Saturday, Jan 24, 2009 at 21:07
At least I now have a thread started that I can post to.
Pistons: 1 and 4 cracked; 2 holed; and 3 OK.
Dealer removed head and reported "Four cracked Pistons" - around $450
"In Chassis - Engine Rebuild Kit" $1100
New Glow Plug - $37 (Nissan Dealer wanted $90 plus). Not sure how
the tip became broken on old one - dealer removed head :-) Add all the other 'incidental' stuff - oil, filters, etc say $200
I removed the engine from the car and placed it on an engine stand. I didn't know that you could buy an "in chassis" kit. If I was doing it again on an engine under 100K, this is how I would do it .....
Drain coolant and oil.
Remove head and sump. (may have to lift engine from mounts).
Undo four bearing caps and push conrods up so pistons come out top of block.
Seperate old pistons from conrods and discard.
Fit new rings to new pistons with new gudgeon pins. (Be careful with rings - there is a top and a bottom side and MUST be fitted to the piston grooves as such).
Fit bearing slippers to conrod and cap.
For each piston .... Ensure crankshaft is at bottom of stroke, using ring compressor, fit each piston to cylinder and push down until it sits on crankshaft. Fit bearing cap and snug nuts.
When all pistons are fitted. Torque the bearing nuts. The kit tells you the settings.
Refit the sump.
When refitting the head make sure you have an 'O' ring AND THE GASKET between the front of the head and the back of the timing gear housing. (Some of you will remember that I posted that I HAD FORGOTTEN THE GASKET and had to remove the head a second time) :-(
That's about it. Beats having to crack the transmission and remove the whole engine.
I better post this before I lose it too !!
More to follow ....
Malcolm
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