corsachili
Well-Known Member
As it heads in to its fourth month the great CSL engine bay beautification project is gathering steam. The original goal was to fix the stumbling problem I was having, which lead to the engine being disassembled until there was nothing but a short block in the car. Seemed a great time to paint the previously unfinished engine bay, so out came the engine block, and back to the painter went the body. In the mean time I ended up purchasing an S38 motor with a longterm goal of replacing the non-original 3 liter unit with the 4 valve motor. Several hiccups and hinderances have been encountered along the way but this is to be expected. The rear decklid was apparently not done properly the first time around and so it was taken down to the bare aluminum and straightened properly, with only a skim coat to finish it before paint. This was the reason for all the rear badge location questions as the holes had been buggered by a previous owner, and so they were brazed closed for redrilling.
I've now completely disassembled the S38 motor, and as I've said before, it's very impressive. Last night I finished the strip down process by removing all the pistons and crank, and I'm now down to the bare block. The crank journals are all std size and healthy and I'm 99% sure I can re-use the pistons. A polish of the crank, a hone of the block, new bearings and rings and I should have the bottom end back together.
The major dilemma now is "do I set a new goal of going straight to the S38 motor or do I reinstall the 3 liter engine and take more time doing the S38"? I'm inclined to go with the latter as I'd like to drive the car this summer and there's no telling how long it will take to go to the S38 if I do it properly (the head needs to be gone over thoroughly).
Those of you who follow S38 lore may know about the apparent propensity of the 4 valve engine to chuck its timing chain (some believe due to a failed timing chain rail). There is evidence to suggest that it's not the rail, rather the tensioner and that upgrading to a later spring can solve the problem, but in my case, the rail itself was in danger of catastrophic failure. I'll send pictures later, but essentially one of the pins that it mounts to had ovaled the hole in the rail enough that the rail moved excessively such that it snapped the circlip off the post. Eventually, who knows when, that boss would have broken and the guide rail would have been chewed up by the chain.
She's supposed to come back next Saturday, if that happens I'll be very happy. The goal was to have her back on the road for the Bay Area 2002 meet which is only three weeks away. I might not make that, but I should be driving her again sometime soon, as long as I stick with Plan A.
I've now completely disassembled the S38 motor, and as I've said before, it's very impressive. Last night I finished the strip down process by removing all the pistons and crank, and I'm now down to the bare block. The crank journals are all std size and healthy and I'm 99% sure I can re-use the pistons. A polish of the crank, a hone of the block, new bearings and rings and I should have the bottom end back together.
The major dilemma now is "do I set a new goal of going straight to the S38 motor or do I reinstall the 3 liter engine and take more time doing the S38"? I'm inclined to go with the latter as I'd like to drive the car this summer and there's no telling how long it will take to go to the S38 if I do it properly (the head needs to be gone over thoroughly).
Those of you who follow S38 lore may know about the apparent propensity of the 4 valve engine to chuck its timing chain (some believe due to a failed timing chain rail). There is evidence to suggest that it's not the rail, rather the tensioner and that upgrading to a later spring can solve the problem, but in my case, the rail itself was in danger of catastrophic failure. I'll send pictures later, but essentially one of the pins that it mounts to had ovaled the hole in the rail enough that the rail moved excessively such that it snapped the circlip off the post. Eventually, who knows when, that boss would have broken and the guide rail would have been chewed up by the chain.
She's supposed to come back next Saturday, if that happens I'll be very happy. The goal was to have her back on the road for the Bay Area 2002 meet which is only three weeks away. I might not make that, but I should be driving her again sometime soon, as long as I stick with Plan A.
Is your top end in good condition? If so I'd refresh everything relating to timing and leave everything else stock (dont even pull apart the top end if you can help it) Valves ALONE work out to around $1600 for a set.