TeamCapri
Tech, Repairs, Upgrades => Capri XR-2 89-94 => Topic started by: SHOwn on December 19, 2016, 11:37:56 AM
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Quick question. Can we reuse head bolts or do we have to buy new ones? I did my Ranger 2.5L a few years ago and it was a must-have on the new bolts.
I'm leaking oil from the head somewhere and I suspect it could be the gasket, but no oil in coolant or vise versa. Runs perfect, seems like there is oil cap pressure even with a breather.
If new bolts are required, where are they available? Rock Auto doesn't seem to show them.
Any help appreciated - I'm thinking about tearing into it next week.
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You can reuse bolts but its not recommended. To get new bolts you need to ask for 89-94 Miata Arp Headstuds. ARP hardware is 50 and is reusable unlike the fsctory bolts. I know Matt has used his set atleast twice.
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Head studs for sure. If you want you can go to a Kia dealer and get the oem bolts for a 95 Sephia 1.8L. I have done that and saved some money but they are still torque to yield bolts.
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Thanks guys. I took it to the shop today and they puta dye in the oil and told me that the pan and the crank seal are ok after all. The head gasket is leaking down to the lip of the oil pan (lowest point) under the crank pully and it doesn't seem to be coming from there. I replaced the crank seal and the oil pan gasket twice in the last 6 weeks trying to fix it, but I couldn't see what they did (not sure how they could locate the trail with all the stuff bolted to it).
I have to believe it though, I kept cleaning the block and I would find a wet ring slowly decending from the bottom of the head. It was not a lot, but it returned quickly after cleaning it. I also found a small coolant puddle in the trans webbing that keeps recourring when I soak it up, but the surge tank and radiator hardly show a loss. I wonder if that isn't a hose connection though.
Absolutely no oil in antifreeze or antifreeze in the oil though, and it runs perfectly.
So, I take it that these are what I need...
https://m.summitracing.com/parts/arp-218-4701/none/images (https://m.summitracing.com/parts/arp-218-4701/none/images)
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Those look to be it!
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Thanks for the confirmation. I might do this next week, but I'll probably park it until spring and work on it then. It's my daily driver and I need the garage due to the snowfall we usually get, so I'll put it in my dad's garage until spring and bring it home for the fix.
I'll have to find a good winter car pretty quick to go that route though.
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These should help iron out a oil leak. They wont ever warp unless you have like insane amounts of horsepower ie 700+. I would guess your leak is probably due to headlift so that should stop with these.
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You can try re-torquing the existing head bolts in the meantime as an interim fix
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Update:
It's been awhile, here's where I'm at now. I kept running her 50 miles a day all winter, but retourqued the head bolts back in February. If anything she leaked a little worse after that. I couldn't find a cheap drive-able car I'd want to fix and flip, so I put this problem off until now.
So I went out today and pulled the plugs and did a compression test so I could come to a decision. I've been finding that when I start her after more than 4 hours there is some cam ticking that clears up in about 5 seconds. I believe the stem seals are bad and I'm losing enough oil down into cylinders to cause this (sometimes it misfires with the cam clatter).
So I'm checking into having a local machine shop rebuild the head, possibly re-ring the cylinders as well, depending on some analysis of the compression and the ensuing tear-down. So here are the results:
Working left to right and trying to stick to the FSM procedure closely...
Engine warmed up, throttle wide open, all plugs out, approximately 10 rotations.
CYL 1 145
CYL 2 144
CYL 3 133
CYL 4 110
According to the FSM, that fits within the passing category, (by 1 PSI)
Thoughts?
I'm not sure about sending the block in for cylinder work, but I definately want the head redone.
Boy she runs good though, I'm just tired of feeding her oil.
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You can tell if you have leaking valve seals when you first start the car and see a bunch of whitish/blue smoke out the exhaust.
It sounds to me like the leaking head gasket is causing the head to lose oil prime after it sits for a while. IMHO... would explain the initial hydraulic lifter tick/misfire when you first start the engine.
Hmmm.... cylinder 4 does seem a little low. I would redo the test on 4, then I would put about a table spoon of oil down the spark plug hole and retest. If you see the numbers go from 110 to 140+ then that would be an indication piston ring issue.
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Thanks Chris, I value your expertise. I don't see the smoke on startup (my 95 SHO was good at that smoking on startup) but here are two pieces of the puzzle I left out.
1. I did follow up the CYL 4 (driver's side) test with a final try which included 10 drops of pneumatic tool oil and that raised it to 120 PSI
2. That CYL 4 is where I struggled to effectively tighten the last head bolt in February. I brought the others up to about 65 ft-lbs but the bolt closest to the dizzy was either stripping or yielding (hope it was yielding) so I was scared to push it until my wrench clicked and so I gave up after about 3 short swings.
So I'm leaning toward your idea about leaking out. I have to keep a catch pan under it nightly.
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Ok, after further review, it looks like I only need do the head work. A hot engine compression test came up with 146, 144, 135, 145 Psi. Now on to the parts...
Cometic head gasket with ARP head studs for Miata 1.6 ,
Should I do this or just buy them individually, selecting the 323 head gasket instead?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/COMETIC-1990-1993-MAZDA-MIATA-1-6L-DOHC-040-1MM-HEAD-GASKET-ARP-STUD-KIT-COMBO-/252429371217?hash=item3ac5f68751:g:RIAAAOSwwPhWjIXG&vxp=mtr
Anyone got experience with selecting one of these? Seems like FlyinMiata shows them with several thicknesses and I even think they might be available in several bores. Does it matter if the fitment is shown as for Mazda Miata or 323, or b6? I have a hybrid vj11/vj14 setup and want the best seal even though I won't be pushing more than 10 or 11 lbs.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cometic-Gasket-C4122-051-0-051-MLS-Head-Gasket-/302172077691?fits=Year%3A1988%7CMake%3AMazda%7CModel%3A323%7CSubmodel%3AGTX%7CEngine+-+Liter_Display%3A1.6L&hash=item465adbfe7b:g:kmAAAOSwux5YWXm-&vxp=mtr
https://www.flyinmiata.com/1-6-cometic-head-gasket.html
Wish I had seen this the last time I had the oil pan off!
https://m.summitracing.com/parts/cgt-c4785
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Alright, finally got around do to it and tore the head off. It does look like I had an oil leak right where the mechanic said his dye was coming out, the oil passage on the front side of the head, passenger side, closest to the exhaust sprocket.
(https://s18.postimg.org/7mrpwzf89/image.jpg)
(https://s4.postimg.org/lfcnz647h/image.jpg)
So I pulled the head and sent it to the machine shop for a refresh. Valve stem seals, cleaning, and a check on the if it was warped. They found a very slight warp, .004, and milled the head until flat.
(https://s4.postimg.org/6xfgr6cwd/image.jpg)
(https://s4.postimg.org/7s20d7kr1/image.jpg)
(https://s4.postimg.org/s8d0vfv0t/image.jpg)
(https://s4.postimg.org/qhtztydhp/image.jpg)
(https://s4.postimg.org/sawwi9yod/image.jpg)
So I got the engine all back together, Cometic head gasket and ARP head studs, it went fairly well, had a little trouble with a bad intake stud, and one bad exhaust stud pulling out when tightening the exhaust manifold, but it isn't leaking, so I'm ok with it right now.
I have a worse problem. It isn't running right. I started her back up and she sounds bad. Almost like it's missing, with tons of valve clatter (lifter noise). I checked timing and it was not bad, set at TDC, so I followed the sticker on the underside of the hood and pulled the advance vacuum hose, plugged it and put my light on it. I set it at 12 deg BTDC and shut it off and put the vacuum back on. Restarted her, no different. In fact, she stayed at about 12 deg BTDC (not much vac on that advance hose at idle).
I'm scratching my head - not the car's. Maybe timing is off? I'm an old bodyman, not a mechanic. Maybe the shop messed up on the lifters? I pulled each plug wire to see if it was firing on all and it is, it loses a lot for each one I pull. I don't know what to do. Pull the belt side apart again and check all the marks? This is the first time I used the TDC mark on the little gauge on the timing cover, every other time I had the harmonic balancer and main pulley off and used the TDC mark on the oil pump. Maybe I screwed this up or could a lifter be stuck? And if so, why? Help!
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I don't know what to tell you about the miss, but your 'lifter noise' sounds like you aren't getting any oil up to the cams/valves (there are no lifters on this engine). Have you run it very long? Sometimes it takes a few minutes to get oil up to the top of the engine after a teardown. You might want to pull the cover and see if its dry in there. . . . It could also be that you've got a blocked oil passage someplace.
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Double check the timing gears and make sure they are right. Also, the HLA's (hydraulic lash adjusters) what you are calling lifters, very well could be clogged. You can take them apart and soak in mineral spirits to get them clean. Put them back together and then let soak them in oil and pump them up a bit then leave them in the oil until you are ready to put them back in. When they are right they will have some resistance when compressed. You don't want them real springy.
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Ok, thanks for the replies. At first, I didn't think it could just be hydraulic lash adjusters, but what you are saying seems probable. I went through everything again, removing the upper timing cover and checking the marks against the distributor rotor and the crank pulley marks. All looks perfect. I read a few posts about setting timing and figured out that it can't be 180 degrees off if the rotor is pointing at #1 and the marks are all correct. I started it again and she clattered on about 2 cylinders and smoothed out a little. I shut it off and tried again and it's down to 1 cylinder making noise I think. It definately isn't missing, but it's getting better, but taking its time doing so.
So it idled about 15 minutes like that last night, checking timing, and checking connections, and I ran it another 15 tonight reviewing timing, and it still clatters (sounds like maybe one or two HLA's).
I cleaned the pistons with some SeaFoam and a 3M scotch-brite scuff pad and it really cuts the gunk nicely, but leaves a slippey surface. I have used it previously in my SHO, cleaning the intake through the brake booster vacuum method with good results, but I wasn't sure about using it in the crankcase. Along with the head work I did an oil change, using Valvoline high milage synth blend 10W30. I could add the 3/4 can of sea foam and run it a bit but I'd have to read up on it. I don't remember how long you should try this.
Thoughts? I'm planning on buttoning up the splash shields and putting the wheel back on tomorrow and taking it for a short drive to see if it ever settles down.
Az, I hope I don't have to pull the head to pull those HLA's. This was a ton of work. Wonder if I should talk to the machine shop about it.
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Alright, that's a lot to go to bed on, and I got tired of thinking about it - it would just keep me up thinking about it half the night. I remembered what I had read the day before from 2 Chronicles 20, how Jehoshaphat was in a much bigger fix and prayed and told the Lord "We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you." God was gracious and willing to step in and save them out of their trouble in an awesome way, so I figured, well - I don't know what to do either, so I figured I'd pray about it and stop worrying about it. The thought of pulling a camshaft after all the work I'd done had me freaking out. So I asked the Good Lord to heal the HLA's and quiet it down, remembering how good He is.
So I hopped in it this morning wondering if i was going to SeaFoam it, pull a Camshaft or what. I prayed again and gave it a twist and it clacked a little and started, clattering and immediately settled down to a perfectly quiet idle. Wow! I'm thanking Jesus for that one! Remember, I had ran it 15 minutes to time it then another 15 to do it again and it was not stopping the clatter.
I put the timing cover on again and drove it for a half hour and remembered why we enjoy these hard to fix cars so much! What a beautiful drive on a beautiful West Michigan day!
I appreciate all your help talking me through these over my head repairs. I found that doing a Capri aluminum head is more challenging than doing a 2.3L or 2.5L Ford cast Iron head any day. Those usually don't give you trouble with studs pulling out.
Thanks again everyone for all the quick replies and sharing your experience. I believe the leaks are finally beat!
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Seafoam likely cut the crud in the sticky hla's. I have used acetone in the past and that usually fixes it quick. I don't usually recommend it as it can wear on tired oil seals but running it for 15 min and dumping the oil has always worked for me.
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I didn't use a thing, the seafoam was hand applied to the pistons while apart. None in the oil or head. But after reading up on it it isn't a bad idea for a short time 300 miles or so. Thank God I didn't need to anything.
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That is great! Glad you got it working as it should without undue strain. Enjoy.
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If you don't mind my asking,
how much did the machine work cost you?
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It was at least $450, but I let all the records go with the car when I sold it in June.
They took out the cams, put in the stem seals, magnafluxed and milled the head to flatten it and hot tanked it. I remember it being considerably more than the 2.5l Ranger head they did for me about 5 years earlier ( $300.)