engine rebuild

[cat34evr]

I broke a bolt the other day on the valve cover trying to remove it. Then I took off the other bolts and then I used a pair of locking pliers to garb the parts that was still sticking out and it broke again.

Any suggestions on how to removing it.

Try an Easy Out screw extractor. Spray it with some PB Blaster first.

[Lex]

Or drill it out carefully. You can also try putting it in the freezer and letting it sit soaked in some Mooovit.

[gybe]

If you have the block out then just bring it to a machine shop... if not then you have to buy a honing brush, and you chuck it up in a drill and use some honing oil or somekind of oil and brush the cylinders.

Clean it well with brake clean or soapy water and a hose if it's outta the car and then WD40 the cylinder so they don't rust.

Looks like this:

This is a reply to your previous post too. Why should the walls be honed? I can understand the wear factor but anyway if you are putting standard rings on (let's say you have low mileage and the block is fine) it's like factory specification even though tolerances can go a bit off by now. I am just curious, because I have heard that it isn't neccessary to hone the walls if the mileage is low (150k miles max). If you don't hone it and it looks okay then you just snap new standard rings on and it's done.

About cleaning the walls. I am in a middle of a small rebuild of 4-stroke one-piston engine and the carb/brake (which is almost the same thing) is not a very wise idea if you ask me. Also my friend who's a car engineer said to me it is better to wash the internals, especially the combustion chamber, with regular gasoline you are using for your car. Gasoline has the same aggressive effect as carb or brake cleaner but it's greasier than some cleaners, so while you are cleaning it you are also prepairing it for new, fresh life. And yes these cleaners are too expensive. I just have a lawnmower engine and if I want to clean that up I would probably need at least 2 cans of carb cleaner and they are 3 bucks a piece. Gasoline is cheaper. Also if I have cleaned it with a cleaner and left it there for two weeks while I'm at the university the whole thing would be so dry that it would probably rust out. You can't dry something completely if it was soaked and sprayed with oil and other materials for 10 years. Well maybe it's just me... But the fact is that an engine does not rust from the inside because it's greasy. And I know if you don't want something to become rusty simply lubricate it.
Buy 10 gallons of gasoline which is basically enough for a car engine rebuild and to sip a glass or two while you work (j/k). You can never go wrong with gasoline because it's the compound that sits in the engine for the whole lifespan of the car. On the other hand carb/brake cleaners which evaporate quickly (not like gasoline) are good stuff for cleaning the intake manifold and such parts that need to cleaned and dry.

Well that's just what I have learned. Feel free to post a comment.

[cat34evr]

If you are going to use fuel as a cleaner, you are better off using diesel or kerosene. Gasoline is highly flammable and the vapors are heavier than air, so they will creep along the ground and if there is a spark nearby - BOOM! Carb cleaner is pretty cheap here, but if you really want to get the engine clean, take it to a machine shop and have them hot tank it.

[gybe]

What solutions do they use with hot tanking? The gasoline recipe is totally simple and not harmful at all. Don't use any imagination please. You simply put a small amount of gasoline into a large container with lower walls, like 0.5L, then take a brush-pencil, medium one and start cleaning. The point of this pan (well it's like a pan, you can use some good plastics too) is that you can lay your parts or the whole head inside it and just wash it off.
Since the days we were like 10 and we drove 50ccm mopeds we did it this way. It's garage style. Everybody has some techniques to share, so take this as a principle that works among all others of course.
This one on the other hand requires more effort, causion and time, but I like doing things slow, easy and safe. You drive with 10 gallons of gasoline in your car and you don't worry about it.

[gybe]

And yes, diesel and kerosene are good choices (but where can I find kerosene here? :D), you just need something to pre-lube the stuff. Anyway you're giving her the thing she deserves. :D

[Shades]

This is a reply to your previous post too. Why should the walls be honed? I can understand the wear factor but anyway if you are putting standard rings on (let's say you have low mileage and the block is fine) it's like factory specification even though tolerances can go a bit off by now. I am just curious, because I have heard that it isn't neccessary to hone the walls if the mileage is low (150k miles max). If you don't hone it and it looks okay then you just snap new standard rings on and it's done.

Well first off the cylinder walls are all glazed up... that means it's really smooth and there is no cross hatch on the walls. Even if you can see it, it doesn't matter it's probably not enough. The cross hatch is for the oil to stick to the walls and for the rings to break in. If there is not enough oil cause the walls are super glazed up then your rings won't break in properly... the oil will just run off the walls faster than a honed cylinder.

Now if you have a ridge on the top of the cylinder where the rings stopped and you can feel it it's likely that it should be bored to the next size. First off the cylinder is now tapered in a funnel shape. Second if you try and throw a set of rings on, you run the risk of the rings hitting the lip and boom. Third what about end gap?!... so just below the ridge you now have a bigger hole... don't you think this would affect your end gap. Yes it does, you'll loose compression faster causing a sluggish motor.

Mileage low or not, my suggestion is at least deglazed the walls.

But hey, what do I know I just rebuild engines for a living. Take it as you want.

[Shades]

What solutions do they use with hot tanking?

In our hot tank we use costic soda... basically a nice acid. Then we rinse it off with water.

I hope that when you use gasoline you're in an open area... the fumes are enough to give anyone a headache. Yeah, you're better off using kerosene.

[ivan15]

Can valve clearance be set on a car with single over head camshaft?

[cojsl]

You drive with 10 gallons of gasoline in your car and you don't worry about it.

I saw the wink, so you are probably kidding, but the difference in safety is that gas in a tank controls the vapors, preventing a volatile air vapor mixture. In a garage with a pan of gas, you can easily get volatile air vapor mixtures, far more dangerous.