@motosubatsu Nice, that's definitely helpful! It got me curious to search a website similar to ebay, and I found some manuals for a Corsa model that might be more similar to mine than the British one, and it would end up being cheaper (because I wouldn't have the £ conversion and shipping fees), but if I can't find a good one I might try the online version from Haynes :)

I'm liking the engine response, I can feel the limitations on some parts of my work route, because there are lots of hills, but still good (and I believe economical)

@motosubatsu what kind of improvements? Out of curiosity, though I try my best to drive in a way to avoid any kind of situation, specially having a motorcycle background, I'm a bit extra cautious on traffic

@IanC I am more the cautious guy: Never mess with wiring that works and looks good.. A wiring harness with intermittent faults is an never-ending nightmare

Hey all ... been a couple of days since I had time to hang out in here. Hope all is well.

Snow has turned to slush so, no, all is not well. Subaru in the snow FTW! ❄️

@Martin It's working, but it doesn't look really good, some old isolation and wires, more exposed than I'd like to. I was thinking about cutting the wires closer to the instruments they are connected to, solder some new wire and isolate with those heat shrinking rubber, and getting them more protected with some plastic tubing maybe?

But I hear you, it can turn into a nightmare, I'll really think it through

Maybe start with more straight forward wiring, like headlights

@Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 All good here! What about you? Some progress with the car? :)

I wanted to check the belt and maybe replace it, and while I'm at it change the termostat as well, but I need a torch wrench, and hell they are expensive.. I found a click one from 5-25nM for a payable price, and was thinking about using a stick torch wrench for higher torchs, what you guys think?

@IanC a motorcycle background will generally serve you well in most driving scenarios :) My comment was somewhat tongue in cheek - no-one really wants to crash. Crash safety is a topic whole books could be written about, but in the last decade or two huge advances have been made in terms of better material choices, improved crash structures that can absorb more energy and so on

@IanC torque wrenches aren't cheap - a good quality one is a decent investment though as it will last you decades

@motosubatsu yeah, some people complain that newer cars break on any small accident, without realizing it's actually designed to absorb energy

@motosubatsu at least in the moment I won't be able to afford a better quality one, they are ranging over 1.5k here. Is it too risky to use a cheaper one?

The one I was thinking of is from a brand called Mxita apparently, produto.mercadolivre.com.br/…

@IanC not really risky per-se, just that it's likely to have a shorter lifespan

@motosubatsu what about stick torch wrenches? They look a little more annoying to use but are cheaper, have you worked with them?

I even heard of digital torch displays, that you can use with a regular wrench

@IanC I never uses a stick-type to be honest

possibly a local thing.. but damn that torque wrench looks expensive!

I can get a reasonable-ish brand 28-210 Nm wrench for 96.65 Br$

given the range on the Mxita one (and the lack of drive adapters) I'm inclined to think that might be a bicycle one as opposed to an automotive one

@motosubatsu What currency is Br$? Depending on the conversion and the possibility of shipping it might be worth it to import it

@IanC - I'll hopefully be able to get the block down to the machine shop today to get cleaned.

@motosubatsu I'm not sure to be honest, it has a 1/4" drive adapter, and I looked for a smaller range because the termostat nut torch is 25Nm

@IanC I was assuming Brazillian dollars

@Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 Cool! It's all fixed then? Just cleaning and remounting left to do?

@motosubatsu The currency here is Reais (R$), 1 US dollar is probably around 3.4 Reais currently, not even sure

@IanC - All fixed? Not even remotely, lol.

I need to get the block cleaned before I can start putting it back together.

@IanC yeah that's what I used.. a "Brazilian Real" I didn't know the "proper" name

partly it will depend on what jobs you are thinking of using it for

a wrench similar to what I described would be great for bolts, wheel nuts etc and be completely useless for say, sparkplugs

here is the one I was looking at

@Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 but at least those pieces from the valve command that you were talking about before are all set?

@IanC - Nope. I've not been able to get back to the heads yet to see if the exhaust valves are freed up any.

@motosubatsu That one does look cheaper in comparison to the ones I found on this torch range, I'll check how the shipping works! But I'd still need a low range one for those more delicate jobs

@Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 you mean checking if there's something obstructing the course of the exhaust valve? Or the valve clearence?

@IanC Headlights are a good candidate: Easy to spot when there is a fault. Immagine a sporadic fault onto some sensor cable: You will never find out why your car looses power sometimes..

Btw, hi all!

@IanC - Maybe I didn't explain in The Pitstop ... I took the heads apart the other day and found all of the exhaust valves are stuck in the head. I was able to beat them out a little bit using a hammer and a brass drift (to protect the tip of the stem), but they are still stuck in the head. I got some penetrating oil onto them, but I haven't been back to check to see if they've loosened up any.

Why only the exhaust valves and not the intakes, I have no clue.

@Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 Did the previous owner tried once to repair the head and used the wrong parts?

@Martin - No, it did run at one time (supposedly). The parts are right. The valves are just frozen in the valve guides. No clue.

It could be that they are just gummed up, but who knows.

@Martin That's what I was thinking, I'd be very nervous to touch the ECU or any sensors wire without confidence of what I was doing

@Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 Maybe whatever caused it was enhanced by the heat of the exhaust gases? Would explain why the intake is alright

Just a wild guess

@IanC - No real clue either. I'd just be guessing. I don't know if it's going to be cheaper to get the heads done at the machine shop, or just find some used heads in good shape.

@IanC might be worth looking into ordering from the US as well

@Martin - How have you been? Haven't had a chance to say hello to you in a while.

@Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 Oh, I am fine. The kids are doing well, wife is a bit exhausted by the newborn. Everything is good. I managed to install the lights in my parents garage, now I will proceed by modernizing some plugs. Works is also running calm.

How about you?

@Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 What exactly are they going to do in the head in the shop? Clean the carbonization and mount the pieces that requires those pressure tools?

@motosubatsu I'll check it out! There's Aliexpress too, only bad thing on it is the shipment times

@Martin - I'm doing well. I've got a 3-day weekend (starting today) ahead of me. Got the emissions inspection on the wife's car today. I still need to get it done on the truck before the end of the month so I can get the registration renewed. Family is good. Daughter is getting over strep throat. Son should be coming up from North Carolina for Thanksgiving (next Thursday).

@IanC - If I do actually take them to the machine shop, I'll have them do a valve job on it and get them cleaned up.

@Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 That's great. Strep throat: Wakes unpleasant memories, my best wishes to her.

@Martin - She started antibiotics about 4-5 days ago, so she's doing a lot better ... but it's still a process.

@Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 Got it, a valve job is like sanding the valve and the intake/exhaust valve "hole" (not sure what's the name) so they fit perfectly with no leaks right?

@Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 Wish her a quick recovery!

Yesterday was a holiday here, but my shift happens to be during the holiday and weekend, so I'm here at work. But I'm used to working weekends and holidays from my previous job, and I'm really enjoying the new one :)

@IanC - Basically. It's actually a clean up of all the carbon/crud deposits on the head, then machining the valves and the seats so they match, and thus seal completely.

@Zaid - More LR restoration!

@Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 Nice! If you get them the head and valves all disassembled it shouldn't be thaaat expensive right? Not sure how much a second-hand head would cost you there though, would definitely save you the work of getting that exhaust valve out..

I got the block down to the machine shop ... there may be an issue with it. When I had the block out in the light (outside of my garage), I saw what looked like it might be a crack in one of the cylinder walls. I'm not sure if it's a stain or a crack ... I'm afeared it could very well be a crack.

I hope it's not, a crack in the cylinder wall would be unfixable right? If it penetrated deep enough

@IanC - If it's cracked at all, no matter the depth, the block is done (in my book).

@Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 I thought if it was in the very surface there was still a chance to sand it beyond the beginning of the crack and use larger pistons, but even if that was possible I think I'd be much more comfortable having a new head :p

well, my motorcycle horn was failing a bit, I tested the connections with a cheap multimeter and it oscilated between 300mV~100mV, so I'm guessing my battery is the issue :/

I think I'll write some questions on the website, I've been asking a lot around here but not giving a chance of you guys getting some rep out of the answers you've been giving me