95 eclipse GST

[xandrew245x]

Well I bought the 95 eclipse gst for $1500, I figured I would start a threat so you guys can follow along with my progress and give me some feedback on issues I may be stuck on. Before I bought it, she told me that it wouldn't shut off. I was thinking that the car literally wouldn't turn off, well that is not the case, the car shuts off just fine, but they said something about the electronics not shutting off?

Well, I put the battery charger on yesterday on 2 amp charge and left it charge for a bit, took it off, started the car 5 times in a row without issue, left the car sit overnight and it started just fine this morning. I don't think there is an issue with the electronics not shutting off, I think the alternator is just bad.

I got it up on jackstands last night, pulled front tires, calipers and rotors off, they were completely trashed. I already have a new set of front and back slotted&drilled rotors plus pads on order.

The timing belt upon further inspection actually looks fairly new and in good condition. The power steering pump is going bad, the downpipe for the exhaust has a hole rusted through it, the right quarter panel has rust by the wheel. The transmission and clutch feel strong. The car is putting out a lot of black smoke when revving, possibly burning oil? I'll add some pictures then!

 

[xandrew245x]

My stock mani has a crack in it that was welded up, but its starting to crack again, so i'm looking to replace it. I do actually like the FP race manis, I'm actually not a huge fan of a ton of stainless steel under the hood, I just thought a equal length header was beneficial, but I suppose for what I am aiming for its not necessary. I recently picked up welding, and was thinking about making my own manifold once I was better at welding stainless. I was going to start with making a stainless down pipe first my self since the welds wouldn't need to be absolutely beautiful on that.

 

[xandrew245x]

My cam gears are looking pretty nasty so I want to get them cleaned up, I want to media blast it to get it looking new again. The thing is, should I remove the cams to blast them? If I do remove them, do they go back on a certain way because I worry about the cams moving once the gears are off. I never worked with cams before, so I'm not sure exactly what would happen if I remove them. Any insight would be appreciated. Also I think it would be better to remove them, because I do want to clean and repaint the head and valve cover.

Edit: Also wanted to ask, whats the best way to mask off the areas that I want to keep the media out of when blasting. I was thinking some 3 mil plastic and painters tape, but i'm not sure if the tape will hold.

 

[YUPOK]

Since you want to paint the VC anyway, pull it and the cams to be safe.

I strongly recommend using a cleaner like simple green on the gears and VC to avoid any damage or grit getting caught in the VC baffle from the blaster.

 

[xandrew245x]

I was planning on using baking soda to blast everything. From what I read soda was okay as it would dissolve if any particles were left, unlike sand or other medias. Is this true, or should I still not blast?

I'm planning on painting the block, valve cover and other parts, I may leave the head alone, in all honesty afters its cleaned up I think its going to look just fine and dandy, the block is rusty and has paint peeling everywhere, and the valve cover has paint chips as well, so they definitely need done.

The next question is if I should remove the crank pulley, oil pump and water pump to paint the block, or just tape all of those off, and then give them a good cleaning afterwards. After all, these components are pretty well hidden once in the car.

 

[YUPOK]

Even with a good flush, baking soda could still get trapped in the baffle. If you look for pictures of the inside of the VC you'll see what I mean. There is no access in there, which is why usually people re-weld one. You could also just polish the VC.

You have to pull the crank pulley anyway to get to the timing belt but the inside of that is an aluminum cover. So really you would just have to clean up the front and back sides.

 

[xandrew245x]

Okay thanks for that advice. I suppose the VC wouldn't really even need to be blasted in order to paint it. The block definitely needs blasted thought. I could do some light sanding on the head and VC to prep it for paint. Like I said, I may just clean the head up instead of painting it because the paint on the head is still in really good condition.

To blast the block, I was going to cover the head with 3mil plastic and tape it off well to keep any media from getting into the pistons, the oil pan will be left on while I blast as well.

I currently have the valve cover off, would dipping it in a bucket of water once i'm done blasting still result in baking soda possibly being stuck places. I have read about people blasting entire engines with baking soda with no ill effect.

 

[xandrew245x]

What if I blasted the head, block and valve cover as one unit to keep particles from getting places they shouldn't, then break it down after blasting for paint?

 

[goodbuds]

No, you don't have to go that crazy with cleaning. Just take your time with a few rags it will look nice.

 

[chrysler kid]

The cams have a nipple on them, you can remove the cam gears without taking the cam shafts out

The groove is from the oil pan bolt being too long, look at the area between the crank sprocket and the oil pump sprocket for rubber build up

 

[xandrew245x]

I think the bolt was installed incorrectly at one point, but it is in correctly now, there is no bolts protruding anywhere around the oil pan.

Whats the easiest way to remove rust and loose paint before painting?

 

[xandrew245x]

Here is a picture of the pistons and valves. Anything you recommend to do to them while I have it apart? upon inspection when taking the timing belt off, I noticed that the balance shaft had already been removed, so one less step for me.

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[xandrew245x]

I need to remove rust and paint from the block before painting it. What is a good method other than media blasting. I have a sand blasting gun and a 50# bag of baking soda, but now I'm worried about getting media in places it shouldn't be. Would it be okay to blast the block with soda?

 

[xandrew245x]

Anyone have any advice for removal of paint and rust from the block? I used a wire cup on my angle grinder and it worked very well at getting it down to bare metal, but I can't get it into all the nooks and crannies on the block.

I plan on blasting my cam gears down to bare metal then clearing them( leaving the part where the belt rides on untouched) I put some paint remover on my valve cover and remove the nasty clear coat and did some light sanding with 220 grit paper. I considered polishing it, but I think I am going to paint it.

The head itself is actually in really good condition and with a little clean up it will be good as new, I may spray another coat of clear on it to protect it then.

 

[chrysler kid]

Try using a fine wire brush, or even one of those battery post brushes and some paint remover to get in the crevices. As long as the surface is clean the paint should stick

 

[ThunderChild]

Looks like your engine is on a stand, yes?

If so, get some oven cleaner or heavy degreaser, hose the outside down and scrub it off with some heavy bristle brushes.
Then tackle the rust with some stiff steel brushes and pb blaster. You can get small brushes that fit small areas at lowes, home Depot and harbor freight. Bottle brushes that for in drills work great as well.

After that, degrease the entire block again, tape off sensative areas, prime what u want to paint, and hit it with whatever color you want, high heat 500 or 1200* engine enamel. If u want glossy, couple coats of clear over that.

 

[xandrew245x]

Thank you both! That is the exact advice I was looking for. I looked all over google and came up with 10 difference methods, but I wanted to know which was going to be the best way to go about it.

Hopefully I can get it done by the weekend so I can get it painted. I'm going to have to somehow get the block into my basement since my garage isn't heated and its cold now. My basement is a nice 80ish degrees, so that will help dry things out and cure the paint.

I have a large dolly I can borrow from work, i thought about just strapping the engine stand and everything to it and carefully take it down the stairs. I really wish I had a walkout basement right now.

Not sure what i'm going to do with the turbo, it is rather rusty too. I'm thinking about polishing up the aluminum housing, and for the cast parts i'm not sure yet, i'm thinking they should be painted, but i'm not sure on what color.

 

[xandrew245x]

Well after a few hours of paint remover and scrubbing with a small wire brush I got most of the paint and rust removed from one side of the block. The paint is being really stubborn, I had to use multiple applications of paint remover.

 

[xandrew245x]

I've been super busy, so I haven't had much time to work on my car. but I have slowly been getting the engine block cleaned up to be painted. I noticed that I got some fine paint flakes and dust on the piston and in the oil and coolant veins. I know for the coolant veins I could flush them out with water, but what about the oil veins and on top of the pistons?

 

[xandrew245x]

I finally ordered all the parts for the timing thanks to my tax refund. Adjustable cam gears are something I wanted to get for the car in the future, but i'm wondering if I should just pull the trigger on them now since the engine is out of the car and i'm replacing all the timing components. Thoughts on this? I was looking at the fidanza adjustable cam gears from extremepsi. Anyone have experience with these gears?