Hi guys,
So my poor little Corsa is sat lifeless on my parents' driveway. After my private mechanic (dad) had taken the head off and inspected why my engine decided to seize up a few days ago, he discovered damaged cam followers and distorted exhaust valves.
So, after promptly replacing these parts, he rebuilt the head and got the engine back in, topped up the oil (despite the dipstick saying the levels were all okay), and we tried turning it over.
It ran for about 20 seconds (ticking a lot due to it being a little dry, reminded me of how old Fiesta engines used to sound!), then this screeching sound happened and dad pulled the key out fast.
We let things settle for a few minutes then tried again. It started up, and ran again for another 4 minutes or so (didn't seem quite 5). Loud screeching noise, pulled out the key.
We didn't dare risk it again in case we completely knackered the engine, so dad took to dismantling the head again and had a look inside. The top part was pretty much dry. I mean, hardly any oil in there at all. The cam followers were as good as dry. And the oil to be seen was around the valves in the corners of each chamber.
My dad reckons the oil pump is shot, which would suggest more damage inside the block that we didn't even discover due to thinking it was just the parts in the head that needed changing. So rather than try and rebuild a dying engine, I've suggested we get a cheap little common-as-muck 1.6 8v Astra engine.
I know the performance gains won't be great, but I just need it back on the road again, and from what I've gathered it's quite a straight forward swap...
Just wondering if anyone else has done this conversion before, and what obstacles you might have ran into along the way? Is it just the engine we'll need, or other bits as well? I'm not sure if it's just plug and play with all the other parts in the Corsa (mine's a 1997 Breeze).
Any help or tips on this conversion would be awesome - and if you (or someone you know!) live within about 30 miles of Leicester and have an X16SZR going spare, we're still looking in the hope of collecting one from somewhere tomorrow morning..!
So my poor little Corsa is sat lifeless on my parents' driveway. After my private mechanic (dad) had taken the head off and inspected why my engine decided to seize up a few days ago, he discovered damaged cam followers and distorted exhaust valves.
So, after promptly replacing these parts, he rebuilt the head and got the engine back in, topped up the oil (despite the dipstick saying the levels were all okay), and we tried turning it over.
It ran for about 20 seconds (ticking a lot due to it being a little dry, reminded me of how old Fiesta engines used to sound!), then this screeching sound happened and dad pulled the key out fast.
We let things settle for a few minutes then tried again. It started up, and ran again for another 4 minutes or so (didn't seem quite 5). Loud screeching noise, pulled out the key.
We didn't dare risk it again in case we completely knackered the engine, so dad took to dismantling the head again and had a look inside. The top part was pretty much dry. I mean, hardly any oil in there at all. The cam followers were as good as dry. And the oil to be seen was around the valves in the corners of each chamber.
My dad reckons the oil pump is shot, which would suggest more damage inside the block that we didn't even discover due to thinking it was just the parts in the head that needed changing. So rather than try and rebuild a dying engine, I've suggested we get a cheap little common-as-muck 1.6 8v Astra engine.
I know the performance gains won't be great, but I just need it back on the road again, and from what I've gathered it's quite a straight forward swap...
Just wondering if anyone else has done this conversion before, and what obstacles you might have ran into along the way? Is it just the engine we'll need, or other bits as well? I'm not sure if it's just plug and play with all the other parts in the Corsa (mine's a 1997 Breeze).
Any help or tips on this conversion would be awesome - and if you (or someone you know!) live within about 30 miles of Leicester and have an X16SZR going spare, we're still looking in the hope of collecting one from somewhere tomorrow morning..!
