July 2004

This shows how the starter wires are hooked up. This was the last piece I took off the motor before I loaded it into the PT Cruiser for the trip to Mississippi, Joe's Place. We drove straight thru, from Plant City, to Biloxi, MS Friday night and reached the hotel at 1:00 am. I got up Saturday morning and drove to Joe's house.

Joe began dismantling the engine while I was there so that I could get an idea of the amount of work and cost. Here's a shot of the engine tin removed. It's amazing how much stuff can get in there. This does NOT help the cooling of the engine.

Here's the mighty Joe working away on tearing the engine apart.

More stuff found.

This is a close up of an exhaust seal. If you look closely, you can see where there is just a small amount of material left. This will cause a blow-by, making the engine sound load and can cause burnt valves.

This shows the head and cylinders, on one side, removed. The PO had used RTV extensively, but didn't alievate the leaking problem. The heads were extremely difficult to remove. Joe will continue to dismantle the engine and will send periodic updates.

This shows the tabs removed. These tabs were used to hold the engine insulation pad. The pad is exposed to the elements, which allows it to absorb the rain/moisture. Once the pad has become saturated, it will cause the metal to begin to rust, therefore, we always remove the pad and the tabs. I used a cutting wheel to remove the tab portion that wasn't spot welded, then a 4" grinder to remove the rest. I didn't use a spot-weld remover bit.

Since I'm going to remove the paint/glue from the engine firewall, I decided that I should also weld up any extraneous holes and/or rust, therefore, I needed to remove the interior back pad. I begin this process by removing the seats. Remember, there is a flat spring, on the opposite side of the seat adjustment bracket, that needs to be pushed in to remove the seat.

Here are the seats removed. I've purchased a set of seats that have already been recovered.

Next, unscrew the engine lid release knob. It is located on the driver's side of the firewall. You might need to pull the knob out to be able to get a pair of pliers on the cable to keep it from turning.

Next, unscrew the plate behind the knob. This plate is used to keep the back pad material from tearing during use of the cable.

Next, unscrew the (6) sheet metal screws that hold the bottom of the back pad in.

Now you can remove the back pad. Carefully pull the bottom of the pad toward the front of the car, causing it to drop down. This will allow the tabs on the back of the pad, at the top, to clear the brackets on the firewall. This is a shot of the back of the pad.

This shows the back pad removed from the car.

There is an insulation pad that is glued to the firewall.

To remove the insulation pad, you'll need remove the seat belt retractor. Begin by removing the lower bolt. Be carefull as there are several washers on the back side.

Carefully remove the pad. There should only be a half dozen areas that are actually glued. I used a scraper, with the razor removed.

Here's a close up of the scraper.

This shows the firewall finally exposed. Notice the glue? This will have to be removed on another day.

This shows the engine lid hinge that the PO attempted to fix. It's much better to remove and replace with new.

I begin the removal by cutting the bottom section off, using a cutting wheel.

Next, I ground down the top section. It's a lot safer to grind the piece off instead of drilling out the welds.

While I'm working on the firewall, I decided to remove the rear window because it was very loose and rattled when I drove the car. I began by removing the coat hook by lifting the plastic covering and unscrewing the sheet metal screw. Next, remove the plastic cover on the upper seat belt hinge and remove the bolt.

Next, remove the plastic cap, which exposes the sheet metal screw, in the lower portion of the inner targa piece and remove this from the car. Finally, you'll need to remove the upper targa interior piece. Start by removing the plastic plutgs, then unscrew the sheet metal screws. I recommend removing the (5) screws that are on the bottom first, then the (7) horizontal screws. Also, start at one end and work your way to the other side. This process can take a long time, as the screws are not always pointed in a direct line. Sometimes you'll need to 'fish' around for the screw. Remove the targa piece from the car. The window can now be removed from the car. Be very careful it is made of glass.

At this point, the firewall has nothing near it that can catch fire when I start welding and/or grinding. Therefore, I filled all of extraneous holes and did some minor rust repair.

This shows the repair I made to fill in one of two holes created for the dealer install a/c wiring. The other hole was in the engine shelf.

The next step is to use the aircraft stripper. The secret to using this is to apply generously, in an area no larger then 3' x 3', and let the chemical work for at least 45 minutes. This chemical will cause the paint to lift. A note, this stuff is very caustic and you will get it on you. Always have a bucket/bowl of water, with a wash cloth, immediately available. When it gets on you, wipe it off with the wet cloth.

After the chemical has worked it's 'magic', use a small scraper to remove the paint. Sometimes you'll need to make several applications.

Once you have gotten to the point where the aircraft stripper is no longer removing paint, you'll need to use either laquer thinner or a grinder to remove the last of the paint. If you are using thinner, use in small sections and apply some 'elbow grease'. After the thinner is applied, wipe down with a towel.

Finally, apply Ospho to the bare metal. This will protect the metal until it can paint it. Apply Ospho by using a spray bottle, rub with a scotch brite pad, then wipe down with a clean towel.