Boxer engine out...

Took all the parts in to airborn coatings yesterday. They are going t oceramic coat/polish the exhaust manifolds, recoat the cam covers, inlet pipes, inlet manifolds, plenums, and belt covers. All the aother parts, including the block and heads I will refinesh here.
Currently stripping the heads after the shocking leak down test, new valves going in, but need to check springs etc for wear and sag after 21 years...especially as the new SS valves will be a little heavier....want it to still sing up to the red line.
I did find quiet a few nuts on the inlet manifolds/plenums that were just loose...quiet believable that it may have been leaking air. Also injectors were very difficult to remove, both seals were very hard and had to be hammered out, although the injectors rotated freely in the mount.
The slight 'ticking' noise from the engine at about 3,000 rpm, throttle dependent, I think was down to two exhaust ports on the 7-12 bank leaking slightly, and not valve clearance as I wa sexpecting.
Got a lot more cleaning, and rewiring, to do in the engine bay, then I can get to the fun part...putting it all back together: Can't wait to use it again!
Robert

 

Hi Guys, sorry for the 'quiet' period.
I've been cleaning, and cleaning some more. The engine bay is now done, and I've started on redoing some wiring, in particular the dinoplex was changed to an MSD6T, and the wiring was done by an incompetant, so I've completely redone it with soldered connections and adhesive lined heat shrink, with new 6 pin connector. I've also started replacing all pipes and hoses that look in the slightest bit 'old'.
The pistons/block have cleaned up well, I have ordered new nuts for most places, and have engine paint comming this week.
I removed the rear diff. casting to sort out all the black sealer that had been added...again, some incompetant had added it. The surfaces will be cleaned and levelled then reassembled properly. There are two nuts behind the clutch that hold the block to the trans...these were loose! You would not believe the number of loose nuts I've found...more incompetance!
Clutch is back with new kevlar surfaces and ground plates. Looks good.
I removed the oil tank to clean and found the paint flaking off, so removed it all and intend putting it back in it's natural polished state.
Also, and I know this will cause upset amongst the faithfull, I am having the inlet manifolds, belt coveres, etc all painted textured silver, and the cam covers and plenums painted textured black....both will have the Ferrari logos left natural. I just thought it would look good like that....time will tell!
I've orderd new SS valves which I'm having faces and seats cut to match...should make a noticable difference to performance looking at the leak down test!
Robert
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Hi Ron,

Not always. However, I don't subscribe to the idea of buying 'Ferrari' parts when they were never made by Ferrari in the first place, and feel, when picked properly, aftermarket parts will perform better. Materials, in particular, have come a long way in the last 20 years.

The valves for the boxer: I was quoted about $50-60 each..but they didn't have any, so bought generic SS at $13 each...where do you think the 'Ferrari' valves come from? Someone has only ground the generics to size: I'd rather do it myself so they match the seats perfectly.

I do have a list of parts I need, but the internet is an excellent source. The exhaust nuts were getting old, but I found some VW machined brass nuts the same size, but to fit an 11mm socket. Brass is much nicer to use than steel (even copper plated!) and these, being longer and 11mm will be much easier to get to with the 1/4" drive. (The exhaust removal was the most difficult job..pity Enzo didn't bolt on the rearmost cross brace under the engine, then the engine would have come out with exhaust attached....I've even been tempted to modify it)

Obviously, some parts are Ferrari and must be purchased as such.

Does this answer your question?

Robert

 

Got the parts back from AirBorn coatings in OKC. Very pleased with the service.

The valves were a mess: Specified clearance between stem and guid is 1-2 thou, mine were all around 65 thou! They rattled! I'm contacting the previous owner trying to work out what has happened. Everything else is perfest, including all the cam bearings, buckets, pistons, rings bores (even to the extent of zero on the leak down tests!). The valves are not standard (SS have been used) and I think they were just not the right stem size. I cannot believe that wear of that order is possible with everything else perfect. Again, I'm suspecting incompetance yet again.

The good news is that it's easy to repair: with new guides and valves being fitted now, I look forward to driving it with it's renewed power and sound. I'm guessing it could easily have been 30% down on power. Very sad!

A few pics attached of the paint. (actually, won't let me attach pics)

Robert

 

Guys, the stem to guide clearance was 65 thou.....thats 0.065" not 0.0065". My workshop book quotes clearances from 0.0009" to 0.002" with a 0.004" max. these are 15 times as big! The valves litterally wobbled from side to side!

I am really glad I did the leak down tests which highlighted the problem. When I removed the valves, it was 50/50 chance whether the valve seated properly or not.

The weird part is that the cam bearings and followers are 'perfect', beautifully bedded in with no wear. Same goes for the pistons/rings and bores, I even got 0% leak down when the valves shut properly. I have no idea why the valves are like they are, but as I said they are not the production sodium valves, but aftermarket SS jobs, I can only think they were too small when they were put in. I have ordered a set of Manley valves, hard chrome plated, necked and lightened which I think will work well. We're removing the old guides tomorrow, and new ones will be fitted next week.

I have attached the pics I couldn't get loaded yesterday. Note I did the plenums black rather than silver, and with the 'Ferrari' brushed, think they look excellent.
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Oh, the insides of the cam covers had a 'glyptal' coating that was begining to flake off...( warning! I should hate to think what that might do if it got stuck in an oil passage! worth checking if you have the covers off) Anyway, I had it all removed and teflon coating applied in its place.

Robert

 

Thanks for the kind words Jeff.
I have no intention of making the car concours; The idea is for it to be driven as Enzo intended for (hopefully) the next 6-8 years without problems. Consequently, a lot of the parts I have meticulously cleaned and will go back if they are in perfect order (alternators, water pump, oil pumps etc). However, where something will benefit from renewal, it will be replaced.
All the bolts/nuts and especialy lock washers are being replaced...I've bought the correct spec bolts (off the net)...about $75 for everything, including new stainles cap nuts. This does not include splitting the crankcase because this is perfect and beautifully bedded in. All hoses will be replaced, and the a/c is being rebuilt whilst it's disconnected (I still need an a/c drier).
I don't see any point in having a car like the Boxer if you have to feel worried every time you start it up: the Boxer engine is very lightly rated (68 bhp/litre is nothing for Ford, let alone Ferrari), and the cars are very well put together, just need a good, regular thrash! Leaving them idle does so much more harm!
I just wish I could understand why the valves are like they are, but need to put it behind me, get them perfect, and move on, lol.
Robert

 

Hi Guys,

The fuel injectors on my boxer are marked 0473 502 023 (014), which appears to be a valid part No. However, the last 2 digits prior to the (014) have been ground off on every injector: does anyone know why? Have these been recalibrated? they are all the same. I am looking ot buy new ones, and have been told thay have been superseeded with part No. 0473 502 047, can anyone confirm this?

I can;t help feeling the different No's might indicate different operating pressures or flows...last thing I need is to be trying to tune the engine with the wrong injectors.

Robert