CitroJim's AX, C3 Picasso, Cycling and Running Tales

[addo]

It's easy. You open the bonnet, disconnect the fuel and electrical lines, unbolt the motor mounts and exhaust, then hold the car upside down over an old mattress and shake vigorously.

[CitroJim]

It's easy. You open the bonnet, disconnect the fuel and electrical lines, unbolt the motor mounts and exhaust, then hold the car upside down over an old mattress and shake vigorously.

I know you're only joking Jim but never having removed an engine that sort of writeup would be invaluable to me ...

No problem at all Mike, Whilst it's still fresh in my memory I will try and do... I've lifted a good few V6 engines now...

Now my engine is up on the stand I hope now to be able to get a bit done on it most evenings... Won't be a lot but every little helps move the project along..

First jobs is to complete a clean-up of the worst oily bits and then get the camboxes resealed...

Then, turn the engine upside-down on the stand and resdeal the sump...

[superloopy]

Look forward to it Jim ... as you know i've got three 'binners' unless i decide to do something adventurous with them. Who knows? I keep reading 'reseal camboxes'???

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[CitroJim]

Cambox leaks are very common on the V6 Mike. You first know whern you smell oil that's dripped onto the exhaust manifolds...

Resealimg is a cambelt off and cam out job... I will be documenting it closely as it's a job so often needing doing...

Ditto the sump reseal, leaks from there are common.

One reason is there's no gaskets, just a bead of sealant...

[Zelandeth]

That's basically how we got the motor out of my first Skoda when we scrapped the shell after it was written off by the diesel tanker. Disconnected everything obvious, tipped car on its side, then systematically unbolted things until one mount was left, which was then seen to with an angle grinder, dropping the engine out onto a couple of old matresses and rolls of carpet from the back of the shed. Took about twenty minutes. If the car had been rollable we probably would have done it properly though.

Sadly I never got around to doing anything with the engine and it's probably a siezed hulk good for nothing but scrap now. Shame as it was a cracking little unit. Plan to grab the (ported) head and (definitely non-standard) camshaft next time I'm there to see if they are at least saveable. ...and possibly they might find their way into my 120LX's motor if so...

[CitroJim]

Did 32 miles at an average speed of 19mph on my bike today That was on quite hilly terrain with a fair head-wind for a while..

Also, all chores are out of the way now so that I can spend some quality time on the Activa V6 Conversion project for the next two days...

I hope to add some good progress both here and in my V6 Blog come Monday

[CitroJim]

Excellent progress today on the engine work..

Went from this:



To this:



Between that was the task of mounting the engine on the stand with some proper bolts which necessitated lifting it up on the crane again and replacing each temporary bolt in turn..

This is the mounting point on the stand:



Having an engine up on a stand to work on is absolute bliss

Now all ancillaries are off ready to give everything a good clean-up and overhaul. First up is camboxes to reseal and the extent of how badly the rear exhaust cambox was leaking can be seen here. The plug wells look more like oil wells!



To do the camboxes the cam sprockets and hubs have to come off so the rear parts of the cam covers can be removed to give access. The cam hub bolts ( E10 Star Drive) are biblically tight and needed a breaker bar to shift them. Had the engine not been on a stand I don't think I could have cracked them off.

So, tomorrow is all set for the big clean-up and a start on the camboxes...

[Stickyfinger]

Remember Jim, you can always "borrow" a bit or a bob off my one if you need quick.

This will be good to watch. Did you make the stand/engine adapter plate ?

[CitroJim]

Thanks Alasdair, that's much appreciated

Did you make the stand/engine adapter plate ?

No, it's a standard stand of Chinese origin, same family as my crane and press... I got it in kit form though...

It really is a godsend!

[Stickyfinger]

He, if it saves time or allows you to check another part.....anytime mate.

Cheers for the info on the stand....tempted

[CitroJim]

If you're doing anything at all on an engine out of a car they are absolutely indispensable and worth every penny of their cost.. Happily they aren't hugely expensive...

[DHallworth]

I didn't undo the E10's on my engine, Jim. I was petrified of breaking something. In the end I took the adjustable pulleys off and left the rest attached to the cam.

David.

[superloopy]

Pictures Jim ... i'm trying hard to follow [emoji9]

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[bxzx16v]

Great work Jim . Having the right tools for the job helps .

Mark

[elma]

Wow thats a lot of engine when you see it from this angle.
I bet thats really satisfying work as well, enjoy yourself Jim.