With the cradle back in the car, I’m back to work on the engine. The three timing belt covers needed to be transferred from the old engine to the new one, and needed painting as they’d turned grayish-white from coolant leakage. While I did that, I noticed that the alternator housing was cracked on the lower boss and it was seized with corrosion. No idea how it had cracked, so I had to go get another one. I clear-coated the new one’s exterior aluminum shell to inhibit it from turning white with aluminum oxide, then painted the other exposed parts of the accessories to inhibit corrosion on them as well. <\/p>\n
Then I had to clean out all 6 spark plug holes, which had filled with water over the winter. I had to blast out the water, rinse out the dirt and corrosion with fresh water, and dry them with compressed air. I oiled the o-ring seals and re-seated them in their holes. At the other end, all the coil pack connectors had corroded from exposure as well, and had to be sanded smooth for a good electrical contact. Then I had to flush the sludge out of the crankcase.<\/p>\n
Turning back to the car, the battery tray had been involved in some sort of acid-leak incident in the past, and we’d treated the area with water and baking soda last summer to neutralize anything that was left. The acid had stripped off all the paint, so I cleaned the area and re-painted it. It was the only rusted area of the car, but now it’s fixed. That was enough for today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
With the cradle back in the car, I’m back to work on the engine. The three timing belt covers needed to be transferred from the old engine to the new one, and needed painting as they’d turned grayish-white from coolant … Continue reading