1987 Ford Sierra Sapphire 1.8L - Transmission porn - see page 59

[Christine]

And the tires  might delaminate at high speed !  Or just perish..

[Rightnider]

11 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

Makes you wonder what all the chemicals we all mess around with do to your skin if it does that to those tiles. 

Well, if someone came up with the concept of motoring today…

’You ”drive” in a steel construction at high speed with just a couple of metres between you and the other, if you crash depends entirely on the skills and attention of the drivers. Don’t worry, you’ll be wearing a ”safety belt” to protect you from smashing into the inside of the car. And the whole thing is propelled by an engine that runs on an extremely flammable fuel which is also known to cause cancer and other diseases.’

It’s all a wonderful reminder of how hopelessly poor humanity is at risk assessment, that we continue just because it all got out of hand.

[Peter C]

8 hours ago, beko1987 said:

At least the concrete pad is spotless now 😬🔥 

It’s not! There’s plenty of adhesive residue and paint is peeling all over the place.

[beko1987]

45 minutes ago, Peter C said:

It’s not! There’s plenty of adhesive residue and paint is peeling all over the place.

Ah, buggar 😢 

Maybe the change in air pressure/temp caused a tiny vacuum that capillaried (sp) up and out until it just ran dry 🤔 

[Peter C]

5 minutes ago, beko1987 said:

Maybe the change in air pressure/temp caused a tiny vacuum that capillaried (sp) up and out until it just ran dry 🤔 

That sounds feasible, however the difference between daytime and night time temperatures couldn't have been more than 10 deg C.

Any scientists in the house able to confirm please? 

[Peter C]

Despite yesterday's setback, I persevered with getting the Sierra's engine ready for removal, which is scheduled for next weekend.

As the garage still reeks of fuel, I pushed the Sierra outside and spent the afternoon working under the carport.

Whilst my hands were still clean, I removed the gearstick.

Rather than working on my level, clean and soft workshop floor, I had to lie on gravel and old sheets. Wank.

The starter motor bolts were a bit tight but came off in the end with a bit of brute force.

The end of the starter motor, the bit that sits inside the bellhousing, looks filthy. Is that clutch plate residue or deposits of engine oil, which has been leaking from the crank rear oil seal and sploshing around inside the bellhousing?

I removed the centre propshaft support bearing and separated the propshaft. I left the final piece inside the gearbox, to prevent gearbox oil from dripping out overnight onto my lovely* workshop floor.

Back up top, I removed all bolts that connect the engine to the bellhousing. As the bolts are not all the same size, I devised a storage method that will help with reinstatement.

With assistance from my 16 year old, I removed the bonnet.

I marked up the positioning of the hinges with gaffer tape, which will, hopefully, help with alignment when the time will come to refit the bonnet.

I made a bracket that will be needed to enable attachment of the rope to the engine. I removed the nice and shiny new exhaust manifold studs and refitted a couple of old studs, which I kept, just in case. Glad I did! I wouldn't want to damage the thread on the new studs.

Back in the workshop and ready for the engine to be removed.

I celebrated in the usual way.

I loosened the gearbox mount bolts and removed the clutch cable.

I will need to buy a circlip removal tool, to remove the speedo cable from the side of the gearbox.

I also need to unplug the reverse light switch wires.

More soon.

[Surface Rust]

Your methodical and tidy approach is an inspiration.

When I tackle any garage job it looks like an explosion of tools and parts within 5mins!

It's hard to tell from the pic, but is your custom lifting eye made from aluminium? If it is I don't know if I'd trust it lifting your engine out. Some ally is surprisingly soft and tears easily.

[Missy Charm]

On 29/05/2026 at 07:31, Peter C said:

That sounds feasible, however the difference between daytime and night time temperatures couldn't have been more than 10 deg C.

Any scientists in the house able to confirm please? 

Looking at the shape and position of the rubber pipe, I'd hazard a guess that it spontaneously started acting as a syphon.  It's possible that the effect of vapour trying to escape the fuel system was enough to push the residual petrol in the rubber pipe up far enough to spill over, which then started a syphon effect sufficient to pull the rest of the petrol through the system.  

Sorry to hear about the floor 😢.

[Peter C]

5 hours ago, Surface Rust said:

It's hard to tell from the pic, but is your custom lifting eye made from aluminium? If it is I don't know if I'd trust it lifting your engine out. Some ally is surprisingly soft and tears easily.

No, it’s steel and it’s a tough one too as I ended up killing a decent drill bit whilst drilling a hole for the exhaust clamp.

Fingers crossed it won’t split and cause the engine to drop onto the slam panel.

[RoverFolkUs]

I echo concern about the lifting eye bracket. Usually the brackets are thicker steel, I'd also be sceptical of the strength of those studs. Without the bracket being tightened flush to the head, I reckon in its current setup it could have the ability to bend or snap them, or worse pull the threads out

Looks like you already have the rear bracket, but the front and rear ones are readily available online 

Maybe I'm just being over cautious, but I did once witness a nasty hand crushing injury from improper engine lifting so I do tend to spend a bit longer checking things over before the job 😅

[captain_70s]

I've snapped two factory Triumph lifting points, and they're thick steel, although a shit design as they're also the auxiliary belt tensioner with obvious weak points.

I only got away with that one because @320touring spotted it snapped and had then slowly bent rather than rapidly depositing the engine on my freshly rebuilt and painted front panel...

Deffo worth spending £20 on lifting eyes, or running a strong ratchet strap under the sump to distribute the weight.

[danthecapriman]

Having shifted my Pinto around at home by hand I can confirm how heavy they are! They don’t look particularly big but it’s all iron and they are incredibly heavy. The last time I lifted it I nearly blew out my O ring I swear!😆

If you can get a proper lifting eye for it I’d say do it. That’s a hell of a lot of weight swinging around over a nice car to risk damage, but also if it lets go and lands on you you’re going to get properly messed up!

 

[Peter C]

@Surface Rust

@RoverFolkUs

@danthecapriman

Point taken regarding my DIY engine removal bracket. 

A suitable bracket has been acquired as per your instructions.

I am collecting the engine crane on Friday afternoon.

 

[Zelandeth]

3 minutes ago, Peter C said:

@Surface Rust

@RoverFolkUs

@danthecapriman

Point taken regarding my DIY engine removal bracket. 

A suitable bracket has been acquired as per your instructions.

I am collecting the engine crane on Friday afternoon.

 

Good move.  Pintos are absolutely unreasonably heavy for the size of them.  

[danthecapriman]

1 hour ago, Peter C said:

@Surface Rust

@RoverFolkUs

@danthecapriman

Point taken regarding my DIY engine removal bracket. 

A suitable bracket has been acquired as per your instructions.

I am collecting the engine crane on Friday afternoon.

 

Right move👍

Id hate to have seen you get hurt buddy. And I’d even less want to have seen the Sierra get bent😄

[Peter C]

I collected the engine crane (hoist?) this afternoon.

It's a big and heavy bastard of a contraption but the ID7 swallowed it, admittedly partially dismantled, without any problems.

With my 16 year old's help, I removed the engine crane from the back of the ID7 and set it up in the workshop.

I extended the boom and set up the engine crane so that it's not too close to the front of the Sierra.

Everything seems to be lined up, ready for action.

Kick off is at around midday tomorrow. 

Wish me luck.

More soon.

[bigfella2]

What are you using to take it out with? An old seatbelt or one of those engine leveler things?

[Peter C]

10 minutes ago, bigfella2 said:

What are you using to take it out with? An old seatbelt or one of those engine leveler things?

Two nylon tow ropes.

[High Jetter]

Fingers X that no paintwork, or body parts, get damaged in the process. Good luck!

[Peter C]

I started a little earlier than planned and quickly got up to speed.

First, I properly fitted the two lifting eyes. By properly, I mean so they were rigid. I didn't want them flapping about and potentially causing damage to the cam cover. Or worse.

I replaced the orange tow rope that I trial fitted yesterday with a yellow one. Not because yellow tow ropes are any better but because it's a lot newer and therefore potentially stronger.

 

I lifted the engine high enough to enable removal of both engine mounts.

After a little tug forward the engine separated from the gearbox.

I cautiously started to lift the engine up. The tow rope didn't exhibit any signs of discomfort so I continued.

I got the engine up and over the engine bay.

Then, rather than moving the engine crane and swinging the engine about, I pushed the Sierra back.

The Pinto was out.

Nothing snagged, the engine came out without issues.

I have created a mobile engine stand.

I concur that a Pinto engine is HEAVY!

With the engine removed, I had a look inside the bellhousing. 

No doubts about the oil leak.

Next, I removed the bellhousing.

Then I removed the gearbox.

I lifted the front of the Sierra as high as possible, tied the front of the gearbox with rope to the bulkhead and supported the centre of the gearbox with a hydraulic jack. 

Unfortunately, the circlip that secures the speedo cable snapped when I tried to remove it. I'm sure that finding a replacement shouldn't be too difficult.

I removed the gearbox mount, lowered the gearbox on the jack and pushed it over on its side and onto an arrangement of blankets, then removed it from under the Sierra.

The gearbox is absolutely filthy. 

I was keen to have a look inside, to check what happened to the rubber hose that fell into the gearbox when I was squeezing additive inside.

I opened up the top cover.

No sign of the rubber hose. It's either lying on the bottom of the gearbox or it has been chewed up by the cogs. I'll find out when I drain the oil.

I have a lot of work to do here.

I want to tidy up the engine bay and floorpan as best as possible but without getting carried away and repainting everything. We'll see how I get on.

To summarise, everything went well, nobody got hurt, the Sierra didn't suffer any damage and I got everything done much sooner than expected. 

The engine crane is now back in the ID7, ready to be returned to the hire shop on Monday. 

More soon.

[grogee]

4 minutes ago, Peter C said:

After a little tug

Yeah, we all need a break from time to time. 

Well done getting it out. 

[High Jetter]

Nice methodical approach and write-up. You are definitely the right owner for this, despite how it looked back when it landed on you.

[danthecapriman]

Well done👍

Definitely does look a bit oily in there so hopefully after a clean up & oil seal(s) it’ll be sorted.

[R Lutz]

Fair play to Ford for its straight forward engineering. 

[Bren]

19 minutes ago, R Lutz said:

Fair play to Ford for its straight forward engineering. 

My dad liked fords for this reason.

Sadly this is no longer applicable.

[big_al_granvia]

the pinto was a cracking engine for its time, totally over engineered but the bottom end was bulletproof . 

[danthecapriman]

1 hour ago, big_al_granvia said:

the pinto was a cracking engine for its time, totally over engineered but the bottom end was bulletproof . 

The only thing that let them down really was the spray bar over the cam. Once it got blocked it killed the cam. Early versions had smaller holes in the spray bar but they modified them with bigger holes shortly after.

Another slight design error was having the cam shaft come out of the head at the back. If they’d have made it come out the front you’d be able to change it much easier.

[vtec-e]

Well done on getting it out with just a little tug and without any scratches or anything worse!

Just PM'd you.

[beko1987]

Can't wait to see the cleaning pics! It's going to look amazing when done and be very practical. You can top up the screen wash or check a pipe/vac leak without getting utterly filthy doing it! 

[big_al_granvia]

1 hour ago, danthecapriman said:

The only thing that let them down really was the spray bar over the cam. Once it got blocked it killed the cam. Early versions had smaller holes in the spray bar but they modified them with bigger holes shortly after.

Another slight design error was having the cam shaft come out of the head at the back. If they’d have made it come out the front you’d be able to change it much easier.

in later years didn't most folk clean the spray bar as a service job. know in my yts days i bathed a few in jizer