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Pinto Engine Maintenance
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Pinto Engine
Maintenance
To start with, the pinto
engine needs to be in
good working order; if
this is not the case,
then this is your first
objective. After this
you can start using it
and maintaining it.
The first part of
establishing if you have
a pinto worth
maintaining is to
perform a compression
test. This will tell you
how healthy your engine
really is deeeeeep....
inside. It's a simple
operation which when
read carefully can shed
light on many problems -
if there are any - like
worn piston rings, worn
pistons, blown gaskets
(...ouch!), leaking
valves, holes in
pistons, cracks in the
block etc. if any of
these are existing then
the pressure reading
will be low, or lower
than specified, and the
engine will likely
require a major
overhaul. If cylinder
pressure is good on all
cylinders then you have
a beautiful white canvas
to paint on...!
Your pinto engine
maintenance is as
follows:
1. Use decent quality,
free-flowing and clean
air filter/s
2. Replenish engine oil
and oil filter regularly
3. Inspect all
spark-plugs in
regular intervals to
ascertain combustion
efficiency. There should
be a light brown coating
on the spark plug were
it protrudes in the
combustion chamber. Your
Haynes manual will give
you information on what
might be wrong if the
spark-plugs differ from
the description above;
such as black sooty
deposits, oil
contamination etc.
4. Contact breaker
points. The
points within the
distributor must be
renewed regularly to
ensure a good spark is
provided to the rest of
the ignition system.
Unscrew and disconnect
the old set of points,
replace with a new set,
and with your feeler
gauges adjust the gap as
specified in your Haynes
manual, then tighten the
screws. A stroboscopic
timing light comes in
handy here - your Haynes
manual will show you how
to time and set the
ignition using this
marvellous instrument!.
5. Ignition
leads/HT leads.
These must be of good
quality and again,
renewed frequently, i.e.
once a year
6. Valve
Clearance. The
pinto is notorious for a
noisy valvetrain; this
is exacerbated when
there is an excessive
gap between the valves
and the rocker arm. This
also leads to premature
wear of these
components. To cure this
you must re-adjust this
gap and set it to the
manufacturers
specifications - this is
done when the engine is
cool.
Checking and
re-adjusting the valve
clearances, involves
locating the crankshaft
in 2 separate positions
in angle degrees; first
rotate the crankshaft
clockwise until cylinder
no.1 (front of engine)
is at top dead centre (TDC)
which allows for
checking and
re-adjusting of 4
valves, and then,
rotating the crankshaft
clockwise for exactly
another half revolution,
until cylinder no.4 is
at top dead centre which
allows for checking and
re-adjusting for the
remaining 4 valves.
Removing all 4 spark
plugs during this
operation makes turning
the crankshaft much
smoother. To turn the
crankshaft use a
socket-wrench on the
bolt that retains the
crankshaft pulley.
Remember to turn
clockwise (looking at
the engine from the
front).
7. Coolant/water.
Keep the coolant
toped-up with a mixture
of anti-freeze and
water. 50% - 50% is
good, though it all
depends in the climate
were you live in. The
anti-freeze is added to
the water to prevent it
from freezing in cold
weather. The colder the
climate , the more
anti-freeze required.
The thermostat and
radiator cap must both
be in good working
order. a) The thermostat
must open fully when the
coolant in the cylinder
head reaches specified
temperature; and must
close fully when coolant
in the cylinder head
drops to the specified
temperature, so as to
keep the engine in, and
around the correct
operating temperature.
b) the radiator cap has
a pressure valve built
in it; as pressure rises
in the radiator, the
valve starts to open and
releases steam/coolant
through a hose and in to
the expansion tank.
You must occasionally
check that these two
components move are free
moving , i.e. not jammed
stuck! If you do this
your cooling system will
be in tip-top condition.
8. Cam-belt.
The cam-belt should be
renewed every 30.000
miles or 2 years,
whichever comes first.
This involves some
patience though, and
attention as you will
have to 'un-lock' the
engine, replace the
cam-belt with a new one
, and then together
re-time and 'lock' the
engine at the precise
point it was before.
A mistake here could
significantly damage the
engine; but do not worry
though, just carefully
follow your manual's
instructions and you
will do it.
If you do not renew your
cam-belt as specified it
could break and cause
serious engine damage.
9. Use WD-40
to spray the entire
engine and engine bay.
This keeps the damp away
and stops surface rust;
it looks nice too..
An interesting little
pinto engine story...
My next door neighbour
Jim, is a taxi driver
and has owned a few
vehicles powered by
pintos. He told me about
a taxi he once co-owned
with another driver
which was powered by a
2000cc pinto.
They would work 8 hour
shifts sharing the taxi
which would be running
non-stop for many hours
each day; They used the
taxi until it was
completely clapped out!
They went through 5
gearboxes but the engine
would simply refuse to
give up! He said by the
time they got around
selling the old taxi for
spares, it had covered
in excess of 500.000
miles!! This is an
astronomical amount of
mileage for a petrol
engine of this type.
"All it needed was
regular oil and oil
filter changes" he said.
The engine which was
still running was sold
for £100.00!
So.....I think this sums
up your pinto engine
maintenance... REGULAR
OIL AND OIL FILTER
CHANGES. |
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