My engine has just let go !

[nevpugh308]

At the risk of cross posting, see :

www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=27455&f=66&h=0

[nevpugh308]

Thanks for the reply juansolo. I guess I should know more when I start stripping the engine tomorrow.

A little fed up of the car at the moment. Seems to be one problem after another (remember my problem about 4 months ago with a broken stud that reqd an engine out then ?)

<> Any, very rough, idea's of cost ? Trouble is, if I change to a Zetec, aren't I going to need a LOT of other stuff .... exhaust manifold (will the exhaust come out on the same side ?), gearbox (currently got a 4 speed "Rocket" box, bet that wouldn't fit without a fair amount of work), engine mounts (and thus chassis mods ??) so on and so forth ?

{sigh}

The only consolation is that I got a really nice drive in the 308 today, and she drive and behaved like an absolute peach ....

[nevpugh308]

[nevpugh308]

[nevpugh308]

The head on number 4 has been completely mashed / melted, ditto number 4 piston. Crack running length of bore from top to bottom.

Anyone got a 1600 X flow for sale ??

[nevpugh308]

Yes, I certainly did it properly didn't I !

Next step, whip the engine out, get it upside down, and see what the bottom end's like ....

[nevpugh308]

Mark B - good idea, I might just do that for a quick fix. Cheers !

[nevpugh308]

A mechanic at the place where my wife works has just had a look at the pics. He says that his mate had something identical with his X flow a few years back, and that it was down to the carbs being out of tune with each other, causing the valves to overheat and eventually melt. He says, looking at the colour of the valves, that this looks to be the case here. This doesn't cheer me up much, the fact that I could have avoided this (theorectially) and that it's my fault

Serious comment : if anyone knows of a tuned X flow (1600/1700) engine for sale in the Midlands area (or thereabouts) could you drop me a line ?

robp ... followed that link, couldn't see anything about it on the site, is this insider knowledge ?

[nevpugh308]

Hiya. Well, as of last week the engine's now out and sat looking all falorn like on my garage floor. The piston was actually holed, allowing a lot of coolant and chunks of metal into the sump. Bearing in mind the bore-length crack, I think I've come to the conclusion that this engine is scrap.

Have two choices now - get a whole, running engine. Or get a std 1600 and build it up from scratch, using whatever is salvagable from the old engine (crank ? cam ? dry sump system etc).

I've been emailed about various nice, whole engines, but typically they're out of range cash wise at the moment (I really need to spend a bit of dosh on the 308 in the near future, before summer arrives) ..... oh, I dunno ... I guess I'm just provaricating, sub zero garage temperatures helping to dissuade me from getting out there and getting on with it !