Rover 3.5V8 with slipped liner (24D)

[davewillb]

Hi,

I was stripping this block for parts and looked again at the original issue which I thought was a crack when the engine was still in the car and it wasn't so easy to see (it was a December evening!) - I can see now that the liner has slipped and as this is a 3.5 Rover V8 which this isn't really supposed to be a problem on according to all I read I thought I'd post a few pictures - as per the title, the engine number starts 24D.

This shows how far the liner has slipped down:


this shows the track to the water jacket that has been able to form through the aluminum which is unprotected by the liner.


and in this you can also see that it looks as if at about 7 o'clock something has given the block a clonk and burred the edge of the aluminum casting over as if to hold the liner down - can't see much point in that!! - there are also a couple of fainter tracks etched in the block heading towards the waterway.


My main reason for posting was for interests sake and to flag that 3.5's do drop liners - I don't know the history of the engine other than when it came to me it was in a Discovery with LPG. Maybe it had overheated at some point.

Dave

[ChrisJC]

Interesting!

Chris.

[Will Reeve]

My old 3.5 had the same...but once nice a not it would move and hit the cylinder head with piston strokes! I suspect it can't have been an original liner as I also read this never happened!

[harvey]

I've only seen one slipped liner in all the 3.5 engines I've dismantled or had the heads off, and that must be well into the late hundreds of engines. (If not more probably).

[davewillb]

I've only seen one slipped liner in all the 3.5 engines I've dismantled or had the heads off, and that must be well into the late hundreds of engines. (If not more probably).

Normally when something's that rare it's valuable, don't think this will fetch much though....having said that there do seem to be a few box ebay converted to wine rack / tables

[kiwicar]

Hi
my understanding of the slipped liner problem is that the block cracked behind the lined inside the block. The liner should be held at the bottom by an interference fit and, when is often the case, the liner is not pushed fully down into the block when the liners are put and the block is decked the loss of tension in the block from the crack behind the liner allows the liner to slip. Here you have something a little different, granted the liners are put in with Leyland's usual care so aren't fully home. The block here has cracked at the deck and then corroded the liner from the back opening the block and cracking it further until the liner is free to drop. the original crack probably started when as you say something big and heavy was dropped on the deck of the block and found a weakness in the rather revolting ferric inclusions in the casting all in all a real example of BL mid 70's quality control. However I think all this will have happened whilst the engine has been stood full of grotty water with no antifreeze in it, as looks to have been the case from the pitting and corrosion on the deck face.
best regards
Mike

[davewillb]

Hi
my understanding of the slipped liner problem is that the block cracked behind the lined inside the block. The liner should be held at the bottom by an interference fit and, when is often the case, the liner is not pushed fully down into the block when the liners are put and the block is decked the loss of tension in the block from the crack behind the liner allows the liner to slip. Here you have something a little different, granted the liners are put in with Leyland's usual care so aren't fully home. The block here has cracked at the deck and then corroded the liner from the back opening the block and cracking it further until the liner is free to drop. the original crack probably started when as you say something big and heavy was dropped on the deck of the block and found a weakness in the rather revolting ferric inclusions in the casting all in all a real example of BL mid 70's quality control. However I think all this will have happened whilst the engine has been stood full of grotty water with no antifreeze in it, as looks to have been the case from the pitting and corrosion on the deck face.
best regards
Mike

Hi Mike,

Yes it is a bit of a mess isn't it and a salutary lesson - I have a lot of affection for these engines but when you look at some of the issues it does make you wonder - the heads are pulled sideways by the 14 bolt arrangement, the cam wears and metal particles end up shredding the crank bearings and the the rocker shafts etc - it costs a fortune to run at 15mpg but I'm still planning my next engine with the good bits left from my last engine and the spares I bought for it before it died.

Dave