91 Metro 1.0 Automatic Engine Rebuild Photo's

[doug2060]

This is my 1991 Metro 1.0 3 Cylinder Automatic 4 door:


The engine had poor compression and severe loss of power driving up inclined roads and hills. It smoked quite a bit at times and would foul a spark plug in cylinder 3 in just a few weeks. First I drained the oil and coolant and removed the battery.

Start wherever you like but I started with the intake. Instead of removing it I just unplugged a few hoses and wires and secured it away from the head using bungee cords.

I then began removing the rest.




After everything was cleared from the head it was removed. The head bolts each made a sucking sound when they were loosened.

Then the pistons were each removed. Be sure to keep each one separated with its cap and bearings if reusing. I did replace my bearings etc. Now be careful here because you may have to use something to pop them out of the cylinder. I popped cylinder 2 out and the wooden handle I used slipped, to avoid the handle from hitting me in the face I jerked back just in time for the piston to come down and smack me in the face. At least it didn't hit the cement and get messed up...

I then tried out my new Lisle cylinder hone. It's easy to use. I used it with a Black and Decker 18 volt cordless drill. I used plain ol' WD-40 to lube the cylinders during the process which was only a few minutes. I hear many people are against using WD-40 but just as many are for it. It worked for me.

I cleaned each cylinder with brake cleaner then some WD-40. Cleaning off the old gasket material from the head and block was a real pain in the ass and I can't offer much advice here as they are so many ways to go. I used WD-40, Brake cleaner, Very FINE steel wool (lightly), and a small broken off piece of razor very carefully. It took forever but worked out. I also recommend not cutting you fingernails for at least a week before you start this process.
I then cleaned the pistons using Easy Off Oven Cleaner and Brake Cleaner. I think I did a great job here.

The piston ring compressor like the one below is a real pain at times but it worked and did it's job. I recommend oiling it down on the inside. I tapped the piston back in using a rubber handle of a hammer.

I didn't take any photo's from this point on as I was tired and honestly didn't want to keep greasing up my cell phone. I used ebay for the majority of my parts and tools. The total including oils and everything was less than $350.00.
I did my head last. I replaced all the valves and valve seals and cam seal. Be sure to put any reused part back where it came from. See my valve spring compressor in the photo below. It was annoying but worked. The springs do not have a lot of pressure on them and won't come shooting out at you. Use a magnet to grab the keepers. I was scared I would loose an eye at first but I wasn't going to give the guy at the machine shop a hundred bucks just to put my valves in. My motivation here was to save money. Be sure to grind your valves before replacing. The old valve seals were difficult but not hard to remove using needle nose pliers. The new ones just snap right in place. I oiled them first.

I threw everything back together and I'll be damned, It worked...
I had a bit of blue smoke at first and had to make some adjustments to the throttle and timing.


I would like to give a huge thanks to DOCTORBILL and Johnny Mullet. Without their guides I wouldn't have dared to try this. After 100 miles my Metro is running better than it has the entire time I've had it.

[LeSabre97mint]

John

Nice work!

Dan

[RossT]

Very nice pics!

[leonbentz]

Yep, I rebuilt mine last November. Simple and fun job, but I removed mine completely. I always recemend pulling the engine completely, mostly because of the rear main seal is prone to failure. Mine crumbled like a piece of stale bread, when I took it out. I have 18,000 on mine now and it's still running good. The oil still stays relatively clean, but I noticed that it developed a leak, around the distributor. Oh well, no biggie. Simple job to replace. Good luck with it, I hope you get years of good service with it.

Leon

[DOCTORBILL]

I have about 20,000 miles on my rebuilt now and all is well....

I called my Geo "The Phoenix".

It leaks oil around the valve cover over next to the Distributor.
Never could stop that freaking leak - no matter what I did.

Kind of turns out well, however !

The oil leak - a few drops a day - gets blown all over the Firewall and works its
way down over the body where the front wheels are attached.

So - I have had no rust there where many Geo Metros meet there doom.

See:
"The way Metros Die - rust out in the control arm / underbody area (PHOTOS)"

So I let it leak - small annoyance that pays off big time!

Maybe 1 cup of oil between oil changes (3,000 to 4,000 miles) - I can afford that,
cheap and thrifty as I am (I make a Scotsman look like a spendthrift !)

DoctorBill

[doug2060]

Mine is rust free also. It has quite a bit of greasy build up in those rust prone places especially on the passenger side from the old crank shaft seal leak. If you scrape it off it's real greay but protects from rust...I thought I would add that if you have a crankshaft seal leak the oil gets thrown around the wheel there and dirt will build up on the inside of the wheel and throw it off balance. Both of my drivable metro's had that problem where it made the car shake a bit. Once I fixed the leaks and cleaned the insides of the wheels with mean green it went away. All it take is a small amount of build up on my 12 inch wheels to create a noticeable imbalance.

[GM Line Rat]

Nice write up and pics! Just a suggestion.......I personally would use a variable speed "Electric" drill, rather than 18V cordless drill for the honing project to ensure a consistent speed during honing AKA: No dead/dying batteries in the middle of the process. My spare 1.0 Metro engine is getting it's rebuild now in my garage, but it's not urgent for me so I do some of the process in my spare time, and my current Metro 1.0 in the car is still running strong!

[doug2060]

I used a freshly charged battery. I have 3 for that particular drill. It's a Firestorm industrial series with adjustable speeds, torque settings, and even a level indicator. They even put a nice little handle coming out of the side to get a good grip. I set it at a reasonable speed and torque and got on it. Don't worry I don't use toy drills... I personally prefer it to ANY corded drill...