1999 V reg Facelift LPG ELiteMade a start at last this morning at 9am. Started with jacking it up and undoing the drivers side front pipe to manifold. Noted a brand new catalytic convertor and two new oxygen sensors. Nice thanks. Also noted that whoever fitted the cats, decided not to refit the two bolts that secure the cats to the mounting, thus putting the centre joints under strain.
Then started dismantling the rather interesting LPG pipework under the bonnet. Found an immediate problem with it, namely the second intake brass coupler had worn through the rubber adapter ring, and thus was leaking LPG! Explains the whiff of calor gas when you open the bonnet!
Further dismantling revealed an unbelievable mess in the intakes and throttles. Watery brown sludge. Much more dismnatlg revealed the first of several cock-ups by previous mechanical persons. Fisrtly, the 4 breather pipes on the plenum. One looked familiar though not a breather pipe. A bit of checking confimed what I suspected. They had taken the vent hose from teh autobox, and fed it straight into the plenum. Might explain that sludge! The actual breather pipe was carefully hidden behind the fuel lines as they obviously couldn't work out where it should go, so just hid it.
More dismantling confirmed that the oil cooler had indeed been replaced, but they were a little enthusiatic with the sealant. It was everywhere!
Finally got access to the HBV whichg I partially removed to egt access to the main coolant pipe union. Coolant pipe then removed, followed by both heat shields. All bolts successfully undone with care. Shifted more pipework from the LPG system, to get better access to the manifold. Then switched my attention to removing the air intake box, bagpipes, aux belt, aux tensioner, all pulleys, cable tray, air injection pipework andf finally the timing belt cover.
This revealed that the cambelt wasn't that old, tensioners 'look' ojk, but not new and the water pup looks like the original one. All will be replaced on rebuild.
Now had good access to the manifold, so off it came revelaing an obvious blow from the rear. front pipe gasket had not been replaced on last assembly, so it was blowing there too.
Have decided to remove all 4 cams next week and reprime all 24 hydraulic lifters to get rid of the top end noise.
Laidback arrived and after a cuppa we pressed on with a visit to MarksDTMCalib for a bit of manifold therapy, before returning and fitting the manifold on. Dave had to pop back to Derby for something while I fitted the water pipe perfectly, before realising that once again I had forgotten the bloody heatshields, so promptly took it back off again., Then refitted both heatshiels before calling it a day.
Dave and I had a mission to collect his latest car in York, which turned out to be a bit nearer. Met a nice honest man in a layby who took Daves cash and gave him the keys to a shed.
So. Pics so far..... CLICK ANY TO ENLARGE
Manifold removed, this surface needed cleaning with one bit of very fine wet and dry and one Laidback.
You can see where the manifold gasket has been blowing on this.
.... And close up here
The gaqsket tells a similar tale!
The Drivers side manifold before removal
Top and front end stripped
THIS!!!!! is what was connected to the plenum. It is the autobox vent pipe!
An interesting modification to the air intake box! No pipe, but instead some muppet had duck taped half the airway off!!!!!!!
Oh yes.... erm, the throttle boddies as revealed to me when I removed the intakes!
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Topic: Ronnie project 2007/2 well under way (Read 1518 times)