Conaero's Spider Rebuild

drewf said:

That's the bit that needs changing... Huge tyre wear at that setting.

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Take it to Emblem thats what I am doing I know their setting wears even in the fronts.

Ok it cost £200 but you get that back in the first set of evenly wearing fronts.

Conaero said:

Take it to Emblem thats what I am doing I know their setting wears even in the fronts.

Ok it cost £200 but you get that back in the first set of evenly wearing fronts.

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Exactly - I think all the indies are backing that toe setting off, as far as I can tell from comments about Emblem, AutoShield and Shiltech.

Probably taking some of the camber out too drew by adding shims to the upper whishbones.

Those are supposed to be the settings used by such as Autoshield for the GS and MCV, who am I to know any different, I am a mere human..??

Well, its on the ramp finally. Let the surgery commence!





I had a quick look underneath and here is what I found:

Oil cooler and pipes in tact but been pulled
Front engine mount is ripped off the block and the aircon pump casting is broken where it bolts to the mount
Front manifold cat is squashed and the flexipipe is also bent
OS inner gaiter ripped
OS upper engine stabiliser bent
No brakes but I have clutch hydraulics (same circuit) no obvious signs of leakage I think the engine may have hit the master cylinder
Subframe looks ok though
Sump has a finger size hole in it but we knew about that already
Radiator support lower has been pushed and moved the bonnet and bent the OS hinge, will replace both
Water radiator is bent but I have a new one for £40
Aircon still works so I am going to straighten the rad

Need to get the engine out to see the rest but no horror stories. One concern is that when I dropped the oil it had water in it, came out like coffee. The header tank is in the middle of the min and max. Strangley the new oil I put in that 2.5L of which has dripped out the hole I temp repaired in the sump was clean of water, so that one is a bit of a head scratcher?

I am hoping water has just got in or condensation from being sat outside for the past 6 months.

I missed this Matt when I was offline for a couple of months but congratulations on your purchase, I know that you had been looking for one of these rare beasts for some time. Good luck with the rebuild and no doubt it will be as good as new when you're done

What ramp do you use in your garage Matt? I've been looking for one that would fit/suit home use with garage doors similar to yours. Be good to know. Thanks, Al

That's it Almichie http://www.sportsmaserati.com/showthread.php/7577-Early-Xmas-prezzie?highlight=early+xmas

Is a failed oil cooler not a way in for the water to mix with the oil? Mine was also like coffee, but it's head gasket problems with mine.

I am tempted to fill it back up with oil again, run it for an hour, drop the oil again and see if water is still present....keeping an eye on the coolant level of course.

Are you sure you want to do that? If there is water in the oil it will damage the bearings and you never know, they may still be good. I am no engine expert at all, in fact far from it, but before running the engine anymore - I would do a proper leak down test. That way to can see the health of the engine before you start to fiddle with it. It would give you great peace of mind once you had had the sump removed and crank checked. As you say it may just be condensation, but if you know the water jacket, head gasket, piston rings, piston crowns and valves are all ok and the crank then turns out to be ok - I would have thought you would have a fighting chance that the whole thing is good. Seeing as you can do it with the engine not running, it would be the first thing I would do. There is no point in changing all of the belts and bearings if the impact caused some minor internal damage that would not show up with this simple test. Would you not agree?

Only trying to be helpful.

I appreciate your advise.

The oil only had a very small amount of water present.

I have already refilled with new oil ready to test again tomorrow prior to engine removal and strip down. I simply want to see if the header tank level moves at all and any more signs of water transferring into the oil.

I've built quite a few of these old engines in the past...if the chain to the oil pump drive hasn't failed you should be ok
They don't normally suffer from head gasket failure either..

Just crack it up!

Dave

Well, ran it for half an hour on Wednesday and I am pleased to report that no water was found in the oil nor did the expansion tank drop or any water out of the exhaust.

Engine is mostly disconnected ready for dropping, just having stress with a heavily rusted exhaust and just have the subframe to remove and we should have engine droppage!

Just don't literally drop it!! Don't forget the pics

Yes!!!!!!

Excellent! Good to see how much height is required to drop it as I've yet to do mine when I get the time and space.
Question though, if no water in oil this time, how did it mix last time?

Looking good Matt, hats off to you mate..!!

allandwf said:

Excellent! Good to see how much height is required to drop it as I've yet to do mine when I get the time and space.
Question though, if no water in oil this time, how did it mix last time?

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There is a hole in the sump you can get your finger in and the oil cooler is smashed. Heads will be taken off, skimmed an replaced just to make sure.

It was delivered to me in driving rain after spending 8hrs on a low loader where I think it got blown in.