can anyone help recondition my disco engine?

[jay2578]

my disco seized 10 months ago, my mate said he could fix it, got it back yesterday and its still the same! he says hes replaced the shells and pushrods and apparently had the head skimmed. what i wanna know is can i recondition it myself or is there a really nice fellow member who can help me? i dont have a lot of money, as i cant do my jobs in the hired zafira, but an endless supply of tea/coffee, bacon sandwiches is on offer. maybe we could come to an arrangement, PLEASE HELP!!! :'(

[bogie]

Did it really need doin or did he not do it?????????? sounds like a bent con rod,nice easy job!

[jay2578]

bent con rod? ok, thats a start. know where i can download a manual?

[john656]

I would love to help you as i enjoy doing this sorta stuff...... i "rebuilt" a 2ltr zetec for my kit car.
All new gaskets and valve stem seals oil seals.
Piston rings
Big end bearings + mains.
Lapped the valves in again and decoked the head.

I'm a freshly qualified mechanic so know which end of the spanner to hold (sometimes).
Why did it seize, low oil pressure, nackered bearings, as long as nothing has been scored or run dry it should be relatively straight forward!?

If you have common sense and can think theres no reason why you couldn't do the work your self the only things that you might have to borrow is a tool to spread the piston rings and a tool to compress and insert it into the bore and also a honing thingy to clean up the bores and an angular torque gauge. Apart from that i don't think that there is any specialist tools needed (i will stand corrected). When i did mine and do them at work I'm extremely anal. everything is cleaned and then oiled before assembly, everything that is taken off is layed out in order(important with bigend caps), number things with a white marker, clean bench, tools etc etc.
NEVER install anything dry.
http://www.facebook.com/#/album.php?page=1&aid=101321&id=557810253

Theres a few pictures on there nothing major but shows whats involved a little.

Anyway i think I'm rambling. Long and short yes you probably could rebuild your engine assuming its a straight forward job i.e. you dint need regrinds and you take everything step by step.

Hope this has helped a little.

John

P.S. ive just read the original post properly now.... nevermind

[jay2578]

thanks for your input john, i think it may have been low oil pressure as i think the oil pump has been replaced by my so-called mate! i have to say that im a total novice when it comes to engines so im trying to get assistance from someone who will either take a pittance for helping or loves bacon rolls and coffee! or a decent manual as i am pretty good at picking stuff up if ive seen it done or have a guide

[Rossko]

Might be a silly question, but what makes you think the engine is still seized? What actually happens?   Replacing pushrods is unusual for a seizure, did it break the cam chain?

[jay2578]

the guy who was supposed to be fixing it said its still seized, i am gonna try firng it up tomorrow to see what happens

[bogie]

Where did push rods come in to this????????  If the guy stripped and rebuilt it after it seized before and it has done it again,it seems unlikely something could have come adrifted again,so con rod is the first thing that comes to mind. A engine will sometimes run with a bent con rod but sound like [!Expletive Deleted!],a push rod would just bend and sound like [!Expletive Deleted!] but very douteful it would seize the lump? just take the rocker off to check that one!

[jay2578]

dunno if he unseized it or its still seized, he said he freed it up, but i dont trust him. so i need to do some exploratory work and see what i find. i have to admit im a bt of a simpleton when it comes to the engine, so, how do i get to the rocker cover?? also, he didnt rebuild it he says he done pushrods and big end shells and new oil pump

[Range Rover Blues]

If the engine seized then I'd be looking at the pistons and cylinders, not the crank.  If it's overheated say then the piston could have been damaged and stuck tot he cylinder wall, or deformed so it no longer fits.

You cannot check them without taking off the head and sump, unbolting the mains and sliding them out.

If the mains have been done I can't imagine no-one checked whether or not the engine turned.

[jay2578]

well that food for thought, as i say in my "how do i get to the con rods" post im probably getting a new engine, well secondhand, so gonna get this one sorted and/or sold