* Beware Large post *
Got the qoute for the head skim and pressure test, £25 each - total £50.
Also set about this evening replacing the crankshaft sensor, heres how it went.
Jacked the car up and used my mates axel stands that i took a lend of. got the passanger side in place at the end of the main beam i think. then done the other side but my L shape jack wouldnt lift the car high enough to get it in a good location, tried my best then tried to lower car onto the driver side axel stand. but the Jack and axel stand were right beside eachother so it was hard to turn the jack crank. this stoped me from lowering the car. i gave the car a good shake to see how secure it was, seemed stable untill i looked under and seen the passenger side axel stand was on 2 legs on an angle. Thought crap gota remove the jack and place under passanger side to get the stand out of that position, but everything was well wedged into place now. did my best to turn the crank but nothing happened. Untill...
The whole car slid off the passanger side axel stand and i thought, OMG !! in the end nothing was dammaged or ruptured, but the whole thing had freaked me out, what if i was under there at the time etc. in the end i had to use a scissor shaped jack to free the L Jack and axel stands from the wedged position. i never did like the L jack always seemed flimesy to me. when i removed the passanger side axel stand one the legs was bent from the weight of the car (sorry Colin il buy you a new one) Went into the house and had a cupa tea and something to eat to calm my nerves. then thought ok, the scissor jack is far better and lifts the car higher with it i can do it properley. sure enough with one axel stand on the driver main beam and the Jack raised just floating up as a fail safe i built up the courage to go under the car !! (my 1st time - wont be doing it anytime soon)
Jacks in a secure position
when i got under i seen alot of oil leakage never seen it from this angle before, it looked to be mainly coming from the drivers side, behind the lower timing chain wheels perhaps, id say the engine seals are well done and need replacing. prob why water is mixing into oil etc, would explain alot. this engine is gona need to be striped and all seals replaced and cleaned down for sure. god knows what the insides look like. (i also took this time to check for anything out of place which would explain the rattle sound but couldnt find anything)
What is this part ? as it didnt look in the best shape ( rear crank oil seal ? )
I set about locating the crankshaft sensor, which took me a while but found it due to the cable running down so wasnt too hard to locate. Its location on the other hand made it very hard to work with, i had to work with only my left hand mainly which slowed the whole process down big time. took forever to remove the clip, and the 1 bolt that holds it in place, then removed the sensor which got stuck. some WD-40 and a bit of a wiggle and i got it out. It was covered in oil and the tip was dirty / oil covered. i thought best to just replace with the new part. I did my best to clean the oil inside the hole.
Old part was coverd in oil
I really hope i didnt mess anything up as i read in the Haynes theres an adjuster tool etc cause the sensor tip has to be a certain distance etc ?? i might have moved something when i placed a finger in to check for oil, felt like a free flowing bit of metal tubing. Didnt mess around with it much so came out to inspect old sensor with the new. old was very dirty and didnt have a seal at th mid section, the metal tip was flush with the plastic. the aftermarket was clean, had a rubber seal at the top and the metal tip was raised. it gave me the impression that the old part was worn down somehow.
New part top
Old part top
As it had a rubber seal and the difficult area to work in, i did my best to push it in and gave a bit of twist, but in the end i put the bolt on, and found just enough thread to catch it, hand tightened then screwed it home, this pulled the rest of the seal into position. i hope !!
re-connected everything then went to start car and no responce, heart skiped a beat cuase wasnt evening geting electrics, DOH ! forgot to connect battery. car started up as it did even with the old part. engine was finding its reving point as the bat was dissconected etc. it was a very frosty night and good bita frost ice on all windows etc. i held revs at 2000 and all seemed dead on. As it was late, dark and frosty cold i thought not going to bother test driving it just to perhaps breakdown. so i parked it in the corner and il check on it 2mora morning.
Im concered that i might have un-adjusted something, how easy would it be to mess up replaceing this part ?
New vrs Old - genuie vrs aftermarket
the leaking oil around the timing belt has also got me concered, i knew i wanted to save up and over haul the engine spring/summer but i might have to do it sooner ! i think it will be worth the £50 to get it skimmed and pressure tested, hopefully they do a proper job and check for cracks etc. Its a dissapointing feeling when you know the engine isnt running right, i look forward to opening it up and giving it a good service.
i think il be using alot of there time lol
