Slomove

Just went through this mess and tried to burn off some oil that had crept into the bellhousing. But it got only worse over time. I gave up and when I finally took the clutch out I could see some black carbonized deposit streaks on the clutch surface. I suppose I could have tried to burn them off until the cows come home and in the process ruined my flywheel. Gert

Hmmm, the timing belt idler on my US spec Zetec ZX1 is also plastic as far as I can tell. Anybody heard of them falling apart? Or is this strictly a faulty design by Vauxhall? Gert

Looks like Webers' demise has some effect. I saw a pair of used 45DCOE152 on eBay selling for $970 😳 here Some of the Italian variety a said to have sold even higher. Maybe I should sell mine now and change to injection witout much upgrade cost Gert Edited by - Slomove on 11 Apr 2005 03:52:57

I managed to mess up my clutch with oil (overfilled and did not drain the small catch tank, doh!) and have some slip now. It can not be much because it is noticable only when pushing really hard on the track. Is there any chance this will burn off over time or is it a guaranteed engine-out job? I tried spraying in some brake cleaner, but no difference. Thanks, Gert

Thanks Graham, just looked up "stand-off" in the search facility and yes, it appears to be a common thing. First I was going to say "why only on curvy mountain roads?" but then I usually drive these roads in a certain load/throttle region that is different from city, freeway or hard track use. That may indeed mean it does not come from curves and fuel sloshing but from some funny intake resonances. Oh well, I got used to it. Gert

It may be a moot point since my 45DCOE carbs have been doing this since I bought the car 2 years ago: On very curvy roads, and when driving in a spirited fashion they emit a distinct fuel smell and once a while a droplet out of the air filters. I imagine this is caused by fuel sloshing in the float chamber and sometimes finding a way out of the vent hole to the filter area. No big problem at all I was just wondering if TADTS or if my setup is different. I read that some people missed the "carb smell" after going EFI. Another probably unrelated observation: If I disengage the clutch and make a left turn (e.g. shortly before coming to a stop) the engine sometimes stalls, as if the fuel supply was cut off. Another TADTS?? Otherwise everything is just fine 😬 Gert

Quote "Do they sell them for track days? *tongue*" Well, I made it from air duct tube, glass wadding and duct tape. Very light BTW. You could use it for a track day provided you can sprinkle the duct tape joints with water every other minute while driving. Mounting might be another issue but a vertical silencer like on the US big rig trucks should look very cool on a Se7en. 😬 😬 Gert

BTW, I solved the problem to run the engine at 2500 prm for 20 minutes on a Sunday morning without a neighbourhood riot with the Monster Muffler 😬 Gert

It's Alive *smile* *smile* Engine started at first crank. I had it run for the required 20 minutes or so. Then carbs balanced, idle adjusted and off for a blat. Did that feel good after 2 months without 😬 😬. Can't say much about performance, I kept it mainly under 5000 rpm, but feeling pretty good. Behavior at lower revs is just as good as with the stock Zetec cams. Smooth tickover and everything. Thanks all for your help! And I will make a donation to the R.S.P.C.E. You know where to send the money, AMMO? Gert

AMMO, too late to listen to your advice but I guess so far nothing broken and as mentioned before the oil is now flowing. I did indeed not expect to have a suddenly broken oil pump. But that is why I was so puzzled after many folks wrote the starter should be able to build oil pressure. Well, it seems it can but only if it is not filled with air. Gert Gert

PROBLEM SOLVED!!!! I tried it again and cranked for over 2 minutes....still nothing. Then I jacked up the car in the rear (with the idea to flood the oil pump) and here we go! Oil came after a few seconds. I guess after taking off the head the oil pump drained completely and the low cranking speed did not expel the air. Whatever, it works and I can continue reassembly Thanks all for the tips! Gert

Oh well, then I will overcome that scary feeling and keep cranking. Actually, I do still have the valve cover off and can watch it. I was only wondering if I have some kind of an air lock in the oil pump (never heard of that....). Maybe I just lift the car in the back to help the pump. Any opinion on the bearing damage? Thanks, Gert

I finally got my new Zetec FZ2002 cams installed and timing set to spec. I tried to crank the bare engine (no intake, exhaust, alternator/water pump belt or plugs and that works just fine, cams spinning etc. BUT, there is no oil pressure :-( There is normal oil level in the sump and the engine bottom end was not even touched. To make sure I even removed the pressure sender and no oil squirting out of the sender tap hole when cranking. Now what Gert P.S.: Another unrelated strange thing...After that cranking experiment I had to remove a few cam bearing caps (had them swapped) and noticed on one of the bearing surfaces in the head and on the corresponding camshaft some deep gouges as if some sand grains or other grit had been caught. Darn it. I polished the worst ridges away, cleaned and lubed everything and there is little I can do. I only hope that one half of five bearing surfaces in the middle of the shaft damaged is not too bad. Edited by - Slomove on 19 Mar 2005 03:43:20 Edited by - Slomove on 19 Mar 2005 03:52:06 Edited by - Slomove on 19 Mar 2005 03:53:19

Thanks Ammo, that helps. Now I can get going Gert

Darn, just found that Kentcams does not list the TDC lift spec for their cams only the degrees for max lift. Anybody know how much that is for the FZ2002? (I did write to Kentcam tech support, let's se if they know). I also read on various posts here that it is better to have 2 or 3 dial gauges. I understand that is preferable if you want to set the cams on the fly without other markings. However, I printed a precise degree wheel the size of my pulley and stuck it to the pulley with silicone. That is set to TDC zero with about +/- 0.5 degrees accuracy. Using this degree wheel I suppose I should get away with a single dial gauge. Or do I miss here something? Thanks, Gert