Reasons Not to let people drive your cars.

[EF_Shark]

The Story of how my car came to be in bits sitting in the shed.
This is my car in a more fit state.

Well this all starts for me with a phone call, The late night ones that you dread.
I work away so I fully expected my car to be sitting quietly in the shed but I was soon to be informed that it was stuck on the side of the road somewhere near Clunes with a busted top radiator hose.
I told the mate who had unexpectedly borrowed it to not drive it but to go buy a new hose, replace the ronnied one then refill it and take it home and maybe let me know if you are going to take my car.
The next day i'm told it's running rough, hot and has steam coming out the exhaust. Not happy.
Well it made it home on the back of a tray truck with not much of a direct reply to 'How long did you drive it with no water?!?'.

[XB GS 351 Coupe]

Sounds pretty straight forward to me, it appears your mate will have to open his wallet and pay to have your car fixed, well he should have already done so by now or he is not much of a mate.

And why did he have your car keys in the first place???

[EF_Shark]

So it sat there for about 2 weeks until I could get home and see what the damage was.
First thing I noticed was the Oil on the floor and down the side of the block and water marks down the block aswell.

I figured it was a head gasket which is something i've done many times on a few cars and even this one a few years ago but the oil down the block was new. First the plugs were pulled and this is what I found.

So it has water in 4 and 5. Pulled the dipstick and it's in the sump too.
Time to dig further. I Pulled the rocker cover and was greeted by a smelly mix of coolant and oil whipped up into a paste, pretty much what I expected.

[EF_Shark]

Originally Posted by XB GS 351 Coupe

Sounds pretty straight forward to me, it appears your mate will have to open his wallet and pay to have your car fixed, well he should have already done so by now or he is not much of a mate.

And why did he have your car keys in the first place???

Keys were inside the house but he also lives there so not an impossible task. He has agreed to pay for the fix but while it's open i'm going to try and squeeze some more ponys out of the old warhorse. ie Port out the head, AU gasket and a skim as it it chipped to run on 98 RON.

[EF_Shark]

Once I removed all the rocker gear I found my old friend amongst the oil coolant and sludge. Meet Mr Wade.

[EF_Shark]

Minus the Valve train and cam it didn't tell me much more new but here's a hot tip for young players. Zip tie your timing sprocket to the chain so you don't lose your place. One thing that didn't seem right was most of the Head bolts on the exhaust side were Stretched and therefore not very tight. Starting to wonder how cooked this thing was...

[XR6WGN]

IF that head is too far gone, let me know - I have my old EF XR6 head sitting outside taking up room. It's done over 350 thousand KMs and will need a complete recondition to be safe but it's yours if you need it.

I may even be able to deliver it towards the end of Jan if it suits you.

Anyway as I said let me know.

[EF_Shark]

Originally Posted by XR6WGN

IF that head is too far gone, let me know - I have my old EF XR6 head sitting outside taking up room. It's done over 350 thousand KMs and will need a complete recondition to be safe but it's yours if you need it.

I may even be able to deliver it towards the end of Jan if it suits you.

Anyway as I said let me know.

Thanks for the offer man but i'm just waiting for the next batch of todays pics to load to continue the story. Lets just say I have more than problems with the head...
Without to much fight it came free, well not enough fight at all it just kinda lifted off and oh sweet jesus it it boned in there... 2 weeks of water festering in the pots.

But here is a close up of cyl 1.

So they are all glazed and some are scored quite bad...
Also I think number 5 is cracked to the water jacket. Funny I don't remember there being cracks in there last time it was in bits.

So it looks like the Block will make a nice boat anchor or a coffee table. Damn i'm ****ed now!

[mik]

that`s bad luck mate, if you think it was badly cooked, do you think it might be worth while giving it a hone and a new set of rings ?
Edit; just saw the bore pics, that looks pretty nasty.

[EF_Shark]

Originally Posted by mik

that`s bad luck mate, if you think it was badly cooked, do you think it might be worth while giving it a hone and a new set of rings ?

Yeah I would have but I found a hairline crack in Cyl 5 thats about 30mm long...

[EF_Shark]

Here is a highlight of what I suspect is a crack. You can feel it with your fingernail.

[XR6WGN]

Maybe time to consider an AU block! With the planned modifications to your existing head and the wade cam, it just might be the way to go.

Still not a great way for it all to happen though - it's now officially Christmas Day - check under your tree, you may never know what the man in red has brought you.

Forget about the car for a day or so - have a great Christmas with family and worry about that at a later date.

Cheers Paul B.

[JC]

Second hand AU engine can be had for under $500 - easy fit! Bugger of a time to be doing this kind of thing though.

[MercurySilver]

some mate

two people drive my car
me
and the misses

[Jim Goose]

Originally Posted by MercurySilver

some mate

Id be asking said "mate" to pack up and move out... sorry friends dont take friends stuff without asking.

[BENT_8]

Boat anchor, unfortunately.

Go with an AU donk and never look back.

Pity you didnt find this 2 weeks ago, we just scrapped my nephews EF complete with low k AU donk for $150 to the local u-pull it wreckers, would have been worth the trip over for the motor as it already had the sump mod done to fit the EF.

I guess, to take a positive from it, atleast you can drink more without worrying about driving...

Merry xmas.

[bangm001]

We did a swap for an EF block (250,000kms) for a 60,000 km AU block in my old ladies EF falcon we have had from new about two years ago. Picked up up alot of power once done. and was still cheaper than just repairing the cracked head it had in it (as well as a few other issues).

[Full Noise]

Yep, the old mate driving the car situation.

Just remember, if your car in involved in an accident and a "mate" is driving it and isn’t listed as a nominated driver on your insurance, guess what?

[2011G6E]

Oh dear lord...that looks like it was run for a while like that...

Only me and the missus drive our cars...only our kids are allowed...within limits...to drive my Celica.

My bikes? No one. The only other person I've ever let ride my old '74 Kawasaki 750 two stroke triple was an older guy in our bike club who used to race bikes and actually owned one in the seventies...he knows what to expect out of one...for anyone else, even someone who rides a modern sports bike, one of those old bikes could hold a few "surprises" in the power delivery and handling department...

[EF_Shark]

Ahhh the old Widow maker! Give it a bit and they were a whole lot of nothing, nothing, nothing, whoah ****!!! I've had a good run the Ducati spun a big end the same week on the ocean road and binned the crank...

[2011G6E]

On an older car, sometimes it's better to bin the lot and stick in a rebuilt short or long motor than go to the effort of rebuilding everything with new stuff...

[smoo]

Originally Posted by XR6WGN

IF that head is too far gone, let me know - I have my old EF XR6 head sitting outside taking up room. It's done over 350 thousand KMs and will need a complete recondition to be safe but it's yours if you need it.

The old 4.0 should be good for twice that before any attention is given to it.

This thread is a perfect reminder to carry out periodic maintenance on our cars, especially the cooling system. A lot (probably most) people usually wait for something to fail before replacing it. I've done the whole cooling system (except heater core) on my BA earlier this year for less than $500 AU and 2 hours labour myself. The whole lot can be had off ebay for bugger all.

[FGII-XR6]

I'd report him for stealing the car. he took it without your permission that's theft even if he used the keys. then the damage is covered by the theft component of your insurance. most insurance companies waive the excess if you can identify the guilty party. you get your car fixed he learns the hard way not to take someone else's car without permission

[Djrystofer]

Originally Posted by au3xr6

I'd report him for stealing the car. he took it without your permission that's theft even if he used the keys. then the damage is covered by the theft component of your insurance. most insurance companies waive the excess if you can identify the guilty party. you get your car fixed he learns the hard way not to take someone else's car without permission

I wouldn't take it that far mate, yeah he did take the car and immobilize it in the process, but he's agreed to pay for the damages & I'm sure he's said sorry.

[Buntz]

Originally Posted by bangm001

We did a swap for an EF block (250,000kms) for a 60,000 km AU block in my old ladies EF falcon we have had from new about two years ago. Picked up up alot of power once done. and was still cheaper than just repairing the cracked head it had in it (as well as a few other issues).

Yeah, EL engine after July 98, or a later model AU. This would be in effect, be much better than upgrades to the existing EF engine, got more power to work with.

[EF_Shark]

Ok long time since an update but such is the life of a fly in fly out mine worker who won't be back in Vic until Febuary. An EF Tickford longmotor has been landed for $150 that is a runner but i'm not one to settle for that will do so me and the old boy are giving it new rings bearings and all gaskets while it's out. Before I left for work I de-Burred the inside of the manifold and smoothed it out as it had some large sharp ridges in there
. The fun bit is I know a guy who race preps cars and once he returns from the bathurst 12 hour he's going to give the head a work over on the flow bench and skim it 30 to 40 thou as I only run 98 ron and lpg.
Another pile of goodies is waiting to be fitted like a refurbished LSD unit and a short shifter. Working on the fact it isn't my daily car and plan to join a car club and do some actual track days.
More Pics of the rebuild will come.

[SSD-85]

NO ONE drives my cars except me. No damn question!!

[EF_Shark]

Yeah Keys are now in a secure place now. With the Ducati spinning a big end I only have one Vehicle left so I can't afford another broken one!

[Road_Warrior]

I let people that I know I can trust drive my cars...and that is a very short list.

Not long ago one of the neighbours came wandering over, fishing to borrow my ute...I was like, umm, and who are you? Not likely.

[mike_nofx]

Originally Posted by Eagleheart

NO ONE drives my cars except me. No damn question!!

Except for rego inspection? Or during servicing?