All diesel engines are very demanding on the cleanliness of maintenance and repair. When performing any work on these engines, make sure that nothing else gets into them. It is best to seal the fuel line connections and other openings on the engine with adhesive tape.
Before starting work, it is necessary to thoroughly clean and wash the engine, having previously closed all openings with a clean rag to prevent foreign objects from entering the engine.
Engine disassembly is detailed in the following subsections. Therefore, the following describes the work that can be carried out both on the engine installed in the car and on the engine removed from the car. In the event that a complete disassembly of the engine is required, it will only be necessary to combine the individual types of work in the specified sequence.
When disassembling the engine, all movable mating parts should be marked before they are dismantled so that, in case of their subsequent use, these parts can be restored to their original position. This is especially important when removing pistons, valves, caps and bearing shells. They should be laid out in such a way as not to be confused during subsequent assembly.
Never mark bearings and seals with sharp objects («scriber») or typing numbers. Many engine parts are made of aluminum alloy and therefore require very careful handling. In the event that it is necessary to resort to the use of a hammer to remove certain parts, then this hammer must be rubber, plastic or coated with synthetic material.
Since a complete disassembly of the engine is required only in rare cases, and most of the work can be done on the engine installed on the car, individual work is described in the appropriate sections. In the case of an overhaul of the engine, it is necessary to combine the individual stages of work from these sections.
The following description applies to all types of engines, since they differ in most cases only in the number of cylinders. Separate references are given in the text to the design differences of a particular engine.