Mondeo Progress

Following on from the work with the cylinder head I've now nearly completed rebuilding the engine with a great deal of help from Rob, proof:


(Click on the images to see them full size)


I've had a good opportunity to use the compressor on quite a few jobs and it's made it a much easier rebuild than it could've been! That said not everything went according to plan!!

To start with the engine block need cleaning which has to be done by hand. Really I shoul've done a before and after shot but I only remembered the camera in time for the after:


It's a bit of an awkward and boring job but the end result was quite satisfying. Next up is placing the new gasket on ready to fit the cylinder head:


The new gasket seemed quite flimsy compared to others I've seen but was definitely the correct one and aside from being a bit bendy and wouldn't stay in place was fine. With the gasket in place it's time to fit the head:


So now it's starting to looking like an engine again.. however there are still some important bits missing and the one job I was a little worried about. The job I'm talking about was refitting the camshafts and timing chain, here the camshafts are in place in the engine but not bolted down:


Now it's probably worth explaining how I was planning on fitting these. Usually I would've locked the camshafts however this time I was being very careful and decided to follow Haynes and do it a ridiculous (but ultimately succesful way). I had fitted a crankshaft locking pin which you may remember I had to wait quite a long time to arrive in order to remove the crankshaft pulley... well it turns out the pain actually bent whilst removing the crankshaft pulley which is ridiculous since it should be designed for this sort of job. I'm guessing this happened due to the crankshaft pulley being overly tightened by whoever last put it back on and also me not having an impact wrench to remove it. Anyway, luckily I was able to extract the locking pin from the engine but this presents two problems.
The first problem was that when I had stripped the engine it wasn't at TDC (top dead centre) as I had thought. This made rebuilding a problem as I needed to fit the camshafts in the correct position with respect to the crankshaft. My first attempt was to use a photo I had taken whilst stripping to try and place the cams in the correct place:


You can see on the end of the camshaft there are notches which should be parrellel and clearly here are not!!! I rebuilt the engine to look like this so it would match up with the crankshaft. Sadly after bolting down the crankshaft, fighting the timing chain and guides back on I tested the engine by turning it over by hand. There was interaction between the valves and piston which means if the engine had been started by the key it would've bent all the valves and caused a terrible mess pretty much destroying all the work I'd just done! However since I checked it was alright but meant I had to go for plan B. Going for plan B also meant having to remove the recently fitted timing chain, guides and camshafts which were hard enough to put on the first time!!
The problem was that plan B required me to find TDC and without the timing peg/locking pin locating TDC is a bit tough. We had to resort to the screwdriver in the spark plug method, whilst not quite as accurate as a timing peg (a straight one that is) it did the job nicely:


Now in the above picture you may see a ruler and some screwdrivers wedged to hold the camshafts in place, after some debate we decided this wasn't good enough but still I wasn't willing to spend the money (and more importantly the time) getting a specialist Ford tool delivered. So we headed off to B&Q and after a great deal of searching found a 5mm strip of metal which was used in place to lock the camshafts. On a side note its nearly impossible to find anything 5mm thick in B&Q!!!

That was the end of Yesterdays efforts. Today I neglected to take any photos but I can be forgiven for this as I got quite a bit done: We found TDC using the screwdriver and then had to move the piston about half a turn to avoid damage whilst fitting the camshafts, the camshafts were bolted down and the timing chain and guides refitted. Now once again the moment of truth I turned the engine by hand, this time however it turned as I expected and a it had done before it was stripped. Once this gap had been bridged it was just a matter of pressing on. The timing cover and side of the engine block were cleaned and a new silicon gasket applied and the cover fitted. Next the crankshaft pulley went back on, followed by the water pump pulley and drivebelt tensioner. Once those bits were in place the engine mount was back on and the engine was once again being held in place by the car and not a jack as it has been these past weeks! Not content with what had been done so far the inlet and exhaust manifolds were refitted and the camshaft cover had it's gaskets replaced and was refitted, just as it was getting dark the power steering pump was being repaired. I'm not entirely convinced this repair will hold but removing the power steering pump is not the toughest of jobs but will mean that the power steering fluid level must be checked daily at first and if it's ok checked and refilled weekly from then on.

Tomorrow will be relatively easy in comparison, that is if everything has worked so far! the jobs for tomorrow are:
finish fitting power steering pump
attach fuel injectors
reattach wiring loom
refit air intake and various bits of body work
perform a service
buy and put in some power steering fluid
and finally after wondering what all the spare bits I've got are for I can attempt to start the car! This will either be a moment of great celebration or disappointment (as is always the case after rebuilding something).

Either way lets hope I remember to take a few photos tomorrow!

A new addition to the grease family

Further to my previous blog "bloody impact wrenches" I have now bought not only a really long bar but also an air compressor which came with a tonne of tools!!!
Here are the pics of what I got...
(Click on the images to see them full size)















The contents are:
x1 50L 2.5HP air compressor with x2 quick release outlets (standard) and built-in pressure gauge and regulator (also both standard)
x1 5m recoil air hose with quick release
x2 1/2" impact wrenches
x1 3/8" air ratchet
x1 short blow gun
x1 long blow gun
x1 spray/grease bottle
x1 spray gun
x1 sand gun (with x1 spare cover)
x1 air saw (with x1 saw)
x1 air grinder (with disk)
x1 air shears (with oil, quick release nozzle and allen key)
x1 air drill (with x1 drill bit)
x1 air hammer (with x1 chisel)
in the photo it also shows a tyre inflater but this wasn't actually included. I've since bought one quite cheaply on ebay which is pretty much the same. So now I have a decent air compressor and 14 air tools!

To be honest I'm really chuffed with the purchase and managed to haggle a bit more off while I was there!! It was a real steal and I've already been using it to clean the cylinder head!

Grinding Away

(Click on the images to see them full size)

Over the past week or so aswell as giving freshers directions and wearing silly hoodies I've been working on the cylinder for the Mondeo. After the head was taken off I took it away to be skimmed. I did take some photos but unfortunately I can't seem to find them!

The head came back nice and shiny on one side and the guy had given it a nice wash for free which was kind of him. This is a picture of how the cylinder head looked when it came back.





In those pictures you may be able to see some dark coloured circles, these are actually the valves, the valves had to be removed for overhaul and cleaning, and also to replace the valve stem seals. Below is a picture of the new valve stem seals in place in the cylinder head.



Before going back in the engine the valves needed grinding or re-seating. The valves are supposed to make a near air-tight seal but overtime and use gaps form and the sealing ability of the valve is reduced, re-seating the valves simply improves this air-tight seal. Below you'll see the grinding stick which you may have been slightly confused why I needed to buy it.



And now me using said grinding stick...



You can see whilst the work was being done the valves, springs, collets, retainers and waste steam seals had to be kept organised.



And lastly me assembling a valve ready to go in place.





Unfortunately there's no pictures of when me and rob were having to both work on the engine (as there was no one to take the photo!!!). This happened during the final parts of re-assembly where the collets had to be inserted into place. It is much MUCH easier if one person using the valve spring compressor whilst the other nudges the collets into place. So a big thanks to rob on this one, and as I was saying at the time "he is the beef and I am the magic man!"... This is due to our ability to place the collets in correctly after only a few seconds and a few good wobbles and prods!

Hopefully there will be more photos to follow shortly, I keep forgetting to take them as I go along, often as my hands are completely black! Oh and yes this was all done in the living room!!!!

How to get emails automatically sent when a blog is posted

After some searching from the blog readers side its quite hard to actually sign for emails.. the subscribe to posts (atom) produced what looked like a link to an xml feed which came out as code in google chrome. So to get an email sent to people when you post a blog you need to go to your "dashboard" (click the 'B' in the top left corner). Then (if your using the classic interface) click on the "settings" tab. and then "email and mobile". Scroll down and you'll see a box where you can enter upto 10 email address that will be notified upon you posting a blog.

By the way, don't worry mom this isn't something you'll have to do!

The events of Today

Today has seen a few interesting events:
Firstly the cylinder head for the Mondeo went to get skimmed and is now shiny.. on one side atleast. I also combined that with heading to Halfords to pick up the remaining bits, which normally would've cost over £80 but on trade it was just over £40 which is great!

Shortly after returning home Claire spotted a dog wandering past the car without an owner, we waited for a moment but still no-one came. So for what seems like the 10th time I attempted to capture a stray (it was a proper male staffy with all it's bits intacta nd was only young) dog. I changed my tactic this time and first grabbed Patch from the house and brought him on his lead, leaving Rosie in the house (she wasn't sure what she'd done wrong!) and pinching her lead for the stray. By the time we'd caught up with the stray it was in the park and just as I was approaching it another dog ran over to it, they seemed friendly enough at first but the other dog (some small black dog) began to provoke the stray. I managed to grab hold of the stray who seemed a well behaved dog and was defending itself but not attacking. At this point one of the owners of the black dog was coming over just in time for their dog to go mad and start attacking the stray, which still wasn't doing anything back. Since it was getting little out of the stray the black dog turned its attention to Patch which Claire was holding on the lead. Patch began barking enough to scare the dog back to the stray. At this point the female owner became completely hysterical and shouting "No <what ever the black dog was called> No!" she promply burst into tears as if the dog was being ripped to shreds... which was in no way the case, Patch was barking and the stray was trying not to get bitten. I quickly realised the woman would be useless at controlling her dog so I held the strays collar in one hand and then waited for the little bugger to attack again, eventually managing to yank it off the ground by it's full body harness, unfortunately what I didn't see when I pulled it up was that it was currently latched onto the strays ear! I gave the dog a bit of a shake and it let go luckily and the owner was holding at that time aswell. Somewhere in all that the 2nd owner (we're assuming the mother) had attempted to grab the little dog and it had cut her hand open. Then we went our separate ways and the stray didn't seem bothered by the small cut on its ear at all.
Luckily it had a tag with a number which I phoned but after a few times of it going to answer phone I left a message saying we'd taken the dog back home. He was fine coming with me and I let him loose in the garden with Rosie and Patch who he had no trouble with at all. Eventually there was a knock at the door and a young lad came round (without a lead) to collect the dog, before even getting to the door he'd lost the dog up stairs, so it's anyone's guess if it actually made it home or not! Got a phonecall from the mother just after the lad left and she'd said her son was walking it and it ran off, turned up in someone's garden and they apparently chased it away with a spade!!! I know people think they're rough breed but I've never had any trouble with any of the staffy's I've met its all about the owner, and anyone who uses a full body harness and cries at the sight of a dog barking, in my view, should probably own a different animal.. maybe a tortoise or something!

Now you'd think my day of adventures was done by this point.. while that probably is the main event (so far), I had to head into uni for a meeting and lo and behold just as set off on the bike the wind picks up and it begins to rain.. because of waiting for the stray I'm delayed so can't turn back and press on... only to have a large stick or branch fall off a tree and land on my head as I'm going along! It didn't hurt but made a loud bloody bang and gave me a little wobble!

Other than that it's plain sailing. I'm planning on putting some pictures from doing the car on here so you can see how it looks etc. Also I've asked Claire to 'follow' this blog so I can see how it would work from your side of things. On that note she was asked whilst signing up to 'follow' if she wanted to follow it privately or publicly. Did you get the same option?

How you can keep up-to-date with this blog

Since I'm also new to this I wasn't able to mention it earlier.. as I hadn't found it yet.


This will all work much better if you do it from home by the way!
If your at home you should be automatically signed in to your googlemail account. (you will need to be signed in to do this.. I think, so find your password)


On the right hand side ===> 
you will see it says followers, if you become a follower will be informed when I make new posts.. hopefully by email. 


If you're signed in I think you just click something like follow, if not theres a bit that says "Already a member? Sign in" (infact clicking the link here should sign you in) and then you'll be able to follow the blog and receive emails when I post new stuff.. rather than me having to tell you.

Bloody impact wrenches!!

So, it's 3:50am when I start writing this and I've spent probably the last few hours looking through hundreds of air compressors, air impact wrenches, corded impact wrenches and eventually ended with me trying to find the one I hired as a comparison.

From what I can tell this is the one I hired (although it does look a bit different): https://www.sitebox.ltd.uk/product/MAK_6905B/makita-6905b-impact-wrench-square-drive-110-volt-only/


The important thing here is the torque value which is 294Nm. Now the cylinder head bolts should not be that tight; meaning this impact wrench should've done the job!!!

Most air impact wrenches (especially those within the price range) have a torque of 310Nm which is hardly any difference!! There are ways of slightly increasing this by over pressuring the line but it will likely not go above 350Nm. I'm starting to become very concerned that I may buy this compressor and wrench and still not be able to remove the bolt!!

It's starting to seem like alot of money to risk, especially because I wouldn't be able to take it back. I'm now considering buying a super long breaker bar instead. for example:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SEALEY-AK7302-Breaker-Power-Bar-1-2-Drive-EXTRA-LONG-/180625375799?pt=UK_Hand_Tools_Equipment&hash=item2a0e1c8237#ht_2112wt_905

Cheaper than both of the other options by far, I can apply more torque through that than any of the tools we can afford to buy.. however remember how with manual tools there is the increased risk of shearing and also if I slip with a breaker bar that long I will most certainly round the bolt. Buying a longer bar was infact my first plan but I could only get a bar not even half that size and my normal 1/2" breaker is meant for tyres and has a curved neck (this is what caused me to slip and slightly round the bolt).

The more I think about it the more I am sure that a big breaker bar is the way.. it will either work.. or it'll totally fuck it up. If I find after trying this it doesn't work still and I somehow dont manage to destroy the thread I think I'll go for the cheaper electrical corded impact wrench I mentioned: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-2-Corded-Impact-Wrench-Kit-1000W-230V-Clarke-CEW1000-/400222954478?pt=UK_Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM&hash=item5d2f25a3ee#ht_3350wt_942




So I've kinda gone full circle with the idea now.. It's a shame as I'd really like the compressor etc.. but if I'm not 100% confident it will do the job it's probably better to take a risk with less money on a huge ass breaker bar!!

First steps

Mom.. this is a blog.. yes that thing all the young kids go on about... I'd try to explain it but to be honest I don't see the attraction to them. However, I recently found the letter you left me when I first went away to uni. In it you mentioned how you wouldn't hear about the things I get upto I thought I'd have a go at keeping a record for you.. and if you'd like with Granme also.

Since I'm now in 3rd year I doubt there will be any explicit content since the drinking game days are gone (if they were ever even there!).

Presently we're quickly approaching the end of summer, a summer without sun, sea, sand or rest. That said I have had a few days off here and there to mess around and do things like create a blog. Only note worthy thing I've done today so far is wrestle a vet collar onto Rosie to deal with her licking obsession which is now pretty bad and her legs are quite sore. She fought valiantly but eventually I got the collar on.. Cant say she's overly keen on it but hasn't managed to get it off so far. She can eat and drink and sniff the floor still but the stairs are a bit of a challenge!



Anyway, you'll be receiving a phonecall from me shortly about an impact wrench and air compressor... I'm not sure what I'm going to say but I'm sure it will be interesting!