Engine

Does anyone know of a method of measuring the cambelt tension on a Pinto engine without using the Ford tension gauge?? What does this gauge measure - pulling or twisting force. I'm fitting a new belt and from the Haynes manual the Ford gauge reading should be 10 to 11 for a new belt compared to 4 to 5 (what units ???). Other engines I've come across that don't have auto-tensioners have specifications like ( 30lbs pull to deflect belt 1/2 inch on longest sector). I'm having bit of a problem interpreting "moderate pressure (see illustration)" as the book says. I've got a bit of time before I need to fire up the engine - Like get it in the chassis first. Thanks, Te…

If I get stuck in traffic for 15 mins my car cuts out. It pops and bangs and then dies. I know it's not the fuel pump as I can hear it ticking away. It's not the ignition. Could it be that the carb bodies are getting hot when there is no forced air flowing into the nose cone? Any body shed any light on it? Cheers Neil

Things were going really well and then a manifold stud broke, then a stud remover broke. So as the head will now have to come off , now is the time to prehaps fit a injection head so I can use unleaded. The question is what are the markings to distinguish a unleaded head. Graham

for whatever reason, I ended up buying a CVH engined donor - and have gotten to the rolling chasis stage with no great problems (skint knuckles etc...) (oh, kit is a subK - an no the anti roll bar does not fit.). The engine does fit in the engine bay, but the inlet manifold butts against the bar where the pedal box will mount to, so needs to move forward half an inch, this may be possible if I build a raised plate to fit the engine mount to (in order to raise the sump an inch) and thus move the engine forward in the bay by half an inch - too an inch. This will then move the gearbox forward - hence problem (1) - will this cause a problem for the drive shaft? or is it lon…

Where can I find a nice shiny pancake housing for the air filter, the donors far too big ???

Hi all In my local scrappy there are a number of injection pinto-engined cars, both Grannie and Sierra. His prices are usually reasonable, and I would like to obtain the head from one with a view to using it on my 2B (at present standard with stepper-motor carb). I have heard of some builders using the injection type head with a carb with good results. Having got so far with my build, and not wishing to go the injection route, I would like to do this if nothing else to replace my present head which is too old to have hardened seats. Any ideas regarding ignition timing etc? There is of course the facility of retarding with the plug in the loom. Any info gratefully receive…

I have been having a bad day. Whilst all the fun has been going on with the head removal Click Here. I have also managed to loosen the tube that the dipstick sits in In fact it is that lose that the thing now comes cleanly out of the engine block! Has anyone any solutions as to how I can get around this problem as I imagine if I was to run the engine in this state oil would be leaking out of the hole quicker then I could put it back in! As always your help is apreciated. Andy

Hi Guy's Im currently 2/3 of the way through building my robin hood 2b. Its going together mostly as Richard intended (with RHOCAR mod's of course). The other day I was presented with a Peugeot 405 MI 16 which runs well. Rashly I stumped up £100. Now im wondering what you lot think about using this engine! Has anyone else considered doing it?

I spotted these devices at the Stafford Show - they seem to be the perfect answer to a cheap/easy conversion to unleaded petrol, without going down the valve seat hardening route. Fuel Cat Web Site Does anyone have any experience with them? Cheers Joel.

Anybody know what the CO limit is for a 1986 pinto? I can't remember if it's 2.5 or 3.5%. I've just fitted twin 40,s and the MOT is on Thursday. Panic? Me? No. Arrgggghhhhhhh! Cheers Neil

Hi Folks I'd like to gather some opinions on replacing the piston rings on my engine. I am just starting to rebuild it after a basic overhaul. I took the block into a local engineering firm who have deep cleaned it, checked it over and concluded the cylinders just needed honing. This they have done and supplied a new set of piston rings. My query arisies because there is a very slight ridge noticable in the cylinders just below the block face where no doubt the top ring reaches at TDC . The ridge is pretty much the same on all cylinders with just No1 being, if anything, slightly more noticable. Someone has mentioned that rings are availalble with a small st…

Hi all i'm at the stage where the cars running fine and its all down to body panels and the last niggly bits of which the throttle cable is one of them, the engine is a 2.0 pinto carb with leccy auto choke and the cable has nylon ends which iv'e looked at and i dont think its gonna be possible to shorten is there a shorter cable? because the original is long enough to circle the 2B engine bay twice (well maybe not that long:) ) Many thanks

Hi Guys Can any Pinto flywheel be used on the 2L block I need to source a replacement as mine knackered do any of you have one you would like to part with. Cheers Dave

Thanks to you all for previous help on the valve clearances which are now a little quieter, the problem with the rough running was that the ignition timing had somehow slipped about 25 degrees out. However I still have this steadily worsening problem that is exhibited as follows; After a completely cold start she runs ok for about a minute then starts to die. So far I have checked auto choke settings (ok) in fact altering the choke flaps during the problem has no effect what so ever, so the cause is not over or under choking. Also checked the phasing and fast idle, float heights. Replaced the leads plugs & crankcase breather valve. (this is a '82 based engine with …

In my engine bay I have the following items that need plumbing together - radiator, carb and water pump. No heater as no windscreen. Does anyone have a picture/diagram of how these connect? Do I use the little outlet on the water pump to feed the carb? Which side of the carb? Where does it feed back in? Sorry for all of the questions. I should have made more notes when stripping the donor! Cheers Paul S Usowicz P.S. Car is a Sub-K (1.8 carb, Robin Hood rad).

I have got a new (to me anyway) 2.0 litre sat in my garage but due to work I haven't been able to touch it for a couple of weeks however today was the day I set about stripping it down. All was going swimmingly until I started removing the head all but one bolt wouldn't free up (number three in the haynes manaul). In fact it was that tight that I ended up stripping the splines off the head from the Torx bolt Not a problem I thought I'll drill the head off the bolt, remove the head and then attack it. So of I went to drill a pilot hole for the bigger drill then *snap* the pilot drill broke. Not only did it snap once it snapped twice. Leaving about a 5mm leng…

I've been very generously donated a 2litre pinto block (205) by a good friend on fime (Thanks Spike). I've already spent some time cleaning up the bottom end but as the sump will be coming off for modification I want to give the bottom end a basic overhaul. What is the easiest thing to do (don't want to take it all apart and redo, just check it etc. as I'm still on a tight budget). Also I've got a 2lt head which I've been working on but I need a new cam - best place to get it from?

What's the correct direction of flow on a fuel filter? ...from the diagram, is it A to B, or B to A?