Off with the dog box and head

I started the car using jumper lead. It is not running that well –maybe only on 5 cylinders. The car is blowing a lot of blue smoke. I decided I need to take the plunge and remove the head to inspect and find the reason so much smoke is being blown. I started by draining the radiator of water. The drain plug broke off the bottom tank of the radiator –Bugger. So a change of plan is now required. I now need to remove the “dog-box” to get at the radiator and remove it. After that it will be off with the head to see what is going on there.

So the steps to remove the dog-box are as follows:

1. Remove the bonnet by unbolting the two bolts either side of the bulkhead and the two bolts in the centre of the bulkhead and lift the bonnet off.
2. Remove the battery.
3. Remove the water from the radiator using the drain plug on the bottom (which broke off).
4. Removed the bumper by undoing the four bolts that attach to the bumper.
5. Disconnect the radiator hose on the top.
6. Disconnect the radiator hose on the bottom.
7. Disconnected the fuel lines from the fuel pump. (I need to ensure the lines are upgraded before re-assembly).
8. Disconnected the wires to the electric fuel pump.
9. Disconnected the two bolts under the radiator which attached it to the centre cross member.
10. Undid the bolts that attach the front mudguards to the side of the bulkhead.  A total of five bolts should be there however one is missing. Two the bolts (on each side) go all the way through the bulkheads and attach on the inside, one at door hinge height and the other lower. Therefore needed to secure the nuts on the inside of the car to undo them using a ring spanner.  Bolts are half inch however I have lost my half inch socket.

Once all the fastenings were removed it was then a matter of lifting up the dog-box and removing it. This step was not as easy as first imagined. Used the trolley-jack under the radiator to lift it up a bit and after lots of pulling and wriggling slow worked the dog-box off. The dog box is not light, there is a bit of weight in the radiator for a start. It is also very awkward to handle. After the dog box is off a whole new world opens up.

 

Loosened and removed the head bolts and the head wouldn’t budge. Banged some screw drivers into the gap because I thought the head was simply stuck on. The heard a crack noise and discovered there was still a heat bolt attached (it looked different to the others). I cracked the head –Bugger. I removed the head which now has a large and is now useless. Luckily I have a spare engine with an OK head. The inside of the engine is bad news. There is a lot of oil in each of the cylinders and it is no wonder it throws a lot of smoke out the back. The rings must be the wrong size or else fitted wrong.  The pots look oK. Now I have to remove the engine –the mission just got that much bigger.