The Restoration starts!- '80 Eagle Turbo Diesel

[rollguy]

I am guessing that harness should be the same as found in gasoline versions.

I would agree.  I think the only wires that were changed are inside the engine compartment.  There are some added inside, but they are just plugged into the fuse panel.

[rollguy]

I did some more work on the engine today.   I checked the compression, and only one cylinder was lower (250#) than the rest (300#+).  I decided to just pull all 6 heads and do them all.  I will have the valves ground, the heads pressure checked, and new gaskets etc. Here is a photo of the rocker boxes  (well 5 anyway) and intake manifold removed:

Here is a photo of the heads removed:

Here is a photo of the heads and bolts off of the engine:


My next task is to find head gaskets.  I have tried a few sources, but no luck.  I have a post on the VM Diesel group (yahoo) and only one lead so far.
I would like to polish the rocker boxes and intake manifold before installing them as well.

[IowaEagle]

I hope the gaskets are readily available, somewhere.

[rollguy]

I hope the gaskets are readily available, somewhere.

Me too!   Not having the gaskets (or taking a month to get them) will prevent me from making the meet in Sept.  I also need to get my van running as well (tow and camping vehicle), but I may be able to borrow my brothers truck if I don't. 

[IowaEagle]

Getting there without an Eagle is OK too.

[j2sax]

That's good to know... I was thinking of borrowing my son's 88 Wagon, but that's a lot of miles when I have a '10 Taurus the company buys gas for!  I am going to be in Cordova with my AMX the weekend, before, so I don't know if I want to bring it up all that way two weekends in a row. 

Hope we can see that cool Diesel Wagon there!

[rollguy]

I found a head gasket kit on the famous auction site.  It should be here in a week or so.  I cleaned up the heads a bit and ran a stone across the surface, seems pretty flat.  I had my friend (a cyl head expert) look at them and check for flatness, and he said they look good. He said I can glue a piece of wet/dry sandpaper on a piece of granite that he gave me, and clean up the surface a little better.  He could not machine the heads because of the steel pre-chamber and that they would need to be ground.
Here is a photo of the cleaned heads:

I found the problem with No.6-  leaking compression into cooling system, and into the air:


I checked for leaking valves by pouring lacquer thinner in the combustion chambers:

[IowaEagle]

Its amazing what is for sale/auction.  Was the set from a private party or one of their member stores that actually have some sets?  I am sure you are relieved.

[rollguy]

Its amazing what is for sale/auction.  Was the set from a private party or one of their member stores that actually have some sets?  I am sure you are relieved.

It was from a Diesel engine supplier that stocked parts for many brands of engines.   The set was the only one he had, and it was for a 6 cyl (most suppliers only stock the more popular 4 cyl parts).  Even at $120. + shipping, it was a good deal.   

[83Eagle!]

Its amazing what is for sale/auction.  Was the set from a private party or one of their member stores that actually have some sets?  I am sure you are relieved.

It was from a Diesel engine supplier that stocked parts for many brands of engines.   The set was the only one he had, and it was for a 6 cyl (most suppliers only stock the more popular 4 cyl parts).  Even at $120. + shipping, it was a good deal.  

I am glad you found some gaskets.  That is great.  I have spent the last few minutes rereading this thread to see what I have missed.  Hope to see you in September.

[rollguy]

I did some head resurfacing today.  I got a piece of granite (sink hole cut-out), and glued on a piece of 320 grit wet-dry sandpaper

I then sprayed on W-D 40

I used a circular motion with the head flat on the sandpaper

Photo of 3 heads:  Left needs sanding, Center almost finished, Right: finished product!


It took about a half hour to do each head.  I had to replace the sandpaper for each head.

[IowaEagle]

Those turned out very nice.

[68AMXGOPAC]

Wow that is an excellent tip on using the granite / paper combo.Looks like some progress man, way c00l.Egg 2U.

[rollguy]

Wow that is an excellent tip on using the granite / paper combo.Looks like some progress man, way c00l.Egg 2U.

Thanks for egging me.  I got the how-to from a motorcycle guy (probably the best machinist on the planet IMO).  He does motorcycle heads this way.
Got the other 3 heads done this evening.  Now I need to surface the block deck, and wait for the gaskets to arrive.

[rollguy]

The gaskets arrived, and I finished surfacing all 6 heads:

The block deck (with gaskets) ready for the heads:

3 heads installed:


I will take a photo of all the heads and manifolds installed tomorrow (got dark).  I got a new hose made today, will post a photo as well tomorrow.