Sierra V6 project Thread.

A small introduction to my new project thats kept me away from driving/working on the 197 for the past 4 months ( can you believe it hasnt been driven since its return journey from Trax 2010? Dead battery anyone lol ).

I aqquired the car mid September 2010 from my father that had owned it for 10 years, but had fallen victim to his bigger priority project, A mk3 Capri 3.0S. This resulted in the poor Sierra, which when he first bought it was in near perfect condition, being left to stand for an amazing 8 years!

My first job was to clear my second garage out and evict the misses 182, with winter coming it was a hard battle but i was the most persistant :tongueout:

As can be seen the car is a pretty sorry state ATM, but i can see the potential glimmering through:

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Upon opening the bonnet, i found the remains of a once proud 2.9 12v Cologne V6 lump, incomplete with exhaust manifolds, inlet manifold, throttle body, air filter, radiator, fan, alternator, water pump and all associated brackets and belts:

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These item were finally located in the boot :worried:

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It took me a day alone to inspect the engine bay and identify what work required doing along with a list of missing parts.

Completely rusted battery tray:

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Leaking rocker covers:

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Front crank seal leaking:

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As is the rear, requiring engine and flywheel to be removed to replace:

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Front diff leaking from both driveshafts:

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Power steering fluid pooled all over the subframe, im suprised theres any left in the rack!

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A small bit of luck though, i found one of the AWOL exhaust manifolds, albeit removed, sitting between the block and the inner wing, wedged in place naturally:

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Other work includes:

1) Sump gasket replacement.
2) Snapped exhaust manifold studs drilled out and replaced.
3) Aqquire and fit water pump, fan, alternator, power steering pump and all associated brackets, belts and pulleys.
4) Radiator corroded, needs a new one.
5) Sort out a bad patch of rust on battery tray.
 
used to work on sierras - always thought they were a good motor - always seemed to handle the mileage :smile:

some of the "oil leaks" dont look that bad and if its been stood for 8yrs - i would be inclined to clean some of the oil off first and see from there
 
Looks like a nice little project. Good luck! Keep us updated with pics!
 
Next thing to work out was what needs doing to the rest of the front end, with work being planned to sort the entire front out, turn the car round in the garage and then concentrate on the rear end.

first the out dated wheels came off, as fashionable as they were 10 years ago i think that in todays age they dont compliment the cars classic personality anymore:

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I popped down to a local Sierra performance specialist and bought myself a set of wheels similar to what the car came with, as im going for an OEM+ appearance. £40 for a set of 5 with barely used tyres, bargain!

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So now to concentrate on the front suspension and brakes. Another bit of good luck when i removed the front wheels and found the front calipers had very recently been changed for brand new items, relief on a car that is prone to calipers seizing, although the discs have seen better days:

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Both track control arm ball joints have excessive play and need replacing:

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It looks as though the suspension has had lowering springs fitted sometime in its vast past, although i plan to put entirely new spax suspension in:

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Basically all bushes, mounts and joints need replacing in the suspension and ARB components.

Driveshafts both had split outer gaitors, managed to get a new pair off ebay and replaced them:

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Whilst under there i had a quick survey of the rear of the car to see the challenges that lay ahead.

Exhaust system completely missing!

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Rear diff and suspension looking tired, i was too scared to probe for problems more specific:

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And obviously the bodywork requires major money spent on it. Front bumper and grill are different colours and whilst in storage it got caught by a reversing van on the wing :worried:

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Good news? yes there is something to keep me going with this impossible money pit, the interior is spotless and from a cosworth variant, that being Recaro seats, upholstery and doorcards :smile:

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My dad popped over with a few bits he'd been collecting for the car aswell, but not as much as i'd hoped for, mainly service parts :worried:

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But better than nothing :smile:

Thanks for reading and appologies of pic heavy thread, will be updating as progress goes on. Thanks, ben.
 
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Good news on the seat front!

Yeah sorry about the grimey pictures of the interior but the battery is obviously flat and long ago removed so the central locking doesnt work and i didnt have the IGN key with me to unlock it :worried:

Windows are filth!
 
Wow, Good look with the project Ben.

My Mum used to have the re-issue 1991 Sierra XR4i, was a fantastic car to drive and weighed nothing so power to weight was good too.
I learnt to drive in it!
With the 4 wheel drive your be cornering just behind the Clio's... :wink:

Can't wait to see the finished beast.
 
Cool, I love random barges being brought back and loved again - there used to be thousands of them, but now they're all gone.

Mate of mine has just bought a rather older one...

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lol. yeah maybe... i don't think it is fair to compare something with 50% more capacity and cylinders hey....

and in all honesty, i can't see there being a significant difference between the two.
 
Bin the 12v and 24v it.

These always wept a bit from the transmission. My Dad had various new ones, Y plate ex-demo XR4i, C plate XR4x4, E plate XR4x4, then on to the Cossie's.

I bought a J plate 2.9 10 years ago, did it up and sold it, great cars!
 
...great project. I would love to be able to do this if I had the time, money, space and an understanding partner! It's amazing how you notice these cars have all but dissapeared when you actually see one on the road....I remember the Sierra first coming out and its looks being very controversial. I thought they looked great 9when I was 10)....hardly ever see Mk3 Escourts...Mk1,2,3 Fiesta.....Mk1 Metro's....Maestro's....Talbot Sunbeams.....Astra Mk1.....the list goes on!