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Thank you Peter.Very helpfull.It's right there in the manual and I missed it.I guess a lot of others did as well - hence the talk of "offset keys" etc.

Well I got my engine disassembled to the point where I can examine the pistons liners and valves.I'm pleasantly surprised.Liners look really good-no scratches can still see the factory cross hatching even on the top and bottom wear surfaces.I was surprised to find a fair bit of carbon build-up on the piston tops -given how this engine is driven but I guess that could be related to oil leaking down the valve stems.I cleaned one piston top with a plastic scraper and carb cleaner and it looks like new.Guess I'll keep the pistons and liners and just go with Total-Seal rings and a 90 deg.liner rotation.
These picts.show the worst of the 6 cylinders and combustion chambers.The rest are quite a bit cleaner.I'll measure the valve stems before deciding if I replace the valves.
I feel really lucky-The heads slid right off and I am able to rotate all six liners so they should come out no sweat.I've read about other peoples problems with these two items and was concerned they would slow me down.

Me again ! Does anybody know what the "seal ring"referred to in this diagram is ? It can't be the rubber distributor seal as this is dealt with in an earlier procedure.Only "ring" I can see is the brass bushing pressed into the block through which the oil-pump shaft runs.

Any takers on my preceding post re seal ?
Now I have another question.In checking the specs for liners and pistons the manual indicates that these items are colour-coded and the specs are tied to these colours.I have my pistons and liners in front of me (On the desk in my office like any true Alfisti )and the only coloured marking is on the lower liner stamped in red is AE B .Nothing coloured on the piston.Manual speaks of blue pink or green markings.Any suggestions ?

Greg Gordon if you happen to browse through this topic I have a question for you.In reading through old postings I vaguely remember you mentioning that when replacing valve guides there could be an issue relating to the allignment between the guide and the valve which should be addressed by a machine shop.Perhaps my old brain is playing tricks on me ! Simply put if I install new guides and seals and if my valve stems and seats are to spec.should everything work as intended ?

As Far as I can remember there is an O-ring between the frontcover and the oil-pump. That might be the one.

Well I'm just about to start re-assembly of my engine and have run up against a question.I'm re-using my pistons and liners.I'm installing Total Seal standard top-gapless second and standard oil rings and will install my liners at 90 deg.rotated from previous position.Visually the liners look great.Factory cross-hatching is clearly visible all around and only very very slight vertical wear lines are apparent at the top and bottom of the bores.My next step was going to be to run a cylinder hone through each liner.My understanding was that this was necessary in order to provide a fresh surface for the new rings to "bed" into .I decided to do some research and read a lot of articles on this subject.A couple of apparently well researched articles stated that cylinder honing is not a good practice.I include a link to the one I found most compelling.In summary I'm seriously considering skipping the honing and putting the engine back together.Any thoughts ? http://www.angelfire.com/biz/snwvlly/bikes/dnthone.htm

Compelling indeed! I'm compelled to say that this article is the biggest load of hogwash I've ever read. Before the end of the first paragraph, the writer clearly admits he doesn't know what glazing is, what causes it or why it should be removed.
Read about glazing and breakin in these two articles;
http://www.stealth316.com/2-breakin.htm
http://www.ntnoa.org/enginebreakin.htm
and hone away my friend. Your engine will love you for it.

Hi Murray, I must have missed your dec. 22 post. If you replace the valve guides the valve seats will need to be machined which is probably something you are doing anyway.

I agree with Papajam, honing is important. My dad would have a cow if I told him I was building an engine without honing.

Next question:This section taken from the Alfa shop manual states that the valve springs must be oriented in a particular way.Looking at them both ends look the same,ie:the ends of the springs coils are flattened out.Any ideas what Alfa means?

By the way thanks for the replies re honing.I'm still thinking this one over.

Yes Greg I've had the guides machined to line up with the seats and valves.I can't wait to see how the new injectors you sent me smooth things out.They sure look like high quality parts.

whats going on in the kitchen while she's at work ! Well the Total Seal rings are all installed,pistons are clean as a whistle and I've honed the liners.Now if the temperature in my garage would go above -25C I could start bolting things back together.I'm going to wait - not because I'm a weather sissy (I'm a Canajun eh!)but because I'm very concerned about the liner seals seating properly in super cold conditions

Images that should have been attached to foregoing

Murray,

Don't forget to clean the liners and pistons thoroughly. Some people spray cleaning solvents, wipe it a few times and call it good.

My mechanic and I cleaned each liner several times. First with warm soapy water. Then take a clean kithecn towel and spray some oil on it, then wipe the liner. It will show you if there is still any dirt on the liner walls or not. Repeat this process a few times until the oily cloth is completely clean. Once you use the oil cloth, do not reuse it. The oily cloth is only good for one wipe.

Zamani thanks.Yes I am performing all the engine assembly steps under sterile conditions - my wife's kitchen ! Gave the liners a good bath in the kitchen sink with soapy water then wiped them down like you described.All the cleaned parts are being kept in Zip-loc bags and are treated to a spray of fogging oil to prevent corrosion.Too bad she'll be home from work before I have time to give my crankshaft a bath !

Question about gaskets guys?I ordered a complete gasket set for my 3.0 milano verde from Alfa ...... and Mr ... informed upon ordering I was to recieve Goetz gaskets with viton seals(German).
I recieved Victory gaskets (Italian ) with one corteco viton seal (oil seal)should I be happy or sad are these inferior or superior products?
Thanks