79 2000 engine pull

[barnesjtsl]

I have what I consider a bad oil leak. I loose about a tea spoon each night. The engine runs great no smoke, I passed DEQ about 6 months ago. It really runs good, but the leak is driving me nuts. The whole lower half of the engine is oily and like I said before I loose about a tea spoon a night.

What I am planning to do is to buy the gasket set from international-auto.com, pull the engine, replace most of the gaskets and seals and put the engine back in. I will not have any problems doing this, I have a done a few v8's in the past and a couple of 4 cylinders so I don't feel I will have any problems.

I have never done this with my Fiat, so I thought it best to ask if there is anything unusual that I need to look for when pulling this out?

Thanks,

jb

[digitech]

All I can say is good luck!! About half of the gaskets I replaced are leaking; I've done my camboxes twice (see New Engine....post) and they still leak. I was using Permatex aviation gasket sealer, then form-a-gasket and now I think I'm going to try Permatex Ultra Black. If you find something that works, let me know!

[So Cal Mark]

if you're going to the trouble of pulling the engine I'd replace all of the gaskets and seals instead of "most". Make sure you clean the oil separator, excess crankcase pressure could be causing the leaks

[barnesjtsl]

I want to clean this thing up as well when I have it out.

What would you guys suggest, rent a steam cleaner, use a preasure washer, gunk degreaser?

How have people cleaned an engine short of rebuilding and cleaning all the parts in the process?

Thanks,

jb

[grittracing]

mark is correct excess crank case pressure will drive you mad, I have changed my intake gasket, valve cover gaskets distributor O-ring, and now my rear main is gone out on my 66 ford before i figured out that every time I changed one it blew out another. if you pulling the engine you might as well replace rings and main bearings and all the gaskets

[majicwrench]

Oven cleaner does a wonderful job removing gunk, oils and old paint.

Is always nice to know where the oil is coming from BEFORE you start repairs.

Sealers....most gaskets are designed to be used WITHOUT sealers. Most people use sealer way too liberally. Less is more.

Have at it!
Keith

[karhawk]

A very good idea to clean engine and locate the leak before you pull the engine, cam boxes are prone to leak and check the exhaust studs as well, you should be able to tell if you have a lot of blow by removing the hose there should not be a lot of positive pressure.

Chris
Oakland, Ca.

[minimike]

I had to do my 79 as an engine swap recently. While the engine was out, I detailed the engine compartment, compounding the paint and waxing it. Also painted the cross member and all other parts I could see. At the same time I went for an 1800 head and the preferred 32/36 carb. I'd say do what others mentioned. clean off the engine, and find the leak(s) first. Oil and water will fall due to gravity and your leak might be top of the engine and the whole bottom of the engine get covered.

I used gasoline to degrease the engine once out, and then powerwashed it once I bagged and taped off the areas I needed to protect. I painted the engine with rattle can primer and then battleship grey. you don't need high heat paint as others might suggest. The engine only gets to be about 200 degrees as the water takes away the heat. The header needs the high heat paint. I did the timing belt cover in yellow, and electric fan, and rad in black. Buy new hoses all the way round. If your gasket
surfaces are not smooth or clean, you'll have a leak. Toyota used to only use a grey sealant, ie: world adhesive. No leaks on
toyotas.
have fun. BTW, there appears to be a host of stuff you can eliminate when you remove the 2000 intake.

[mik]

If you have the area to clean the engine and not have to worry about the mess great. I took mine to a detailer and he put it in the air and did the entire bottom of the car for $80. Well worth it to me, engine, transmission, rear axel area, all down to nice clean metal.