Engine Fitting

There were a few complications – the lhs mount bracket on the engine was from the original 2.25p to match the unaltered chassis mount, which was only noticed after the engine was lowered into position. I also had trouble getting the alignment between the engine and gearbox, regardless of however much shunting and levering was applied by Helena and I. In the end, the unit had to be lifted back out for a few adjustments on the lifting chain before a second, successful attempt. This also gave an opportuninty to swap the lhs bracket with more space.

Once the engine was in (with new clutch), the bell housing was tightened up and the new mounting rubbers fitted. The gearbox and engine are now fully secured.

The next job was replacement of the timing belt. The old belt had only covered about 10-15,000 miles, but having stood for so long, I wasn’t going to take any risks. The new Dayco belt went in without any trouble (by the way, scrap R380 reverse light switches make perfect flywheel locking tools). The cover and water pump have been refitted.

The plan to fit the FFR fan went awry. The 12J accepts a SIII 4-blade fan with no alteration. You would expect that would allow it to take the FFR fan, but the internal diameter of the FFR fan pulley is smaller than the normal pulley, so it won’t fitt onto the pump shaft. The bolt holes are also about 1mm different in location. It also turns out that the outer diameter of the FFR pulley is significantly larger than the std pulley, so the fan and pump would turn slower – as I think the temperuater issue of 12J/19J engines in SIII vehicles is one of water flow, the FFR fan would have increased the problem, rather than easing it. The original fan and pulley have been cleaned back to white metal and sprayed with gloss black enamel. They’ll be dry for installation tomorrow.

The final “missing” part is the alternator. This was removed earlier today as I think it has been overcharging the battery and behaving erratically when running, causing the ammeter to pulse. The battery will also be renewed. I’m also uprating from the std 43A to an alternator capable of 80-100A, if I can find one that will fit. Failing that, I’ll just use the 65A alternative listed.