The V8 Owners Forum -

For the oil galleries, pull the plugs on them to check the diameter and then visit your local gunshop for a ramrod and bore brush of the appropriate diameter.

unstable load wrote:For the oil galleries, pull the plugs on them to check the diameter and then visit your local gunshop for a ramrod and bore brush of the appropriate diameter.

Thank you! Gun shop just down the road!

Eliot wrote:

DaveEFI wrote: I'd be inclined to take the crank to an expert. It may just need a polish and new shells. Most of the worn engines I've taken apart have copper showing through the shells. The scoring on the shells may have been dirt on assembly, or a lack of filter and oil changing.

Agreed.

Agreed by me as well.

mgbv8 wrote:

Eliot wrote:

DaveEFI wrote: I'd be inclined to take the crank to an expert. It may just need a polish and new shells. Most of the worn engines I've taken apart have copper showing through the shells. The scoring on the shells may have been dirt on assembly, or a lack of filter and oil changing.

Agreed.

Agreed by me as well.

I am all in favour of lots of agreement.

Stripped the oil pump - all looks fine including pressure release plunger - not a mark on it.

What sort of oil pressure should I be looking for in one of these engines?

From what I have seen so far (the pistons are in great condition by the way) I would say your low oil pressure is either a faulty gauge or badly worn rockers and or shafts ?

mgbv8 wrote:From what I have seen so far (the pistons are in great condition by the way) I would say your low oil pressure is either a faulty gauge or badly worn rockers and or shafts ?

I have a horrible feeling that you could be right about the gauge or could it be the sender? I have no idea how these electrical oil pressure sender units work and it's stuck fast and not responding to some hefty attempts to remove it.

Having cleaned and examined the rockers and shafts, they look pretty good to me too.

I am not too despondent about all this work I am doing because the whole thing needed a good clean and at least it's not going to cost a fortune and I can relax about the condition of the engine which was a bit of a worry.

r2d2hp wrote:Is that mark on the piston an indication that its been hitting a valve

Yes, all of them have those marks. Helps with correct alignment of the pistons on reassembly!

""I am not too despondent about all this work I am doing because the whole thing needed a good clean and at least it's not going to cost a fortune and I can relax about the condition of the engine which was a bit of a worry.""

Thats the spirit Ant

Stick at it mate. So far is does not look like you have too many problems ?

The marks on the pistons may be to do with a cam upgrade?

You'll find lots of comment about the oil pressure on these engines.
For a start, it depends on what oil you use, how hot it is, and obviously the revs. The standard pump isn't large enough to keep it constant under all circumstances.
But at the end of the day, crank bearing failure is very rare on these engines, so they generally seem to deliver enough.

I would fit a low pressure switch and warning light, though.

After a bit of a struggle to remove the core plug under the inlet manifold, I find that the hose running from the water pump to the heater pipe is badly corroded. I guess that isn't replaceable?

Also......

The camshaft almost fell out in that I could easily pull it through each of the bushes in the block. Is that normal?

Also...

When cleaning the oilways, should I remove the caps that seem to be a pressed-in fit as well as the plugs that have the allen key recess? Last thing I want to do is disturb them if I don't have to but their removal would help with the cleaning process. Do replacements come with a gasket set?

I removed the core plugs in the block and found the waterways nice and clean unlike the V6 Essex engine I rebuilt a few years ago. Alloy engines are fantastic until you strip a thread that is!

Re your rocker gear have a look at this thread:
http://www.v8forum.co.uk/forum/viewtopi ... c&start=15

Tom.

Hi
yes remove the push in plugs, you need to by a plug set off someone like real steel you can either replace them with push in ones or tap them for screw in plugs
Best regards
Mike

Thanks all for the great advice.

Have acquired an as new inlet manifold, so one less problem to deal with. It's obviously off a later vehicle because the carbs, SUs, have several electrical connections that the old ones don't but I hope that some of the parts are interchangeable with the very tired ones on the old manifold.

The last versions of the SU used had a pretty sophisticated mixture and idle control done by electronics - even had its own ECU. Whilst you could retro fit them, I'm not sure it would be worth the effort.

DaveEFI wrote:The last versions of the SU used had a pretty sophisticated mixture and idle control done by electronics - even had its own ECU. Whilst you could retro fit them, I'm not sure it would be worth the effort.

I was thinking of using some parts that might be interchangeable rather than the whole carb.

I'm not going down the ECU route - far too complicated!