Boxer Major In A Not So Mega Garage

After 7 years and 7K miles since it's previous engine out major, my BBI 40565 is now in my urban, but not so mega garage getting ready for a fresh major. With this presented some challenges that I needed to overcome. My garage is small, but has a 12' high ceiling. The garage does have a 4 post, 7000# Bend-Pak storage lift with full double row chain which I am taking full advantage of. So what was the issue?
Where to store the rear clam shell while the engine is being removed so it's out of the way and doesn't get damaged.
I screwed in (4) 7/16"x5" eye bolts in the 2"x12" ceiling rafters. Using 500# nylon straps (with backup's for the un-thinkable), supporting the lid's bottom frame, the clamshell remains suspended in the ceiling when lowering the car on the lift. I am about at the half way mark now prepping for engine removal. I still have the headers, axle half shafts, alternators, A/C compressor, starter cable, engine mount bolts and coolant hoses to remove. I will be using the lift's 2"x5"x1/4" steel channel cross beam as a crane for engine removal. I'll post pictures as I proceed.

Dave
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Crikey David that looks tight, I guess you have enough room for the motor behind the car when its out? Look forward to the pics.
Steve

 

Thanks for posting your adventure.
I was considering doing my own major but cant commit the time.

 

The hardest part is the headers from what I have heard, good luck an thanks for documenting this

 

Excellent dave, my garage is tight too but I manage. Keep the pics coming please. Is this a basic engine out service or are you making improvements for the concours in toronto next summer?

P.

 

A good productive day.
All headers are removed. It went far better than I expected. The hardware was in good shape so all retaining nuts came off without problems. They can be a bit difficult to get too but removing the fiberglass inner wheel well panels helps with gaining access to the outer nuts. The headers are one of the things I want to clean up while out. Anyone know what the original finish was? Silver? I may look into ceramic coat.

Also removed the Dinoplex and the left alternator. Note the left tensioner bearing in the last picture. Not sure I like the looks of it.

The maximum height floor to under the lifts cross beam is 7' (72"). I figure I need a full 6' (60"). The height of the engine plus the height of the support beam just under the air intakes to the floor. This does not take in account for any spring decompression when the engine is raised. I have less than 12" to play with so it's going to be tight. I'll have a couple of roller jacks on stand-by just in case I need to remove the rear wheels and lower the car.

I also had a chance to cut up some 409 stainless steel tubing for the aftermarket Borla/Vibrant exhaust system project. I was able to assemble two of the four resonators with flanges. They are now ready for welding. You can see one of them laying on the lift's cross beam below.

The task list for the major will be timing belts and tensioner bearings of course, cam shaft seals and o-rings, valve clearance adustment, water pump rebuild, any coolant hoses I haven't already replaced, A/C compressor clutch bearing (while I have it off), A/C receiver/dryer, check the clutch plates for wear. The pressure plate shims are still in place so that's a good sign. I am debating over replacing the front main seal but it's probably a good idea while the engine is out. Refinish the headers, and a good cleanup in the engine bay. I replaced the differential oil seals, CV boots, and the ignition distributor/alternators were rebuilt last year.

Next.... axle half shaft removal.

Dave
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A note; ceramic coating the headers makes sense for durability but can cost points or fractions at tough concours events.
You all probably know this but it bears repeating.
I've seen it done to a Boxer system in a bronzish color. Looks great.

 

That's my concern about ceramic coating the headers. Do you know how they were originally finished, or if they were even finished with any coating from the factory?
Dave

 

the 365 headers were white so ill recoat mine that colour since thats what my car has. I would think they werent bare.

 

Hi Compliements to your work,are you a mechanic? Or just working on your own car for a hobby?
7 years 7000 miles is very low ,you will not have many issues if you turned your car on often in this time period.
Remember to Check brakes and break lines.Check all your hoses these are the ones that usually go first.

 

Dave, post pics of your belts, close-ups of the teeth so we can put some myth to rest. Also hold the bearing in your hand and feel the smoothness of the bearing since the look of the steel wheel doesnt mean anything if its still smooth to the touch. My 308 bearings lasted around 18 years and still feel fine (yes I changed them anyway). If you're looking at doing the front seal look closely at the cam belt drive seals as well. Replacing them (and the drive bearings) is a bit of a PITA, consider them too while its out since it might be another 7+ years before you're in there again, it would suck to spring a leak that requires an engine out again in 2 years.

 

My uncle hung his 450SL hardtop roof that way for years......

I think Jet Hot would be the way to go if you can nail the color, I think Frank Parker used silver but Newman is right all the BBLMs I have ever seen were white like the F1 tubing of the day??????

If it saves the tubing I wouldn't care about a 'point'; now or then........

 

Had a couple of hours this evening to remove the half shafts. I removed them last year to replace the CV boots, and differential oil seals, so the hardware wasn't frozen. If they haven't been removed in some time a good soaking of the outer joint retaining nuts with PB Blaster would be a good idea. If I didn't need to move the car from this point forward, only the inner joints would require removal.

I found using a flat blade stubby screwdriver with a thin blade was handy for bending the lock tabs to access the bolt heads. Using a 17mm socket and various extensions with a breaker bar for the inner joint and a 8mm hex socket for the outer, I was able to remove all bolts without having to rotate the rear wheels. Both shafts can be fully removed without having to disassemble any other components. Simply tilt the shaft up & out. Both shafts are now labeled left & right for reassembly orentation, and the backs of the CV joints are covered to prevent contamination.

A good way to end a bad day at the office.

Dave
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Dave,

Keep those pictures coming! It's great that you are doing the work yourself.

I'm curious to see/hear how your custom exhaust turns out too.

 

Thanks Gary.
I was hoping to have a local exhaust shop cut & weld the resonators a couple of weeks ago before I started the major, but his welder fell ill so it didn't happen as quickly as I would have liked.
Dave

 

Took the day off from the office today. It was a great mild fall day to take care of Boxer business. I had a few minor parts to remove first while the car was still on the lift. While there I double checked to make sure everything was disconnected and ready to lift the engine out. The suspense was killing me. Will the lift's cross beam provide enough clearance to clear the back of the car when the springs decompress?

Using a cable pull, I let the car down off the lift ramps, then removed the ramps. The front cross beam was raised to it's highest setting and locked. The car was then backed into the garage using the cable pull, and positioned so the rear cross beam was just rear of the engine's center. Towels were placed on top of the plentums to protect the paint from chain rash. I had removed the starter, so one end of the chain was bolted through the center starter bolt hole with a spare 8mm bolt, washer & nut. The other chain end was mounted with a 10mm bolt in one of the A/C compressor bracket holes. The chain was drawn together over the lift cross beam in the center with a bolt, washers and a nut to prevent the engine from becoming unbalanced once elevated. With the front of the engine lower to provide more front to back clearance, the engine lifted out without any issues.
With clearance to spare, the car could now be moved forward to lower the engine. I set the engine on a high capacity flat bed hand truck for mobility in my shop. After having the engine out of the way, I reinstalled the lift ramps and again using the cable pull, the car was returned to the lift and stored less engine.

I was able to do this operation solo without any assistance. The lift and cable pull did all the heavy work. I was confident my lift was structurally capable to handle this job. The cross beams are very strong and didn't flinch with the weight of the engine in the center of the beam. The vertical beams are also shelled to the floor. If you attempt to do this, make sure the lift you are using will safely handle the load.

Tomorrow's job will be to clean up the shop & tools. I'll take a couple of days break and continue.

Dave
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Got a chance to remove the timing belt covers today and have a look. So far there is no evidence of abnormal belt wear or signs of a disaster waiting to happen, but then again I haven't removed the tensioner bearings for inspection yet. I'll post this later on. See the close up pictures of the timing belts below, and make your comments. This is a preventative maintenance procedure so I am glad it's early rather than too late.

The engine is resting comfortably on an industrial flatbed hand truck and today I transfered it to the back of the shop. I made a make shift drip pan to catch any oil when I remove the cam covers for the valve clearance check/adjust. I also shored up the engine and truck with wood blocks just in case one of the tires explodes!

The BBI looks heartless without the flat 12.

Next... The valve clearance check.

Dave
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Hi Dave,

I'm a potential Boxer or 512TR owner and I've been following this thread with great interest. This looks like a pretty ambitious project (especially in that narrow garage...yikes!) but it's encouraging that a major CAN be done by an owner/enthusiast in his own garage, rather than having to have it performed at a shop. No one takes care of the "little things" in a project like this than the car's owner himself.

How much time is involved in the engine removal? Do you happen to know if it's any easier/more difficult in a 512TR? Also, have you considered doing any mods while you're in there, such as cams, removal of emissions plumbing, etc.? (I assume since you're in IL the car is now exempt from smog testing due to its age....25 years, right?)

BTW...I'm originally from the western Chicago suburbs; grew up in Joliet (a good place "to be from".) Still miss the midwest though.

Good luck with the project!

Larry

 

Judging by the rear bumper mounts the car isnt DOT converted so it has no smog stuff to take off. Great work Dave, how carrried away are you going to get? Will you strip the engine down to the basic unit and have the hardware plated? The belts look great, nothing looks bad really.

 

Paul,
The DOT was performed on this car by Europe A La Carte in Beverly Hills but a previous owner had it converted back less the marker lights and door beams. All emission components are also removed. Since it is 25 years old it qualifies for antique registration. I will be doing a full major and clean up of the engine bay. The plan is to have some of the lower engine hardware replated. No mod's. I like this car stock.

Larry,
Hopefully you have learned from other F-Chat posters as I have. It's a really great resource. The 512TR engine/gearbox & suspension is removed as a sub-assembly and is probably less time consuming than removing a Boxer engine. But the TR has double the amount of valves to check/adjust as well!


Valve Timing/Clearance Inspection

Did the preliminary valve clearance check today. Removed the ignition distributor seal retainer, all the acorn nuts and wave washers, loosened the hose clamps on the oil return hoses and with a small rap from a rubber mallet, the cam covers were off. As with any open engine or gearbox, take the precautions necessary to keep the internals clean, and free of any foreign matter.
For my own curiosity I wanted to check the current valve timing. Set the flywheel pointer on PM1 6 and all pointers are dead on.

Ferrari spec's the following valve clearance/tolerance:
Intake: .008" - .010"
Exhaust: .012" - .014"
Using a feeler gage I measured:


512BBI Ser 40565 All Readings- Cold Engine

Cyl 1-6 (Right Bank)
Intake Exhaust
1 .009" .012"
2 .009" .012"
3 .009" .013"
4 .009" .014"
5 .007" .012"
6 .008" .014"

Cyl 7-12 (Left Bank)
Intake Exhaust
7 .008" .012"
8 .010" .012"
9 .009" .013"
10 .010" .013"
11 .010" .012"
12 .008" .011"


2 valves are .001" below low limit, and 9 are at low limit. Once the timing belt tensioners are released, and the belts and bearings are removed, I will remove the camshafts for seal replacement. While there, I'll measure (or if their original ID is legible) the shim pads under the valves that are either below low limit or now at low limit to determine the thickness of the pads required to restore at least near high limit. Returned the flywheel pointer to PM1 6 with all pointers aligned. The cam covers were remounted temporarily to prevent the entry of contamination.

Next..... Belts & Tensioner Bearings

Dave
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Thanks for clarifying the DOT stuff. Since there seems to be quite a variation between conversions, I would guess the rear bumper tube was not updated then undone as its welded in and it would be a major undertaking to make it look 100% stock again.

One favour Dave, can you measure the lift of your cams please so I can compare them to the 365BB cams I have sitting on the shelf? I cant find lift (or duration) specs on the injected cams so measuring the lift would be a great help. A nice up close side shot of the lobe would also be helpful. I measured .350" on the 365BB exhaust cam, im hoping the difference is significant.

Thanks and keep the pics coming.


P.

 

Paul,
Yes, I can take a measurement for you in a few days, and a few cam lobe pictures as well.

Dave

 

Great job, Dave! And most interesting to read and see the pics!
Keep up the good work, John

 

Paul,
As you requested below:
"One favour Dave, can you measure the lift of your cams please so I can compare them to the 365BB cams I have sitting on the shelf? I cant find lift (or duration) specs on the injected cams so measuring the lift would be a great help. A nice up close side shot of the lobe would also be helpful. I measured .350" on the 365BB exhaust cam, im hoping the difference is significant."

Exhaust cam lift measures .317"
See pictures below. My camera has a tough time with black surfaces. I may try some in the daylight. I'll post them if I can improve the images.
Dave
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Flywheel pointer on PM 1 6 with cam marks alligned.

Removed cylinder 7-12 left bank tensioner bearing, timing belt, camshafts, and camshaft seals. In order to disassemble the tensioner assembly, the water pump's discharge hose needs to be removed. Since the water pump will be rebuilt I also removed the pump volute exposing the impeller. Once the belt was removed I went ahead and removed the camshafts. Each cap is marked but I like to keep them in order anyway. All nuts and washers are accounted for and bagged. The exhaust tappets tend to fall but stop not fall from their bores.

The shim pads can be removed from the tappets easily, but carefully with a jewelers screwdriver or blown out using compressed air. The tappets are removed one at a time, and placed back into their matching bores. Extra care must be taken when handling the tappets not to damage their machined surfaces. I checked the shim pads for thickness. Most are marked in mm. Those I could not read were measured with a micrometer. I now have the correct measurements needed to order shim pads for cyl 7-12.

The tensioner bearing looks and feels good. No rough spots, or play between the races. Apparently it is a replaceable bearing type fitted with double SKF 617546A/HT22 sealed bearings.

The cam covers were again loosely fitted to prevent contamination.

Dave
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