Technical mk1 punto engine problems

[jack18]

Hi all, right... I have a mk1 punto 1.1 55sx,
Back in october my engine completely died, and got completely stripped down and fixed and all new gaskets, its now December and was planning on selling it for a mk2 sporting and my rocker cover gasket has gone, my headgasket is on its way out, and I my water coolant is dropping very slowly and my piston rings are gone due to it smoking... I blame a shocking mechanic for this, but can't believe they have blown already. So I'm going to set myself a day to strip it myself and sort it out... Could the head need skimming? if so how much and where can i get it done( im in east Anglia region). And where could I get decent! Gaskets and piston rings that don't cost an arm and leg? Thanks if anybody can help

 

[s and b]

i wouldnt go there if i was you if its been rebuilt already
suggest you do a compression test wet and dry to see what they are like
then if they are good then consider doing gaskets

 

[jack18]

Yeah im planning on doing the compression test at the weekend, and then decide what to do, but the signs make me worry as it got done 2 months ago and the gaskets are possibly on their way out, well i know the rocker gasket is gone as I can see oil leaking out of it. I'm just worried that I may need a new block or head, as Ive already spent over £600 fixing the damn car.

 

[Simples31]

I recently paid Dartford Rebore £155 for a full (Pukka) head gasket kit, four replacement valves (2 inlet & 2 outlet) head bolts and head skim.

They will collect, but I think East Anglia may be a little to far.

When you changed the HG, did you change the valve stem oil seals as well? If not, that could be the source of the oil loss/smoke.
However, the guys at Dartford rebore did point out a weakness on the FIRE 1.1 engine cylinder head. The alloy close to the cylinder bore tends to errode leaving a dull, gray area, which is slightling lower than the surrounding alloy. if the head is not skimmed to erradicate this fault, the new gasket will not seal properly, and will fail in short order.

There are four, round indentations in the cylinder head. These depict the maximum quantity of material that may be skimmed from the cylinder head.

 

[jack18]

The mechanic that rebuilt my engine didnt, I orignally thought it was the stem seals, but aparently the piston rings were the more likely thing. Hmm £155 is ok, and probably worth doing if the chances of this happening again are slim, but my guess is to do with the head or block.. have found 'mayo' in the oil cap, so buying the conpression tester Friday.

 

[s and b]

if its a bit of mayo dont worry
a customer rejected a car off me last week because it had a bit of mayo in the cap
i tried explaining why it was there but lost the will to nearly live with him

 

[fingers99]

As s and b says, mayo on the cap isn't conclusive. Mayo on the dipstick is more telling, but even so, dry and wet compression tests will tell you almost everything you need to know about the state of your engine.

 

[jack18]

Well the engine used to be pretty bad, when i get the results, good or bad, what would the next suitable move be? Don't get me wrong i love this car, just don't want to have engine problems every few months, especially as it will be up for sale soon

 

[dumbledore]

Did you consider a known good replacement engine?

 

[richydraper]

1108 FIRE lumps arent known for their ability to throw rings... my money would be on stem seals. if ur buying a comp tester then do it wet and dry and that will confirm/deny rings altho i would doubt very much you would get anything but conclusive readings on the side of good!

if it is HG failiure... skim the head, lap the valves and make sure no crud gets into the barrels... cleanliness is the key! lay everything out methodically ie valve buckets, shims, valves, cam caps etc and label it all clearly, possibly on a big bit of cardboard, so it all goes back in the same order... i measured the clearances before strip down on my cinq and measured the shims after removal and re jiggled them to get optimum clearances!

my turn around time was 10 hours in the snow including getting the head skimmed so its a relatively easy job. failing that change your mechanic for somebody who actually knows how an engine works and follows torque settings and good practices.