300 Tdi Rebuild

I left my crank well alone, it was pretty shiny and the bearing shells were in great condition.

Bennehboy said:

I wanted to get mine honed by a machine shop but couldn't find anyone within a reasonable distance so did it myself with a flex-hone - bores still looked good when I had the head off a few weeks back, 2 years after doing it.

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I had that in mind, I hope mine is not too bad and a light hone and new rings may set me up for a few thousand miles, it needs a good clean after the machining to get out the metal particles looks like this one has been in something like a hot caustic bath that will really fettle out the nooks and crannies

I've got 4 sets of rings BNIB at bargain price if you want some BTW, I put 5 whole new pistons in.

Bennehboy said:

I left my crank well alone, it was pretty shiny and the bearing shells were in great condition.

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Did you put new bearing shells in?

raywin said:

looks like this one has been in something like a hot caustic bath that will really fettle out the nooks and crannies

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They said it was going in to a hot bath, not sure if it was caustic or not, but it's very clean.

Spent ages trying to clean timing cover and clutch housing.
This isn't bad.


The idea of getting a chrome finish vanished very quickly.
The timing cover is a nightmare. It had a 'crust' of oxide, dirt and oil on it. Dry to feel though. Used a wire wheel for ages to get to this.

I think I'll youtube cleaning methods. Or, send it off to Aaron Morris who would sort it in 20mins!

Al2O3 said:

Did you put new bearing shells in?

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Yup. New shells, big end bearings, pistons & rings, every gasket, core plugs, new pipe work, new oil cooler, oil seals, etc.

Bennehboy said:

Yup. New shells, big end bearings, pistons & rings, every gasket, core plugs, new pipe work, new oil cooler, oil seals, etc.

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Sounds familiar.
Was yours just tired or did something go like on mine?

Cracked cylinder head, and 5 very tired pistons with lots of wear on the thrust sides.

Bennehboy said:

Cracked cylinder head, and 5 very tired pistons with lots of wear on the thrust sides.

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How many miles on the clock?

130K when I rebuilt it, but it had been worked very hard, the cracked head took a while to diagnose and I think it contributed significantly to the piston wear - coolant in the oil (but no oil in the coolant oddly).

Bennehboy said:

130K when I rebuilt it, but it had been worked very hard, the cracked head took a while to diagnose and I think it contributed significantly to the piston wear - coolant in the oil (but no oil in the coolant oddly).

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Bad news. It's annoying when these things happen. I was hoping to get over 200K with mine, but an injector going off and piston rings breaking in half sorted that dream out.

When I did my transfer box people told me to get Some of the wire brushes that look a bit like small shaving brushes for the drill they get into the webs on the castings. I heard that some people spray the alloy silver, makes it look good and helps stops it oxidising again.
Don't know which silver paint they use though.

raywin said:

When I did my transfer box people told me to get Some of the wire brushes that look a bit like small shaving brushes for the drill they get into the webs on the castings. I heard that some people spray the alloy silver, makes it look good and helps stops it oxidising again.
Don't know which silver paint they use though.

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wheel silver in aerosol is good

raywin said:

When I did my transfer box people told me to get Some of the wire brushes that look a bit like small shaving brushes for the drill they get into the webs on the castings. I heard that some people spray the alloy silver, makes it look good and helps stops it oxidising again.
Don't know which silver paint they use though.

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It crossed my mind many times today to paint the damn things.
Going to try baking soda and vinegar tomorrow. According to t'internet that combo cleans everything

jamesmartin said:

wheel silver in aerosol is good

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Could well end up painting it. The baking soda is clutching at straws a bit

Al2O3 said:

I've got autosol, I'll polish it with that.

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We use mirco-mesh in work, see here. It is really nice stuff to work with and it goes to the equivalent of 12000 grit (which would take you the rest of your life to take a half thou off We use the really fine stuff for polishing scratches out of transparencies (aircraft windscreens) but the 'coarser' stuff (300/600) is good for fine polishing of metals.

Kwakerman said:

We use mirco-mesh in work, see here. It is really nice stuff to work with and it goes to the equivalent of 12000 grit (which would take you the rest of your life to take a half thou off We use the really fine stuff for polishing scratches out of transparencies (aircraft windscreens) but the 'coarser' stuff (300/600) is good for fine polishing of metals.

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Looks like good stuff, but for the timing belt cover it'll take more than fine polishing.

I wire brushed mine then coated them in clear lacquer - shiny shiny.

Bennehboy said:

I wire brushed mine then coated them in clear lacquer - shiny shiny.

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How long did you wire brush them for? I'm presuming on a drill !!! I've been on ages already. I'll try the hand brush tomorrow.

On a mains drill, and a cup brush on a grinder, takes the **** off in an instant.

Al2O3 said:

Looks like good stuff, but for the timing belt cover it'll take more than fine polishing.

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For use on the crank, for your belt cover you could start with a chisel