Well. I've just finished pulling out the tranny, got the block on an engine stand and cracked open the oil pan....here's what I found.....

Those flaps of metal on the left are not supposed to be there....Those are what broke off and lodged between the piston and the cylinder wall creating a huge gouge....so much in fact that the block would need to be redone and oversized pistons installed. The same peeling of metal is on the opposite side too...Can you say .....Spun Bearing???? Pics not so hot because the bearing is black but if you look close you can see it has wings....
http://e21.tricord.be/members/marinersfsan/Main%20Bearing%201.jpg
Hence, I am getting the motor from Ohio and Gettin Her Back on the Road!!

Here's a better shot of the gouge....I got a better digcam cheap on Ebay. After I removed the piston the gouge traveled nearly all the way to the botton of the cylinder
http://e21.tricord.be/members/marinersfsan/Bad%20Cylinder.jpg

I had no idea the rust was going to proliferate so fast here in the midwest...Looks like I've got my work cut out for me...
http://e21.tricord.be/members/marinersfsan/Aux%20Fan.jpg

DAMN flippin Minnesota winters!!!!! My recaro's were in great shape until I sat in it two winters ago when it was about 30 below zero....C_R_A_A_A_C_K!!!
I was devastated!!!
http://e21.tricord.be/members/marinersfsan/Poor%20Recaro.jpg

Another bitch of a rust repair.....
http://e21.tricord.be/members/marinersfsan/Tail%20Light%20Rust.jpg


Lifted up the trunk seal....no wonder it flippin leaks!!...more rust work!!!
http://e21.tricord.be/members/marinersfsan/Trunk%20Leak1.jpg

And last here's the tranny just before I pulled it out...Sachs clutch looked pretty good. I dont know what they use to shield heat in the tranny tunnel. It kinda similar to creosote but it's gray. Well the stuff is in a huge melted glob all over the top of the tranny.....I see a lot of scraping with a putty knife in my future....
http://e21.tricord.be/members/marinersfsan/Tranny.jpg

Well, as you can see I dumped a ton of money 3 years ago on a car that frankly wasn't worth it but nonetheless eventually I will restore her even if it kills me and drive her til the wheels fall off....

Just put some JB weld in that groove, then sand it down.:stickoutt

New pistons for you! Got any venders in mind? What's your plan for the engine now?

waferman
Hillsboro, OR, doesn't miss Seattle

The motor will probably be scrapped....I have no storage for it as I live in an apt. I don't know what caused the spun bearing. There must have been something more going on as my compression in all 4 cylinders was in the low 80's. Maybe oil pump going on the fritz....

80psi? wow, thats low. So what's the plan then?

I'm buying a motor from DJProfessor that has relatively low miles on it and I'm going with that one. I'll probably put new rings and bearings and MAYBE a new oil pump in for insurance. I have a donor head that's ready to go but I may just fix the one plug hole that cross-threads its plug and go with the existing head. Another MAYBE is going with an Elgin cam in there too....
I'd like to do away with all the EGR stuff like the thermal reactor and EGR filter and stuff and toss the exhaust and throw a header on. Clutch looks ok but it needs a new throw-out bearing that'll quiet it down and I already have one of those. I'd like to attack the major portion of rust in the engine bay and give it a good coat of something that will at least slow the stuff down til I can get into really doing it right and either sandblast or dip the whole front end. That's pretty much it for the engine for right now. I'm staying with the points for now but will eventually drop that too. Then inside I want to pull the dash and fix the controls for the heat and replace the broken wires in there. The biggest chore is going to be getting all the rust out and down to bare metal. I'm borrowing a neighbors garage so I can't sandblast.....Biggerest bummer but I'm lucky to even HAVE a garage to work in right now...Oh I almost forgot I need to replace the front springs with something....a PO took a torch to em as a means of lowering it. Not too Bright!

Sure wish I had a 5-speed right about now but $$$ is tight. All the hoses are new so that's covered. I have all new hose clamps when it gets put back together. So all in all I think that's a pretty good plan....

BTW, when I did a compression test last summer, there were the results...

Cyl Dry Wet Plugs
1 95 100 Dry & Wet
2 82 82 Dry & Clean
3 88 102 Dry & Clean
4 90 100 Dry & Clean

Guess they were slightly higher than what I remember but still waaaaay low.

Well, heres some background from some old Roundel articals that I have on disk. The stock 2.0L had 109hp or so, but back in the day guys with out emissions testing would remove it all. Remember when you found a quarter? In the exhaust manifold, you plut up the ports with coins; A quarter on one side and a nickle or dime on the other I think, use jb weld or something. Supposedly it will then flow like a Tii manifold if you also remove the air injectors..The 2.0L was then good for about 125hp! Cheap upgrade with big results. My 78 had all this done already, and the smog was just hanging off the engine unconnected. I removed it all. It will still pass smog, just not a visual. Both Idaho and Oregon dont do a visual though :) . Actually, Oregon pretends to, they always walk around the car with a mirror (looking for explosive devices, I always think, as this year doesn't have a cat) then gaze at the engine that is verrrrry clean. The sniff test always passes, and I'm off.

good luck!

waferman

Here's a better shot of the gouge....I got a better digcam cheap on Ebay. After I removed the piston the gouge traveled nearly all the way to the botton of the cylinder
http://e21.tricord.be/members/marinersfsan/Bad%20Cylinder.jpg

I had no idea the rust was going to proliferate so fast here in the midwest...Looks like I've got my work cut out for me...
http://e21.tricord.be/members/marinersfsan/Aux%20Fan.jpg

DAMN flippin Minnesota winters!!!!! My recaro's were in great shape until I sat in it two winters ago when it was about 30 below zero....C_R_A_A_A_C_K!!!
I was devastated!!!
http://e21.tricord.be/members/marinersfsan/Poor%20Recaro.jpg

Another bitch of a rust repair.....
http://e21.tricord.be/members/marinersfsan/Tail%20Light%20Rust.jpg


Lifted up the trunk seal....no wonder it flippin leaks!!...more rust work!!!
http://e21.tricord.be/members/marinersfsan/Trunk%20Leak1.jpg

And last here's the tranny just before I pulled it out...Sachs clutch looked pretty good. I dont know what they use to shield heat in the tranny tunnel. It kinda similar to creosote but it's gray. Well the stuff is in a huge melted glob all over the top of the tranny.....I see a lot of scraping with a putty knife in my future....
http://e21.tricord.be/members/marinersfsan/Tranny.jpg

Well, as you can see I dumped a ton of money 3 years ago on a car that frankly wasn't worth it but nonetheless eventually I will restore her even if it kills me and drive her til the wheels fall off....

How much did you spend on this car so far? Once you put a new engine in,
it should be fine....

OK..... I know....ur gonna shit when I tell you...I used a buy it now on Ebay 3 years ago for $2900. I was a newbie then and thought that was a fair price for a decent E21is with Recaros and Panasports to boot. Most of the early pics I've posted were from that auction. Apparently those pics were from a looooong time ago as it didn't look that pristine when I flew to Chicago and then to Indianapolis to pick it up. In fact the one in my avatar is the exact same car that I butchered with Photoshop...(my first attempt). It's a good thing I bought it for my own pleasure and not to sell or I'd be screwed.
DJ gave me a good deal on the motor and I've been collecting tidbits of parts for 2 years now on Ebay...But no matter I'm obsessed with it and I love working on it. It gets me outta the house and every day tinkering on it becomes a learning experience. As soon as we get out of this apartment and into our own house it's getting dismantled and rebuilt from nose to tailpipe...Right now I just want to drive it!!! Doesn't the drivers seat just bring a tear to your eye?? Did mine....Oh well...it can ALL be fixed.....

a good product for rust protection/ elimination is POR-15 (www.por15.com) they have a kit for the surface rust and batery tray. The one in the trunk might have to have some welding done.....

i know i need to find a crate so it can be picked up, i am seriously slacking on this.....