engine and drivetrain Im new!and I have so many questions my head is spinning PICS

[Loweredclass49]

Hi fellas. My name is Eric. I am from Santa Cruz Ca. I just bought a Sahara 1970 02. It has most of the right upgrades already done which I am very excited about. 245 trans, bilsteins, h&r's, weber DGAS, Header, Magnaflow exhaust, Recaros which i'd love to replace with stock seats, E21 radiator with electric fan, and im sure more stuff that I am forgetting.

It runs well but the head gasket is leaking and it burns oil pretty bad. smells terrible when I drive i feel bad for the other drivers.

I am a Mechanic at Stevens Creek Audi and have been around cars since the diaper days. I have owned and built many vintage cars mostly american.

So to start it all off I am in the descision making stage of what to do with the 200k mile engine. with a very tight budget. my first thought is to pull the head and have it gone through. check the cylinders for wear and hone and rering. I dont have a budget for a full rebuild at the moment.

Or do I and can I yank a later 318 or 320 m10 and throw my carby stuff on it till i can afford to proceed with the F.I. stuff????

This is my daily driver that has to be reliable and fuel efficient over Hiway 17 every day.

Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.

[Loweredclass49]

I will post a pic or two as soon as I can figure out how to do this. I was good at it on other hotrod boards but I cant for the life of me figure this one out.

just imagine a really awesome car and mine looks like that but with faded paint and some primer spots......

[2thosd2]

Audi SC? Im down the street at Porsche parts dept! Congrats on the sahara. Looking forward to those pics.

My Gasket blew least year and compression leaked from one cylinder to the other. I know the feeling. I had the head machined&cleaned for as i recall, $180.

[Kpeters]

Probably the best and cheapest way to do it is getting another M10 out of an E21 that's got good compression on it and use you carb setup. I wouldn't get into CIS at all! Avoid!

If you need any helps quoting parts for a rebuild let me know, maybe you can just change rings, bearings, seals and re-seat the valves.

Konrad.

[cj]

Nice to see you on the boards Erik. If she doesn't blow blue smoke when you're accelerating, I'd pull the head and get the guides and seals done.

Nick, your dad is Tom, right?

[Loweredclass49]

Hahaha Nick so what your saying is that we are both using Penske computers to communicate over this board on company time =)

Thanks guys!

[Loweredclass49]

And yeah she does blow blue smoke on accel. bummer...... thus the concern on what to do. a head is quick and cheap pistons on the other hand are not.

[Kpeters]

And yeah she does blow blue smoke on accel. bummer...... thus the concern on what to do. a head is quick and cheap pistons on the other hand are not.

Maybe you just need to change the rings not the pistons.

[Loweredclass49]

True! but I was informed that the PO did a re ring at 100k so unless I still have some meat left in there pistons may be needed. I also have a knocking when its cold. kinda sounds like piston slap . thats me being hopeful. more likely its a light rod knock.

[Loweredclass49]

True! but I was informed that the PO did a re ring at 100k so unless I still have some meat left in there pistons may be needed. I also have a knocking when its cold. kinda sounds like piston slap . thats me being hopeful. more likely its a light rod knock.

[Loweredclass49]

Cris im jonesing for a ride in that car of yours. it was nice meeting you and getting to talk a bit.

[Kpeters]

True! but I was informed that the PO did a re ring at 100k so unless I still have some meat left in there pistons may be needed. I also have a knocking when its cold. kinda sounds like piston slap . thats me being hopeful. more likely its a light rod knock.

I've had a piston slap on my E21 2.7 build since 2007. I say piston slap cause it's the only thing I can think off knocks when cold and stops when warm.

Rod knock usually gets worse when hot and under load.

[TobyB]

smells terrible when I drive

If it smells bad on the INSIDE, then you've probably got the classic leaking

head stud problem.

If it's been sitting for a while, drive it. The engines DO like to be driven, and

it'll settld down a bit. Also, 20-50 is not too thick- and it helps with smoke.

I think you ought to drive it as it is for a while and get to see if you love it.

If you do, rebuilding an M10 is easy, if pricey- a piston set's in the $500 range.

The other parts aren't SO bad, but they do add up- you're probably

looking at nearly $4000 in parts and machining to completely do one.

Used M10's around here tend to be used up- if you get a deal, cool, but a

junkyard engine probably won't be much better than what you have.

But an M42 swap... well, THAT might be fun... an M20... hmmm...

so get familiar with what's in there, and if you don't love it, start browsing the swap blogs.

t

[allbim]

Don't go back to stock seats, they are uncomfortable and have no side support. What's wrong with E21 Recaros?

[c.d.iesel]

yea - change the oil - a few times - drive - save your money

till you can afford anything deep

if you work in a shop - then diagnose it properly

Cylinder Leak test

Compression test

Oil Pressure test

Cooling System pressure test

dont change the seats