I was 17 and the slant-six 225 in my 1965 Plymouth Valiant had popped. My dad and I found a donor car, pulled the engine out, painted it a nice chrysler blue, and dropped it in.
That was a long time ago and the details are very fuzzy. Looking back, my Dad probably did all the hard work. I was 17, and probably extremely useless. Since then, I've only done light shade-tree mechanic stuff. Hell, I've only ever seen the intake valves (from the outside mind you) of one car since then.
I've never even held a piston or connecting rod in my hand. I know what all the parts do, but have very little hands-on experience with them. So I guess it's only fitting that I'm tearing apart a perfectly good 2.0 liter SOHC Neon engine in my "spare time". It started out innocently enough - the engine clearly had an oil leak. Everything from the valve cover on down was coated in so much oil that it had taken on a texture that I mistook for the factory finish.
When I smeared my finger through at least 1/8" of oil buildup, I knew it was time to strip some parts off and see what was leaking.
I pulled off the intake manifold and found about 1/4 cup of filthy oil pooled in the bottom, which promptly spilled all over the floor when I wasn't paying attention.
Hmmm...that's a lot of oil.
The intake ports of the head were also carbon/oil stained.
I'm not 100% sure what this is a symptom of, but I knew it wasn't "normal" since the intake air is supposed to be nice and clean. No reason to have lots of oil in the intake charge. Looking further into the cylinder head revealed oily residue and lots of carbon on the intake valves.
Most likely valve guide seals. This was unexpected, but not devastating - I was planning to take the head off to put a fresh head gasket anyway. I know nothing about valve-train work though, so it was a bit daunting. I started this whole undertaking because I wanted a new project where I could learn a few new tricks right? Well, here was a new trick.
The neat-o discoveries kept coming. When the exhaust manifold came off I was greeted with more carbon than I thought was possible under normal conditions. There were literally sheets of the stuff.
I'm sure others will tell me this is nothing out of the ordinary, but I'm still amazed. This engine was clearly run on cheap gas and ran lots of short trips. Nothing shows any signs of neglect, but definitely no pampering either.
Time to pull the head - this is officially the deepest I've ever been into an engine.
Oh good grief! The intake valves have freaking mineral deposits on them - the contour of the valve is completely obscured.
Damn cheap gas.....
Top of the pistons show similar evidence
Top of the head shows signs of equally cheap dino-oil. Lots of varnish on the cam and all the followers.
At this point, the engine that's already in the car is starting to look more attractive. Despite it's unknown mechanical status, it's clear that it was run on better gas and oil. Varnish is virtually nonexistent, and the intake ports are spotless.
Unfortunately, I've just finished pulling it out of the car....details on that in the next post.
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