Engine & Transmission Latest Topics

Type 9 to Xflow Torque Specs

Sun, 16 Aug 2026 13:10:52 +0000

Hello

Hope everyone is well.

I have a Xflow 1.6 mated to a type 9 (Cortina Mk3). I’m wanting to replaced the clutch assembly, so have bought myself a replacement kit. Never done this before, but I know “mostly” what it entails.

However, I can’t seem to find a handful of torque specs I need. Would someone kindly help? I’ve a workshop manual only, nothing from Haynes at the moment. Apologies if I’ve completely missed it. I know what I’m looking for MUST be in it somewhere… Just can’t seen to find it!

Bell housing bolts engine - Internet search gives: 35–45 lb ft / 47–61 Nm

Gearbox mount to extension housing 36 lb ft / 49 Nm (Intereurpe repair manual - I’m assuming this is a good source!)

Extension Crossmember to floorpan 14 lb ft / 19 Nm (Intereurpe repair manual)

Starter motor bolts - Internet search gives: 20–25 lb ft (27–34 Nm) Previously, I’ve just tightening it well (Never really thought about it until now!)

Additionally, is it standard practice to use thread locker?

Thanks again for your help!

Michael

Heater pipes

Thu, 06 Aug 2026 12:40:24 +0000

Hi, does anybody have any heater pipes that run from auto choke to manifold and heater.

I've looked on web but cant seem to find any that are the correct shape. Cheers

Sooooo, head gasket or duff radiator cap?

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 19:19:38 +0000

I had the car running a week or three ago, as I mentioned in a thread somewhere. Yesterday I had it running and the temp gauge didn't work. I then discovered that the rad was empty, or as near as dammit! After putting it back in the lockup there was a nice puddle of water on the floor, under the overflow pipe. Today, I go and fill up the rad, leave the cap off and fire it up. Whilst ticking over the water level started to come up into the neck of the rad and trickle into the overflow pipe. I rev the engine, the water goes down a bit, as expected but, no bubbles in the water. I refit the cap and wait for the temp gauge to start working, then I look in the engine bay and water is coming out of the overflow pipe again. I rev it and it stops, then it comes back on tickover. The exhaust is a little steamy with some water splattering out but not steamy like the Flying Scotsman or the Queen Mary! I'm putting this down to the cool weather at the moment, fingers crossed. So what do we reckon? Gasket or cap?

Deleted

Fri, 03 Jul 2026 16:32:42 +0000

Posted in error, sorry.

Mk2 cortina 1600e to 3.0 vessex conversion

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 12:39:43 +0000

Hi new to this forum I am doing a conversion on a mk2 1600e cortina to a 3.0 v6 essex engine I have the engine mated to a type 9 5 speed gearbox can any one tell which cross member I need to fit between the cortina chassis legs. I have a late capri one at the moment that is too wide before I start modifying it does any one know a better part to use? Also want to convert to steering rack and possibly power steering if any one has any information about this too.

Thanks for any information

Dan

Temp gauge issue

Sat, 30 May 2026 20:02:38 +0000

Hi all,

Having a long ongoing issue with my temp gauge.

I have a 3.0 MK3 and the temp gauge don’t work? Yet, if I earth it the gauge works fine. I have changed the sender three times but the issue remains.

Both work fine, but when I connect them nothing works.

Im no mechanic so please don’t blind me with science.

Any ideas please????

Tony

Mk2 1600gt starter problem

Sun, 24 May 2026 21:09:20 +0000

Had a strange issue today. Took the Crayford out so I could burn my bald head. When I parked up after about a 40 min drive, I had to move the car a couple of mins later. At first it wouldn't start, then when it did the starter wouldn't disengage - thankfully ive got a battery isolator in the car so could turn it off. After a few goes it started so I took it home to investigate. I've never been great with the voodoo of car electrics, but assume the issue is with the solenoid not reacting to the release of the key from the start position. I've had the starter out and the gear moves freely and all the teeth etc are there.

Am I right to think a new solenoid is the logical thing to replace, or is there a way to check one for an intermittent fault?

Exhaust for a Mk 4

Sat, 02 May 2026 16:28:32 +0000

Hi all

Whilst test driving the Cortina after bleeding the brakes today, the exhaust rear section broke (due to age) 😖, so I'm going to have to source a new one.

Are the exhausts for the pinto engined mk 3 and mk 5 interchangeable? I can see exhausts for those available online but no mk4s.

Cheers

Jim

mk3 clutch adjustment with P100 gearbox

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 12:06:19 +0000

Baffled here. Got a mk3 Cortina with a 5 speed P100 gearbox fitted. So no adjustment pedal end. When I adjust cable to with the 3.5mm clearance as in Haynes manual it's closes up when pedal pressed and the pedal height goes up? Any ideas anyone? Getting sticky engaging first gear.

Mk1 cortina 4door doors seals

Sat, 02 May 2026 07:39:35 +0000

Looking at the seal available they look nothing like the ones on the car . If anyone has used them have you got any pictures of them fitted thanks

Wheels

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 07:16:44 +0000

Could somebody tell me what make of wheels these are thanks

Sierra pinto 165 block

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 20:41:10 +0000

as you probably know the 165 is the same external dimensions (ie height) as a 2 litre block, but with narrower bores.

Has anyone any thoughts on boring it out to 1.8 or even 2 litre? would this be possible?

I have one sitting spare , and the head (unleaded of course).

Fuel line routing

Sat, 07 Mar 2026 12:39:15 +0000

Happy weekend. Not sure if this should sit in the bodywork section, but here goes...

I am FINALLY staring to bolt bits back on the car, and re-attached the brake line underneath, as I can see where it routes back up to the servo/MC.

But could someone kindly share a pic of how/where the hard fuel line runs up in to the engine bay? I don;t trust anything that was done previously on this car so don;t want to blindly follow the previous owner's example.

I dare say it would be pretty obvious if the engine were in (it's getting a 2.8, BTW) but I am trying to get all the underneath stuff done before dropping it back down.

Many thanks

MK3 exhaust Manifold

Sun, 01 Mar 2026 10:53:08 +0000

Anyone know the part number for a MK3 cortina manifold? Few on eBay but don't wanna buy the wrong un

Essex v6 starter motor woes

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 16:49:44 +0000

im trying to get the starter motor on my Essex engine to turn over, its a new lucas starter, 9 teeth, works on the bench but once in it wont engage, i can hear it try but it seems to stick , the engine turns over by hand fine, as far as i know its a 3L Capri Engine , new battery, but located in the boot . new loom , its a Cortina Savage so the engine is a bit of an unknown , i bought it as a complete rebuilt engine.

would the flywheel be different on certain engines ?

its it an Earth fault ,as in needs a bigger earth cable closer to the starter ?

Pinto petrol pump

Wed, 31 Dec 2025 14:16:18 +0000

Hi all,

Any recommendations for a good quality petrol pump for a 2L Pinto? I've normally bought parts from Burton but have heard on here that their quality is not the best.

Many thanks,

Pete

Type 9 - V6 Essex Issues

Fri, 26 Dec 2025 04:47:32 +0000

I have an early type 9 gearbox with V6 Essex bellhousing which is supposed to have come out of an SA Bakkie to convert my current 4 speed to 5 speed – however I have my doubts -

The initial make or break issue for me is the relative height of the input shaft to the bellhousing/engine mounting flange – on my 4 speed it protrudes about 3mm - on the 5 speed it is about 10mm low.

So my initial question is – will the shaft have enough (if any) purchase into the crank spigot bearing?

Runs for 2 to 4 seconds then cuts out?

Fri, 21 Nov 2025 09:22:20 +0000

Good morning

Please can anyone advise.

I have a 1982 2lt manual mk5 estate, at the end of the summer she started to play up.

Now she will only start with juice poured into the webber carb and then only runs for 2 to 4 seconds. It has a new fuel pump and the fuel is getting to the card. I have just taken out and clean the two side jets and no difference. Please can one of you lovely people shed any light on this problem.

Cheers

Clearing flooded engine and ignition key hole problem

Sun, 23 Nov 2025 13:20:15 +0000

Me again with yet another random problem that got me stranded this time

I parked the tc2/mk4 in the gyms parking lot and after i came back to the car to head home it didnt start. Since my automatic choke isnt adjusted correctly (1.6 pinto 1v carb) i kept pumping thinking its just not getting enough fuel but no still nothing. I then popped the hood and saw that somehow the ign coil to distributor wire has completely broken off from the distributor section and the distributor cap was also a bit loose and not seated fully. The tip of the wire is still attached to the distributor but the rest of the wire had broken away and was dangling and the wire is only a year old. Then i realized that i also flooded the engine when i pumped the gas quite a bit. Sadly i had no new wire to swap it out , i tried to put the broken wire back in and duck taped it and floored the pedal and kept it floored while cranking to try and clear the flood and cranked for a total of maybe 40 seconds (in 3 different tries to not kill the starter) it kinda wanted to start but still didnt so i just had to leave it there, not sure if its still flooded or just not getting enough spark due to broken wire (it was also backfiring from the intake into the air cleaner). I plan on coming back to it in a couple of days with a new wire, will the flood clear itself when sitting like that for a couple of days or should i remove all spark plugs and then turn the engine over to clear the flood that way. Also the wire was new, i wonder if the bodyshop somehow damaged them during the rust repairs in the cowl area or maybe if they knocked off the distributor cap a bit from its seat, could that have caused the wire to break within that one week due to not correctly seated distributor cap?. Or maybe is it a case of just new parts being trash in quality i dont know

Also another issue that worried me a lot more, the key doesnt really wanna go into the ignition key hole. Like the key hole itself has plunged inside to its housing a bit. I could still somewhat turn the key after giving it a couple tries but the key is absolutely not all the way in and doesnt wanna go all the way in. I can even remove the key in any position. I left it in 1 to clear the steering lock in case if i need to tow it and need to have a functioning steering wheel. The bodyshop also damaged the ignition key hole during the assembly and that was repaired before i picked the car up last week but now suddently its acting up again despite being "fixed". Im wondering what could be causing it to plunge into its housing.

Thanks a lot in advance again

my exhaust manifold mk5 2.0GLS

Mon, 03 Nov 2025 12:31:51 +0000

I have had trouble keeping the exhaust clamped on tight and when i went to tighten it today the downpipe slipped striaght through the clamp. Motomobil give the internal diamet of the clamp as 47 mm whereas mine is 50mm or so, presumably it's the wrong clamp. the manifold is shaped to take the tulip endof the downpipe, should there be a sealing ring in there? possibly not with the shaped manifold?

the two studs on the manifold are different to each other, does that matter?

Exhaust Manifold for pre-crossflow 1500 Super (not GT)

Sat, 25 Oct 2025 11:25:50 +0000

Hi.... looking urgently for a standard new/used pre-crossflow Exhaust Manifold for a standard Mk1 or Mk2 Cortina 1500 Super ..... probably hard to get so may have to consider going GT manifold + stainless/mild steel manifold to tailpipe option!

Valve to piston clearance

Wed, 30 Jul 2025 19:39:00 +0000

Hello everyone!

I have Xflow with Hepolite .030" pistons, bcf2 cam, larger valves (any larger cannot fit), double valvesprings etc. I did clay test to prove valve to piston clearance and it was only maybe 1.2 mm. How tight it is actually, if i will drive mostly under 7000 rpm (bcf2 range is 2500-6500rpm)? Is it good idea to put all things together with only around 1.2mm valve to piston clearance? Sorry my english, no Google translator.

Greetings from Finland

four branch manifold for 1.6 mk4 manual

Tue, 30 Sep 2025 10:50:14 +0000

Looking for recomendations, it seems Ashley may not have sufficent clearance and Pipercross possibly worse....

lost gate on selecting reverse gear?

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 19:29:12 +0000

Hi - My 4 speed Cortina Mkv Gearbox was removed and refitted, the reverse gate used to work perfectly but now it is happy to slip straight into reverse which makes traffic lights a little more exciting as reverse is next to first on my box. Not sure what "type" my box is but I know reverse should be to the left, press down and forwards (as I say, next to first). The gear lever is retained not by bolts but by a large fine threaded collar with lock tabs around it. I've clearly not reassembled correctly - what have I done? Thanks for any assistance.

snapped....

Fri, 01 Aug 2025 01:33:19 +0000

...clutch cable,,,,bugger!!.....Which year did the Cortina start having the ratchet and pawl self adjusting clutch? I know on my 1979,it came with the ratchet and pawl,but got rid of it,and now using the manual adjustment cable since 2020...I don't see many manual adjusting cables