81 Fairmont valvetrain pics

[BlueOvalFitter]

Originally Posted By: Chris142
my first girlfriend severlly overheated one of those 200's.she drove it 100+ miles with it blowing steam until it quit.some guy came along and wrapped the blown hose with duct tape and filled it with water.

it ran many years after

Do you think it ran all of those years with the duct taped hose?

 

[gfh77665]

Originally Posted By: Jakegday


honestly, im going to do nothing about it. It doesnt bother me. Im going to go with the "if its not broke, dont fix it" train of thought on this one. ..... On average, i have had to put about $100 worth of new parts in it every year. To date, i have put less then $1000 in it, and thats including the $300 purchase price. Not bad for a perfect running car for the last 5 years..


I agree! Do the minimum, and enjoy the cheap ride as long as you can. With that said, a $5 MMO or Rislone treatment is still well within the "minimum" mindset. Either way, roll on without anything other than basic care.

 

[HangFire]

Originally Posted By: Jakegday

Thoughts? comments?


That sure brings back memories!

Thoughts - I'm amazed at that auto body condition in the Rust Belt. I'm not surprised about the reliability. Those 200's are Soviet Tractor boring and Soviet Tractor reliable.

I think the short trips are responsible for the sludging, I would take it on a once-monthly long drive to boil off the excess moisture.

Personally I think the best oil for this engine would be Motorcraft 5w-30 semi-syn, but the sad lack of availability of 5 qt jugs would make the choice expensive and go contrary to the OP's frugal strategy. (5 qt jugs exist but are hard to find).

Barring that I would run whatever brand name 5w-30 semi-syn was on sale and go back to a twice-yearly OCI until it cleans up. Then run whatever 5w-30 was on sale cheapest. Going to 5w-30 would help with cold weather starts and the syn content might help clean it up a little.

But you'll probably be OK doing what you're doing now.

 

[Clubber_Lang]

This would be a perfect appliction for MMO. New oil, filter and 20% MMO cleans that up in 2500 miles. Just sub it for a quart of oil, wont be any more expensive. And post after pictures...

 

[circuitsmith]

Valvetrain looks clean enough to me.

Change trans fluid every 30K miles.
Change brake fluid every 3-4 years.

 

[jayg]

Thinning out the oil with 20% MMO MIGHT clean some of it up inside but for what? Might cause potential leaks and thin the oil out when I would want as much retained for possible fuel dilation even on the little 1BBL.

I would just use like a Peak/PYB/GTX equivilevt 5/30 or 10/30 and change it every 4k or so. It honestly looks fine under the valve cover. Why people would suggests running piles of solvents in the crankcase of a 1981 Fairmont to make it look prettier is beyond me. Throw that VC gasket on and forget about it.

 

[gfh77665]

Originally Posted By: jayg
Why people would suggests running piles of solvents in the crankcase of a 1981 Fairmont to make it look prettier is beyond me.


Most suggested useing 1 qt., not "piles".

Making the VC "look pretty" is not the concern, keeping the internals free from additional sludging is.

 

[demarpaint]

My father had one, he bought it new in 1983 IIRC. It had the emissions carb with the yellow plug preventing air fuel mixture adjustments. The car ran like [censored] until we took that plug off and adjusted the air fuel the right way. After that it ran like a champ.

Being OCD I'd probably dose it over the winter with some MMO or Kreen and try and clean it up a bit.

 

[Bud_One]

Thanks for the pic !! She's in great condition for her age.. hope you get at least another 10 years out of it.

 

[chrisri]

It looks great for over three decades old car. For some reason OHV engines tend to build heavier deposits in valvetrain area the OHC motors.Probably because of lower oil circulation.

 

[jayg]

Originally Posted By: gfh77665
Originally Posted By: jayg
Why people would suggests running piles of solvents in the crankcase of a 1981 Fairmont to make it look prettier is beyond me.


Most suggested useing 1 qt., not "piles".

Making the VC "look pretty" is not the concern, keeping the internals free from additional sludging is.


20% of the sump is a lot to me. 33 years of mild neglect and it looks pretty good. Just driving it on longer trips and changing the oil every 4-5k will clean it just fine. I just wouldn't put a bunch of additives in to something that doesn't look new but runs fine.

 

[Yah-Tah-Hey]

Thanks for the memories Jake. It has been a very long time since I set the valve lash on a Ford. Still have the feeler gauges that look like something has been gnawing on them.Regards

 

[52pu]

Do the car a favor and pull the oil pan, new HV mellings oil pump, pick up, timing chain and new gears. Clean up the pan and put back together. Not too expensive and will give you peace of mind.

 

[HM12460]

I had one of those way, way back in the day. Suggest Mobil Super 5000 for the ol' honk.