After consulting my Bentley manual and various discussions on the internet I decided on a two stage approach to cleaning out my oil separator. Step one consisted of gently tapping around the outside with a screwdriver. This immediately produced results. All that dried up carbon and oil mixture stuck to the inside began to come apart and flake off. Shaking the separator resulted in a shower of dirt and grit from the bottom ports.
As I mentioned last week, my next steps were going to be adding in all the bits that precede the final installation of in the intake manifold. Moving from the front to the back the first bit on that list will be the radiator. So that’s what I put in first.
This was simply a matter of sitting the radiator back into its rubber mounts and securing the two top corner brackets. Then the two radiator hoses are attached to the thermostat housing and water pump, the feed and return lines to the coolant reservoir, and the oil lines screwed back into the oil cooler. I also ran the pre-heat duct from the outlet of the exhaust manifold to the air box.
Continue readingNow that the belts are all on I can start putting back all the things that would otherwise obstruct their installation. First I should note that I had previously forgotten to install a small carriage bolt that keeps attaches the AC compressor to another bracket midway down its length. I assume this is to add reinforcement to the compressor for when the clutch engages during use. Going from standstill to full speed like that probably packs quite a bit of a shock to the compressor’s body.
Then I reattached the idle air valve back to its bracket with two bolts that anchor the valve’s rubber sleeve and plugged in the control wires. No hoses yet as they come and go from the main air intake duct which has not been installed.
Just a quick bit of work on a busy weekend of yard maintenance and wood stacking. All I had time to do was install the tensioners for the AC compressor and power steering pump. Similar bolt-through-block mechanism as the alternator’s.
