Guest Report post Posted December 16, 2014 If you're considering an engine rebuild, and are getting the work done by someone else, you might be interested in this little suggestion.. Anyone who has stripped one of these beautiful little engines will know what a complete nightmare it is getting the bloody things apart, due to all the sealant used. Believe me, the sealant is tougher than any I've experienced anywhere else and makes the strip down quite a lengthy exercise.. for example, it took me two hours + to get the front cover off my engine. That's how good this stuff is!! After strip down, all this sealant must be removed and the best way is to scrape off the majority of it, then use a sealant dissolver to remove the remaining sealant from the flange faces. This takes absolutely hours, then you've got all the bolt threads to clean off also!! I have used a soft wire brush on the faces and a loosely adjusted die to clean the threads. Be careful not to remove the plating... Here's my suggestion.. get yourself a couple of cans of sealant dissolver and have the parts back from your builder to clean yourself. I estimate this will save you around 5 to 8 hours labour, more including the bolts, and save your builder from going insane!! One finished, you can wash the parts down with warm water, oil the bores and give the bits back to the builder. Another operation you can do yourself is the removal of all the burs and sharp edges around the castings, inside and out. Every casting has these burs, and every manufacturer leaves them, due mainly to cost I guess? All you'll need is a set of small files, flat, half round and round. Removing burs from all components is just plain old good engineering practice !! It also prevents cuts and gashes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pitman 188 Report post Posted December 16, 2014 Any advice for getting aluminium engine castings really clean, i.e. removal of what I guess is baked in oil (dark patches in the casting) and that horrible white oxidation? (For those of us who are busy preparing an engine for rebuilding that has done a bit more than the couple of hundred miles your did before you stripped it down ) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Report post Posted December 17, 2014 Dave,I've used the products frost sell in the past on Volvo and Rover V8 engines. They have worked well for me.http://www.frost.co.uk/The nylon brushes that go in your drill are great!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GT86Jay 202 Report post Posted December 17, 2014 Any advice for getting aluminium engine castings really clean, i.e. removal of what I guess is baked in oil (dark patches in the casting) and that horrible white oxidation? (For those of us who are busy preparing an engine for rebuilding that has done a bit more than the couple of hundred miles your did before you stripped it down ) Does this mean you're going fully built too Dave? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark@Abbey M/S 235 Report post Posted December 19, 2014 Nigel de burring the casings works well. Conrods and Pistons are on there way! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Special K 442 Report post Posted December 19, 2014 Why is it I have concerns about this procedure? Possibly because - I give my 'clean' bits to my engine builder.. he builds it... the engine goes shitfaced.. Who's to blame? Who's fault? Nigel - you've gone 80% of the journey. Why not re-assemble it yourself? It's only rods and pistons, being slung into a 150-mile block.. with your knowledge/expertise this should be a piece of cake.. No? Spec K Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rob275 1817 Report post Posted December 19, 2014 He is doing it himself Keith, he just said if you are planning on getting someone to build your engine, suggest removing the burrs. At least that's how i read it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Report post Posted December 20, 2014 Sorry if I haven't been clear here. What I am trying to say is that you can save some money by removing the silicone yourself. I would leave the responsibility of cleaning to the builder. You could let the builder do all this work, removing silicone and deburring, but do you really want to pay £xx per hour for such a menial task? I am building the engine myself Keith, I always build my own engines, and enjoy it very much. I look forward to receiving the rods and Pistons Mark, I just wish the ARP bolts were also on their way?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Danellen2989 8 Report post Posted March 15, 2016 How much roughly are we looking at in labour for the FA20 to be rebuilt? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
