It’s only done 6000 miles,” remarks Wayne Courtenay of The Blue Oval Rescue Centre as we look at the 1.6-litre CVH engine bolted to an engine stand that’s awaiting a stripdown. The engine in question had been removed from a 1986 Mk2 Fiesta XR2, which has been mothballed for most of its life, hence the low mileage. However, the owner is rightly concerned about perishable items, such as oil seals, and had asked Wayne to replace the hardened valve stem oil seals, renew the clutch, fit a new timing belt and tensioner and investigate why cylinders two and three are low on compression.
As you’ll see over the following steps, we discover more than we bargain for, some of which is typical of an engine that was assembled 36 years ago, but also typical of infrequent oil and coolant changes. A lack of use means nothing to oil and coolant that breaks down over time. Oil creates gloopy deposits and coolant becomes corrosive. In addition to what you can see in our photographs, we discover lots of oily deposits deep inside the cylinder head where the camshaft is located.
We also notice the knock-on effect of some of the problems associated
