo...but the most expensive thing I ever bought for a car was a radiator for my old Saturn.

[lordxenu]

We finally got it put back together!

Tomorrow I'm off to replace some hoses that shredded, mainly those braided vacuum lines.

On that note, while putting the distributor back on, I noticed some hairline stress cracks around the thing that makes the spark (not sure what its called. In any case, this isn't good, but I looked at the ones on IAP, and they look different? Are the new rotor caps made better or worse than the old ones?

I might do a bit more hunting if they're worse than the old ones, but I can't seem to find anything but the newer type.

So that's 4 things to do:

change oil
change guibo
change rotor cap
tighten up the muffler

I can't wait to get it back on the road, looking at it in my yard is killing me.