Tonight I started tearing down one of my '89+ n/a blocks for a rebuild. So far everything I have seen inside the motor points to a previous mechanic that lead the double life as a vilage idiot.

This particular block was traded to me by a fellow board member with an unknown past. I think he got it from a junkyard and only used the accessories off of it.

The first thing I found was when I removed the main pulley bolt. The oil valve spring was THREADED onto the end of the main pulley. This is not a typo. The spring had wrapped itself around the end of the pulley bolt twice. It took a pair of pliers to get it separated. And of course this means that the oil bypass valve was put in the e-shaft before the spring, this is the wrong way to assemble it.
The front cover was put on with a gasket (amazingly the correct one) and about a gallon of gasket maker. The oil o-ring was not to be found there was plenty of gasket maker in its place (with the teflon insert).
The lock tab washer that holds the oil pump pulley bolt had apparently been flatened and bent back up at least twice before and it also looked like someone tried to solder it to the bolt. Yea I said soldered!
I finally get the washer flat enough to get a socket on the bolt and I lock the motor to keep it from spinning. The bolt easily turned, and turned and turned and turned some more. I take a look and the bolt is still sitting against the pulley. I put a wrench to it so I can see what is going on. The entire oil pump shaft is turning with the chain and pulley stationary. Apparently the pulley was put on with out the key!
Luckily I was able to get to the oil pump bolts and remove it all at once. I will deal with getting the pulley off later.
It was getting late so I stopped there with the disassembly. I can't wait until tomorrow. If this motor was completely rebuilt by the same "mechanic" that worked in the front cover there is no telling what I will find IN the motor.

 

Wow. I bet you find a handful of spare washers and stuff in the oil pan and a corner seal spring or two in the water cooling passages!

Brian

 

I finished the disassembly tonight. The rear rotor had lost an apex seal and it destroyed all 3 faces of the rotor as well as the rotor housing. The rotors are dented so bad at the apex seal groove I could only get parts of the apex seals out. The rest is stuck in their groves.

On the upside the front rotor and housing look perfect as if this was a low mileage engine. As long as I can get one good housing and rotor out of the other blown engine I will be happy.

 

Wow, scary story. Thanks for sharing!

 

As it turned out the only usable part out of that engine is a rotor housing (besides the non-wear items). The rotor that did not loose an apex seal is pitted vary bad and none of its seals would come out, even after sitting in carb cleaner for 3 days). All the irons in the motor were pitted very bad where the carbon had sat for a long time. I guess the 3+ years it sat after blowing an apex seal did more damage than the loose apex seal itself.

I just broke my other core and it is all usable except for one rotor and housing. That leaves me 1 rotor short of the hard parts necessary for a rebuild.

Anyone have a usable S5 N/A rotor (S weight) for sale?

 

Damn, I got a S4 rotor. Sorry dude.