SAAB V4 DISTRIBUTOR RECONDITIONING

 Mass production time again! Here are six [of eight] Bosch distributors for Saab V4 cars, completely disassembled, and with a zillion miles worth of grease and crud cleaned off. They are ready to have the bottom of the distributor housing rebushed. The housing "hogs out" at the bottom, with age and a jillion miles of useage. This wear causes the point gap [thus the dwell and the ignition timing] to fluctuate and the engine runs like crap. Note that the second housing from the right already has a steel bushing installed.

 I use a bronze bushing...BUT...first the distributor housing must be reamed to a certain diameter.  It is essential that the distributor be held perfectly square and the tool that I made [which is in the lathe chuck in this picture] does that job. You can see that several distributors have been drilled, thus the pile of aluminum FUZZ on the lathe bed.

 You can see the bronze bushing set in place, just ready to be pressed into the distributor housing.

 Once I get the bushing in place, I have to ream it to the shaft size, plus 0.003". This is a tedious process, but doing the job with a hand reamer makes sure I get the correct fit. Every distributor is a LITTLE DIFFERENT and has different amounts of wear--remember--these suckers are about 50 years old! 

 You can see the five distributor bodies with bronze bushings and the one with the previously installed steel bushing here.  All the shafts have been fitted and they are ready to go back together again. Now the REAL work starts, as the points advance plates must be fitted and adjusted, a vacuum control unit fitted, and then the assembled unit has to go onto the SUN distributor test machine to set the advance curves.  This usually means I get to take the suckers apart 2 or 3 times to adjust the mechanical advance gubbins to get the correct advance curve.  Swearing usually helps. Quite a lot of swearing helps quite a lot more. 

All eight completely reconditioned distributors are shown here. These all have points and a condenser installed. If the customer wants a Pertronix unit, I take out the points and condenser and install the P unit. Then I add a rotor, a cap and a new set of spark plug wires, and the bugger is ready to go into the customer's V4 engine, for another 100,000 miles.  Good stuff!  

A REALLY UGLY SAAB V4 PISTON

Above is the data on Ford/Saab V4 engine PISTONS, for your information.

I am in the process of rebuilding a 1500cc Saab V4 engine, one that has been screwed with by some "wrench" who quite obviously had no concept of engine reconditioning in general nor of Ford/Saab V4 engines in particular. As a result, I've found some really "interesting" stuff...
To start off with, the balance shaft bearings were so worn there was about an eighth of an inch of side-to-side movement on the balance shaft [belt] pulley.  OY! The wear was so bad the balance shaft and the pulley BOTH had to be replaced. I expected to find really BAD connecting rod bearings due to the loss of oil pressure caused by the insanely loose balance shaft bearings.  But no...they weren't  too bad and the crankshaft wasn't damaged.  Obviously, the crankshaft bearings had been recently changed, and maybe the crankshaft as well....hmmm   BUT...neither the camshaft nor the balance shaft bearings had been replaced.  
Next clue: the pistons had almost no carbon on their crowns [see top arrow, below] and behind the rings [see side arrows, below].  I THINK the "wrench" did an overhaul--more or less--but didn't think to change the camshaft or balance shaft bearings.
The number three piston, however, had broken piston rings--both in the oil groove and the middle groove. The other three pistons were fine. I DID find a bashed place on the crown of the same [No. 3] piston where it looked as if the piston had been dropped. 
I cleaned up the pistons, then put them one by one into the engine and checked the clearances of the new bearings, using Plastigage--All OK. I installed new rod bolts and new rings, oiled up the pistons thoroughly, and installed pistons 1,2 and 4--all went into place just fine. But installing the new rings on No. 3...the center and bottom rings were not free in the ring grooves. I measured the grooves and found that in the area of the "bash" the grooves were almost 0.030" too narrow!  OY! Apparently the dumbass "wrench" filed open the TOP groove after he'd dropped the piston onto his concrete floor and let it go at that. I refuse to jury-rig something as important as a piston---I replaced the piston.
God save us from the non-professionals......

A couple of other notes: ALWAYS replace the connecting rod bolts and nuts with NEW parts during an overhaul, as they are torqued to a "yield" [stretch] condition at the Ford/Saab spec of 25 foot/pounds. [This is also true of the FLYWHEEL BOLTS don't want to true the NEW rod bolts !] Always check the clearance of the new connecting rod bolts with Plastigage. Use the OLD rod bolts for checking, THEN replace the old bolts with new for final fit-up in the engine. [You only want to torque the new bolts to stretch condition ONCE!] Use Loctite compound on the rod nuts for extra security.

SPECIAL DISTRIBUTORS FOR THE SAAB V4

 Every V4 Saab owner's dream: A hot dog V4 engine with the legendary cross-ram intake manifold and a pair of Weber DCOE carburetors---WOW! This is one of two such engines that I built for a pair of Peking to Paris Saab 96 rally cars some years back. Note the special distributor, necessary to clear the intake runner for the right carburetor. Most, if not all, of these special intake manifolds were made up in England for Saab in enough quantity for Saab to qualify for homologation according to international rally competition rules. The manifold set you see here is the "factory" set-up.

 There were several "wannabe" intake manifold builders so if you run into a cross-ram set-up it may or may not be what you see in the top photo.  Each wannabe also made up some sort of distributor extension. In this photo, the distributor on the left is the Bosch unit made specifically for Saab for the rally cars. The distributor in the middle has an extension that uses a standard distributor. The distributor on the right is a stock unit, though the drive gear at the bottom has not been installed.

 Here is a good look at the Bosch distributor made up for Saab. You can see that the distributor body and the extended shaft housing are all cast in one unit.

 This is a third distributor for a cross-ram manifold set. The housing extension is different [shorter] than the one shown above. I just rebuilt this distributor for a customer. The add-on housing looks OK in the photo but is actually really crude and looks like it was done by two guys under a pepper tree with a hammer, hack saw and bastard file after the second six-pack of Bud....

The reconditioning of the distributor was straightforward, and I made the extension work, but a much better extension should be machined from a bar of good quality aluminum. I have made up machine drawings for just such an extension.

Does the vacuum advance unit look different? It's a much modified Hitachi with a special adaptor mount. I get the exact advance curve I want with this unit, but it is NOT "Plug & Play", with MUCH testing on the SUN distributor machine to be sure I have the correct modifications to get the right advance curve.

It is important to understand that advance curves--both mechanical and vacuum--must be tailored to the way a given engine will be USED; the goal being to promote performance while preventing pre-ignition [detonation] that can destroy an engine. Fun stuff, but as they say in the ads, "Don't try this at home..."

SAAB V4 RELEASE BEARING ARM REBUILD

 SAAB V4 clutch problems are very often made worse by a worn clutch release arm. The drawing above shows the location of the release arm in the transmission bell housing, then [above and left] the release arm itself, and finally, above that, the fat arrow shows how the release arm gets worn where it holds the release bearing peg. These release arms are, of course, no longer available new, so the solution is to rebuild the arm by partially welding up the hole at the top and the "C" cup at the bottom, then machining them both out to fit the new release bearing.

 This nasty bugger is how most of 'em look when I get 'em. It's hard to see in this photo but the welding has been done. I have a special jig I use to get the hole and the cup machined back out to the correct size and location [relative to the center line of the
main "pipe" [on the left]. The clevis [top] and its pivot pin also get badly worn.

I drill out the clevis rod [top] and the holes in the loop of the arm and use an oversize pin to eliminate the slop in that part of the arm. This is the reconditioned release arm, with all the related parts, including the new release bearing and retaining clips. Good as new and a lot prettier...heh heh heh. 

SAAB V4 CYLINDER HEAD PROBLEMS

 Call it "Murph'y Law" or BumLuck or any other saying regarding mechanical difficulties, but recently I have encountered not one, but TWO problems with V4 Ford/Saab cylinder heads for high performance engines.

Take a look at my exploded view drawing above. Note the exhaust valve hard valve SEAT. Today's unleaded fuel will cause early exhaust valve failure without hardened exhaust valves and valve seats.  So far so good...

I install larger diameter valves and of course larger exhaust valve hard seats. I've rebuilt dozens of V4 engines with these big valve cylinder heads, with no problems. Still, so far so good.

A couple of weeks ago, my machinist found a "pocket"--a casting flaw--in a cylinder head, where he had machined the head to accept a larger diameter hard valve seat.  Result? the head was instant junk. Kauput.

This week, another bad cylinder head....

This head [shown above, before installation] was on an engine installed in a customer's Sonett III, and I discovered--during the 500 mile drive-off--that the right side exhaust pipe was putting out WHITE smoke. Not a lot at first, but it got worse as the end of the 500 miles approached, it was obvious that it was not going to get better. A compression check showed equal compression in all four cylinders and a vacuum gauge check showed steady--and correct--manifold vacuum for this elevation [1350 feet above sea level].

I retorque the cylinder heads and intake manifold to factory spec's 3 times during the 500 mile drive-off runs. The drive-off period allow correction of [usually] small glitches that always appear--in any number of areas--when a car has undergone a full restoration.

I removed the carburetor, intake manifold and right hand cylinder head. Close examination of the head and intake manifold gaskets showed no damage to either, but it was clear that there was a big problem in the forward [No. 1] combustion chamber. The exhaust valve was VERY white, indicating a lot of heat, and there was a bit of fluid around the intake valve. I had certainly found the area of the problem.

NOTE: White smoke in the exhaust means coolant is being sucked into the combustion chamber. Blue smoke means OIL is being sucked into the combustion chamber, either past the valve guides or past the piston rings, or both.  Black smoke means the engine carburetion is WAY too RICH.  Smoke of ANY kind from the exhaust means further investigation is needed, and soon.

The reason for the problem was a crack in the cylinder head at the intake valve seat, where apparently the machining of the head to accept a larger valve had either come close to another pocket in the head casting, or was simply because after machining, the wall thickness between the seat area and the water jacket was thin enough that it cracked with the heat of  combustion.  NOTE: both head were magnefluxed after machining and showed NO cracks.   

Well...shit happens. Particularly when you are trying to get a quart's worth of work out of, essentially, a pint pot. My modified V4 engines produce 115 to 140 horsepower, depending on how thick the customer's wallet is, but the more power you produce
the more possible are the unexpected results. Usually....everything is just fine and the customer gets a really nice engine that will be as reliable as a factory engine.

But sometimes...shit happens.  That's why we ALWAYS do a 500 mile drive-off before we deliver a restored Saab to it's owner, and why we insist that the owner of one of our reconditioned V4 engines follow the instructions we include with the engine when we ship it to him. 

SAAB V4 ENGINE REBUILD--PART 4

 First--my apologies for less than wonderful photos. A BLACK engine is not the greatest for award-winning photography...This is the completed Ford/Saab V4 high performance engine, ready to go to the owner, to "wake up" a Saab 96. It will produce 110-115 horsepower--quite a step up from the original 73...
The car in the background is my '37 FIAT Topolino, "MR T".

 Front view. Note the timing cover--modified to give room for a radiator with electric fans. Behind the cover are special timing gears--steel gears for crankshaft and balance shaft, aluminum gear for the camshaft. The cam itself is a regrind to Iskenderian F4 specs. Atop the engine is a Weber 32/36 DGV-5A carburetor and air cleaner.

Right front corner.  The new oil filter and water pump are visible. Not visible--big valve cylinder heads and fully balanced crankshaft and associated parts.  I reconditioned and lightened the rocker arms as well. Note the engine lift [in red], an item I built 40+ years ago.  Good tools last a very long time...

Arse end. Note the reconditioned distributor and high performance Magnecore plug wires. Note also the light flywheel and matched pressure plate. The blue paint indicates the balance-match [pressure plate to flywheel] point. The bits of green tape seen here and there are to cover coolant pipes, etc, as the engine is to be shipped to it's owner in another state. I send along a compete listing of all the parts and all the work done on these engines [9 pages long on this one...] plus a short "manual" on doing the necessary re-torques and adjustments as the engine is driven in the owner's car.

REBUILDING SAAB V4 ENGINE--PART TWO

 Here are the four piston & connecting rod assemblies. The new pistons are 0.031" oversize. At this point all four have been in the engine [without piston rings] so the bearing clearances could be checked with plastigage. The bearing clearances averaged 0.00175". The original connecting rod bolts and nuts have been replaced with new high strength Ford V8 parts. The six small bolts in the photo are not part of the piston/rod assembly.   

 This is by far the best way to install piston rings, using an inexpensive piston ring expander pliers.  You always need to read the instructions that come with the rings. There is usually a peen mark on some of the piston rings that indicates that side of the ring must be installed UP [toward the top of the piston]. I arrange the piston ring end gaps so they are 120 degrees apart when in place on the piston.

 The piston/rod assembly is ready for installation in the engine block. A ring compressor tool is in place, and has compressed the piston rings.  The yellow items on the connecting rods are flexible plastic protectors, to keep guide the rod over the crankshaft journal and prevent the rod bolts from damaging the journal.

 Not a great photo, but it shows the piston being inserted into the block [top left]. I use a small hammer with a wooden handle to tap the piston/rod assembly into place in the block. Note that pistons have a notch in thier crown, indicating that the piston must be installed with the notch pointing to the FRONT of the block.

In this photo, all the rod caps are in place and torqued to 25 ft/lb. I use a bit of Loktite on each of the bolts as a bit of added insurance that a nut will NOT come loose. Note that a new oil pump has been installed [with a NEW oil pump drive shaft] and that the oil pick up strainer is completely clean. I squirt as much engine oil into the new oil pump as it will hold before I bolt it in place. Note the "1.7" on the second crankshaft counterweight from the front, indicating that it is a 1700 crankshaft. At this point, the lower end of the engine is "buttoned up" and ready for the oil pan to be installed.

SAAB V4 ENGINE REBUILD---PART 1

 You are looking down into the block of an overbored 1.7 litre Ford/Saab V4 engine that I'm rebuilding in my shop. You can see new balance shaft bearings, a new steel timing gear, and the fully balanced crankshaft. You can't see it because of its small size, but "BB3415" is stamped into the crankshaft. That indicates that the balance shop--Bert Beck Custom Engines--has recorded this crankshaft as the 3415th crankshaft they have balanced over the years. By now, they know what they're about! 

 These are the main bearing caps and their retaining bolts. All the parts have been meticulously cleaned. New main bearings are installed and the clearances checked with Plastigage. Average bearing clearances are 0.00175"---I make a "map" of all engine clearances a part of my records, and give the customer a copy as well.

The main bearing caps are installed and torqued to factory spec [72 ft/lb]. You can't see it here, but I install the rear main bearing seal as I install the rear cap. That assures a proper "fit" of the seal, with no chance of damaging the seal when it is fitted.  You can see from the photos that the engine is VERY clean. That's the way I want it when I rebuild an engine.

SAAB V4 ENGINE--REALLY SCREWED UP!

 

You are looking at a very screwed up Saab/Ford V4 engine block. I took this one apart to do a complete overhaul. The piston in the photo IS at top dead center. I rigged the dial indicator to measure how far the crown of the piston is below "deck height" [top surface of the block]. The drill is to get a starting point, so I set the dial indicator at some number greater than the estimated depth of the piston below deck height. I also know the thickness of the steel strap.

 Next is to remove the strap and take a measurent at the piston crown.  I subtract this measurement [plus the amount of the strap thickness] from the first reading. The result was 0.247".  This is a 1698cc V4. We all know [don't we?] that the pistons in the stock 1698cc V4 do not come up to deck height BUT they certainly are not a quarter inch below it! ZOUNDS! Some metally challenged mechanic really did a number on this little engine.

But wait! There's more! It's hard to see in this photo but the cylinder walls are a mess. There is about six jillion tiny hammer marks, all evenly spaced in that shiny area above the piston. What the hell caused that? I am not sure. Perhaps a worn out boring bar [the engine was bored .5mm (0.020") oversize] or an equally worn out hone of some sort.  So what does this have to do with the deck height problem?   Well, sports fans, when I got the sucker all apart I find that the super smart "wrench" who did this work managed to fit [new] pistons for a 1698cc engine onto a 1498cc crankshaft, resulting in the 0.247" under deck height measurement.
This same genius had the crankshaft turned 0.010" undersize on the main bearing journals, and 0.020" undersize on the connecting rod journals, BUT then installed bearings that were ALL 0.010" oversize. That sucker must have rattled quite a lot had had about as much power as an old two stroke Saab with one plug wire pulled off! 

Proving once again that these little V4's are pretty special and require some special knowedge--like factory manuals and 40+ years of Saab experience-- in order to rebuild them correctly. A hack mechanic who once overhauled a Chevy pickup engine has absolutely no business getting within a city block of a Saab V4. This particular rocket scientist managed to make the Saab owner pay TWICE to get his engine overhauled correctly.

EARLY WINDSHIELD WIPER MOTOR REBUILD

This is what the average 52 year-old Lucas wiper motor looks like, taken apart. Actually the main case [top, left] and the mount [center, top] have already been cleaned up, ready for paint. This sucker was STIFF and actually had to be carefully pressed apart. 52 years in a crusty old Saab will do that to you, I reckon....

The build date was "02-66", so I wasn't surprised to have to dig the old, dead grease out of the gears with dentist's torture tools. The armature [bottom center] was burned and I carefully turned it just a bit on my lathe. After that it was just a ton of clean-up, brush and spring replacement, greasing [with modern temperature-stable, non-hardening lubricants], and reassembly.

Above is the wiring diagram for this motor in a '68 Sonett V4. The schematic for the same motor in the same year Saab 95/96 is almost identical.

Here is the 52 year old motor, cleaned, reassembled, adjusted, tested, painted and ready to go to work for another 50+ years. Good stuff, Olaf!

MAINTENANCE & OVERHAUL OF THE V4 ENGINE

My How-To book on the V4 engine was written for the owner-wrench. I take you by your little finger and walk you through the process of rebuilding one of these little engines. All the factory spec's are there as well as a LOT of information that was NEVER in any shop manual. I cover special tools, some of which you can build, cooling systems, carburetion, exhaust systems and much more.

I went to the trouble to make a TON of clear drawings to show you exactly what's going on inside the little Ford engine. including a sequence of drawings that show you exactly how to do a valve adjustment correctly. "Oh that's easy!" somebody says. OK, smart guy. point out where the number three exhaust valve is located in the drawing below. If you aren't sure, you need the book.

The drawing above, like many others in this 96 page book, is accompanied by explanatory text. The book is a good read, even if you don't ever mash a knuckle working on your own engine.

This drawing, from page 37 of the book, shows you every gasket in the engine. Another full page has drawings of every BOLT in the engine, and tells you the size of each bolt and where it goes.
The book is full of this kind of information, which I included, based on my 40+ years experience rebuilding these little buggers, so you could rebuild your engine right--the first time.