Finding and preparing a new to me AMF

[Little Dog]

This is how, what is now known as muddy water, looks this morning. The brown foam has thickened up and the white has thickened up with brown flecks on it brown. I'm confident the rust has gone.

I have read that it is not possible to over rust convert using this technique. However if you don't keep the scrifficial clean the tank will dissolve your components. I have some domestic chores to do then it is time to get filthy .

 

[Little Dog]

This is what comes out, the black stuff is ferrous oxide not rust:

It scrapes off with your fingers and in some cases just rinses off under the tap

Paint also scrapes off with your fingers

Before I go any further I need to manage your expectations. This process converts ferric oxide (rust) to ferrous oxide that can be washed off. It does not replace good steel that has been lost to rust. There will be pitting where the rust ate the steel. The components could be cleaned with wire wool but I use:

The soap keeps my hands clean which otherwise would end up black.

One component, previously with crusted rust, now rust free:

One component with slight rusting and a tough paint now rust free and majority of paint removed:

I think that's it for this week. Little Dog has thrown a sicky and is refusing to go to the shops. Bad A2 , I'll have to sort him out.

 

[birtyA2]

This is what comes out, the black stuff is ferrous oxide not rust:

View attachment 118535

It scrapes off with your fingers and in some cases just rinses off under the tap

View attachment 118537

Paint also scrapes off with your fingers

View attachment 118538

Before I go any further I need to manage your expectations. This process converts ferric oxide (rust) to ferrous oxide that can be washed off. It does not replace good steel that has been lost to rust. There will be pitting where the rust ate the steel. The components could be cleaned with wire wool but I use:

View attachment 118536

The soap keeps my hands clean which otherwise would end up black.

One component, previously with crusted rust, now rust free:

View attachment 118539

View attachment 118540

One component with slight rusting and a tough paint now rust free and majority of paint removed:

View attachment 118541

I think that's it for this week. Little Dog has thrown a sicky and is refusing to go to the shops. Bad A2 , I'll have to sort him out.

Hi Phil

Keen to give this a go, I had some success cleaning up some trim screws last summer. At the scale you are doing this what sort of current draw do you see on your charger. I have a rear axle to clean up and I remember in your excellent refurbishment guide you used this technique in part

Best wishes

Justin

 

[Little Dog]

Hi Phil

Keen to give this a go, I had some success cleaning up some trim screws last summer. At the scale you are doing this what sort of current draw do you see on your charger. I have a rear axle to clean up and I remember in your excellent refurbishment guide you used this technique in part

Best wishes

Justin

Hi Justin

The charger has never registered any current. The way I check for current is to look in the tank. Before the foam forms the fluid can be seen moving and bubbles form on the components.

I think I issued this warning, make sure your sacrificial or components cannot fall over or slip and make contact. Happend to me once and I set fire to the tank, the current was massive.

Phil

 

[birtyA2]

Hi Justin

The charger has never registered any current. The way I check for current is to look in the tank. Before the foam forms the fluid can be seen moving and bubbles form on the components.

I think I issued this warning, make sure your sacrificial or components cannot fall over or slip and make contact. Happend to me once and I set fire to the tank, the current was massive.

Phil

Thanks Phil

 

[Little Dog]

I've cleaned all of the components that went through rust conversion. Flash rusting is such a problem at the minute, and as I can't plate immediately I have bagged them with a squirt of ACF50.

This process has generated some interest and there is more to it than is relevant to this thread. I can't find an electrolysis how-to so I will put one together.

 

[Little Dog]

Loads of my old threads that I thought had been archived I can now access again.
This one covers electrolysis', needs updating, but includes other good non abrasive rust removal methods, https://www.a2oc.net/community/index.php?threads/remove-rust-without-using-abrasives.35191/
Had a break from the A2, been trying to clear my lockup for the engine swap.

 

[Little Dog]

Had some time to kill yesterday waiting for a delivery so needed a job I could do in the kitchen. Decided to clean the head ready for reassembly.

Firstly wanted to clear any contamination from the fuel chambers. Checked for the fuel inlets:

Taped what I think are the injector inlets, don't want any muck in there:

Then I fitted the injectors and filled the cavities with diesel:

I removed the injectors starting with No3 and let the diesel drain out

Satisfied the chambers were clean I plugged the inlets:

 

[Little Dog]

Spurred on with my diesel success I attempted the same for the oilways. Oil outlets taped over and oil purred in:

It was nothing like as successful but I did get some black oil out.

 

[Little Dog]

Still waiting for a delivery I decided to remove the valve stem seals. The last time I attempted this on a VAG engine I failed miserably and got my engine remanufacturer to do the job.

There is a tool for the job. this is the cheap one. A more expensive one has a lever to pull the seal straight up:

Pulling with my right hand and guiding the tool with two left fingers I pull the seals straight up:

 

[Little Dog]

Still waiting for my delivery I decided to do a final check and clean of the threads. Both male:

Also female:

I use cutting taps that have to be well lubricated so that they don't cut any additional material. The threads taking stretch bolts were visually inspected.

With so much cutting oil and the risk of engine oil being in female threads all were cleaned with brake cleaner and blown out with compressed air:

Finally the casting was given a @rotifer style wipe with an oily rag:

My delivery finally arrived.

 

[Little Dog]

I'll come to this latter and comment. Why should these heads not be skimmed?

We have on suggestion that it may be connected with PD injector pressures.

 

[Joga]

Still waiting for a delivery I decided to remove the valve stem seals. The last time I attempted this on a VAG engine I failed miserably and got my engine remanufacturer to do the job.

There is a tool for the job. this is the cheap one. A more expensive one has a lever to pull the seal straight up:

View attachment 119289

Pulling with my right hand and guiding the tool with two left fingers I pull the seals straight up:

View attachment 119290

Is the removing of the stem seal critical enough to motivate the tool, or is it more for the mounting a tools helps? (i recall many years ago when I did this on a Audi 1.8 petrol and didnt have a tool)

 

[Little Dog]

Is the removing of the stem seal critical enough to motivate the tool, or is it more for the mounting a tools helps? (i recall many years ago when I did this on a Audi 1.8 petrol and didnt have a tool)

I had these valve seals stuck solid on a VW PB engine, which was also used in Audi 80. I just couldn’t shift them.
The tool was only £14.50 delivered so I figured it wasn’t worth risking getting stuck again. The mounting tools are a useful bonus.

 

[Little Dog]

Killing time again in the kitchen; cleaning the valves.

A scrub with a brass brush in brake cleaner made a good job of the exhaust valves, the masking was not required the brass brush (not brass plated steel) was kind to the steel:

The inlet vales though had baked carbon on them that the brake cleaner would not touch:

Still messed up, plan B required:

Plan B, soda blasting is kind to steel:

Success:

A final scrub with a fine finishing pad:

 

[Little Dog]

I would usually give my valves a lapping using a sucker on the end of a stick. Can’t put my hands on it at the moment.
For £9.99 delivered I couldn’t resist ordering one of these:

I can’t imagine how it mimics the hand tool action. Has anybody used one?

 

[Little Dog]

Play time

Couldn't quite get the hang of that . It has a good reciprocating action but I couldn't get the drill speed right for it. Lapped them by hand:

Very pleased with the valves, seats still have one or two marks but there is continuous grey round all of them; they will seal. Still feel a little gritty so a good clean up is required tomorrow.

 

[Little Dog]

Had a good clean up of the head, all grittiness has now gone. This applicator made fitting the valve stem seals so easy:

There must be a tool for easy fitting of valve cotters, if anybody knows of one please post it up. I had to make do with two BBQ skewers, some micro pliers and the assistance of gravity:

They go down there:

When the springs are compressed access isn't great but I got all 6 eventually:

Probably a step too far for today and not necessary for a 100k miles engine. However I had already bought new hydraulic tappets for the 170k engine in the car:

Head now waiting for me to start stripping the engine currently in the car:

 

[Joga]

It is an upside in have only six valves, compared to the same job for an AUA.

 

[Little Dog]

Freshly back from Darwen Diesels:

They reported they are good at 3000 rpm but on bottom tolerance at 300 rpm. I didn't think an AMF would run at 300 rpm? Anyway they are going back in, well within spec at higher revs suits the type of driving I do.

Darwen Diesels are good to deal with, I also understand their repairs are good. However all of the injectors I have sent to them have been in tolerance but output has been on lower limit at low revs, so not yet had to commision a repair https://www.darwendiesels.com/

I'm inching the A2 on but will soon hit a blocker if I can't get the car in my lockup out and the A2 in.