one of the steps for removing the head call for you to rotate the crankshaft so that the mark on the camshaft sprocket is at 12 o'clock.... how the heck do i rotate the crank..... i tryed using a large torque wrench turned up to 120 ft. pounds.... didnt move..... tryed jacking the car up and me and someone else try as hard as we could to turn the engine with the wheels.... no luck

should i try to the torque wrench with more power (i was afraid id break something) or do something else?

 

Do you still have the spark plugs in? It might help to take them out and release the pressure of the Combustion chamber.

 

im gunna go do that right now

thanks

 

And make sure the transmission is in neutral.

 

>>And make sure the transmission is in neutral.

I'm going to bet that's the issue.

 

>>>>And make sure the transmission is in neutral.
>>
>>I'm going to bet that's the issue.

Either that or the engine is so blown itis seized solid.......

 

yes it was in neutral......

still didnt work, i think the one cylinder that has had the valves on it open for who knows how long is rusted shut..... bummer..... we just tried pushing it up the driveway (steep hill), letting it go, and putting it in gear when it got up to speed.... and the wheels just locked up and the engine didnt turn at all..

 

pour a 1/2 cup of marvel mystery oil into each spark plug hole and wail 24 hours and try again.If this doesn't work,you have a seriously seized engine on your hands.Maybe you should change the name of the project to"shake and baked"

 

>>pour a 1/2 cup of marvel mystery oil into each spark plug hole and wail 24 hours and try again.If this doesn't work,you have a seriously seized engine on your hands.Maybe you should change the name of the project to"shake and baked"


where do u get this mystery oil?

 

>>where do u get this mystery oil?

Automotive shops will cary it. Comes in a red colored bottle if I recall correctly...

 

Check this out: http://www.tooldesk.com/cgi-bin/webp...amp;key=marvel

 

Another option is pull the head and take a look, the timing can be worked out later, granted the intruction method is easier, but there are more than one way to skin a cat if you know what i mean....... hope its not seized.....

 

I guess "Crispy" means that this engine was in a fire.

If so, you probably have baked on varnish (from cooked oil) all over the engine internals.

I don't think you'll have much luck with the Marvel because you won't be able to put it on the crankshaft, internal cylinder walls, etc. without a lot of dismantling.

But I guess there's no harm trying.

 

i got the head off and it looks pretty icky in there.... ill put some pics up on the web so check my site later tonight or tomorrow morning if u want to see it

 

Please do post pictures.

I would go with the WD-40 or "miracle-oil" on top of the pistons, wait a while,
and give each of them a quick pound with a 4x4 block. Not too hard, but a good
solid rap and you might get turning again.

Engines are damn tough beasties.

 

Your best bet would be to pull the head and investigate what might have happened in the cylinder. Molten plastic could have made it's way into the cylinders. If the fire was put out with water, the melted intake might have been open and allowed water to enter the cylinder and sit, rusting the engine. This is not a 'death sentence' for your engine as such, because it can be freed with light oil and movement, then cleaned up with a cylinder hone and compressed air with the piston at BDC. Washing down the cleaned cylinders with WD 40 and gently rocking the engine will help clear the area just above the compression rings. Thoroughly wipe up then lube the cylinder walls with motor oil and spin the engine over several times. Wipe up anything you might find after doing this then re-oil the cylinders.

While you have the head off it would be a good idea to possibly have it machined flat to correct for any warpage, and giving all the bearing journals and rockers a thorough oiling will make for a happy top end. An engine fire tends to bake out the oil from the various moving parts.

I have worked on several 'crispyfied' engines such as what you are attempting, and you would be surprised at how much you can bake an engine without too much internal damage.

 

Pics of the head removal can be seen HERE

 

Oh Poo.

Nothing a little scotch-brite won't take care of.

Give everything a good oil-soak and hit it with some steel-wool,
a wire brush and scotch-brite pads. Not the ones with sand I would say.

Vacuum out all the crap, give the pistons a whack, and I'll predict you'll have
some crank motion in a day or so.

 

Hey.. I think that there is a JCW Engine on Ebay.. that might be your best bet looking at this engine. Good Luck

 

yeah, i saw that too..... i wish i had that much money right now.... i may be able to afford a regular S

 

ok, one more quick question...... how should i be trying to rotate the crank?

 

I think you should soften up all the gunk before attempting to turn the crank. Otherwise, you might end up breaking rings, scoring cylinder walls, or causing some other unnecessary damage if you forcibly turn the crank.

You'll need to dismantle the block anyway to replace things like gaskets. So why not remove the block from the vehicle now. Then you can remove the oil pan and expose the inside of the block.

Soaking the head and the opened block in Marvel for a few days should soften things up. btw, I think you can buy Marvel by the gallon...

Have you done any engine rebuilding before?

 

>>I think you should soften up all the gunk before attempting to turn the crank. Otherwise, you might end up breaking rings, scoring cylinder walls, or causing some other unnecessary damage if you forcibly turn the crank.
>>
>>You'll need to dismantle the block anyway to replace things like gaskets. So why not remove the block from the vehicle now. Then you can remove the oil pan and expose the inside of the block.
>>
>>Soaking the head and the opened block in Marvel for a few days should soften things up. btw, I think you can buy Marvel by the gallon...
>>
>>Have you done any engine rebuilding before?
>>

i just drained the oil and im gunna start on that tomorrow.... is it possible to get the block out without removing the transmition?

And this is my first engine to rebuild....

 

Jon,
I know 4500 is not in the budget for the Works motor on eBay, but here is a non-S motor now listed. Starting bid 300. But needs to be shipped from GA.
ebay motor
May be worth a look.
More power to you, that's quite a project you've undertaken there.
Cheers!

 

" is it possible to get the block out without removing the transmition?"

Don't know for sure but I doubt it. Besides, I think you're going to want to remove the transmission just to visually check it over and to assure yourself that it wasn't affected by the fire.

Have you looked for a service manual for this engine yet? There might be some third-party books available by now.

If nothing else, you should make friends with the parts guys at the nearest MINI dealer. I'm sure if you tell them what you're doing, they'll be very helpful. They might even be able to give you access to an official service manual (it's probably on a CD).

You've taken on quite a project! It'll be a great learning experience for you. It's nice of you to give the rest of us a chance to follow along on your website.