The V8 Owners Forum -

bigaldart wrote:You should still prime the pump with vaseline, the Rover pump really is poor at self priming, any time the sump is off so the pick up is exposed it will need priming again. Believe me when I say we have tried every possible method to avoid taking the pump cover off as we drop the sump and check bearings after every meeting on the race car. Most methods work sometimes but not reliably and we then ended up losing track time, now we just pack the pump every time.

Alan

Thanks Alan - you know best and vaseline it is! Once it's primed and the pick-up is below the oil level, will it stay primed for a few weeks?

Should stay primed as long as the pick up is covered, our problem is the sump comes off after every meeting and the car lives in the trailer at about a 20 degree angle. Result is a lot of priming issues. For a normal build, engine sat level and sump staying put there should be no issues.

Alan

I took 2 years between packing the vaseline and priming the oil system. No issues!!!

Started fitting the rocker shafts. My manual says that an identification groove should be observed and the shaft should be fitted with the groove facing to the front on the RH shaft and to the rear on the LH shaft. For the life of me I can't find this identification groove so does it really matter which shaft goes where?

AntC wrote:Started fitting the rocker shafts. My manual says that an identification groove should be observed and the shaft should be fitted with the groove facing to the front on the RH shaft and to the rear on the LH shaft. For the life of me I can't find this identification groove so does it really matter which shaft goes where?

Dont worry about the groove if its not visible but do make sure the oil holes face the valley camshaft area on assembly, like .....half way down the page little diagram http://forum.britishv8.org/read.php?6,8887

Using this technique to measure preload on the lifters.......
http://www.v8developments.co.uk/technic ... ndex.shtml

I find that on the 1,3,5 and 7 cylinder side, the preload varies from 1.01 to 0.69 thou and on the other bank, the preload varies from 1.07 to 0.64. I know that 0.40 to 0.60 is the ideal, but if I get the 1.07 down to around 0.60, the 0.64 will be seriously compromised at best!

I must confess to finding this method tricky because it's hard to get an identical pressure on each pushrod but I found the bent wire process to be as bad, if not worse.

Everything is new but for the pushrods. I might have one final attempt to get a more accurate set of preloads, but some advice would really help.

This typically means that the valve seats have been recut but not all to the same height!

Unfortunately it means the head has to come off and the valves all be set to the same height.

I expect if you put a straight edge across the valve tops, you will find they are all different.

Adjustable pushrods will also fix it for you.

Chris.

ChrisJC wrote:This typically means that the valve seats have been recut but not all to the same height!

Unfortunately it means the head has to come off and the valves all be set to the same height.

I expect if you put a straight edge across the valve tops, you will find they are all different.

Adjustable pushrods will also fix it for you.

Chris.

Sod it! I shall get my trusty straight edge out tomorrow and see. if that is the case, the engineering company that rebuilt the heads can sort it out at their expense and, because of the excellent work they have done for me over the years, I shall be very surprised.

I have considered adjustable pushrods, but as my budget has been severely blown already, have given them the miss.

Just redone the preload test but felt for movement in the rocker rather than the pushrod which perhaps I should have done earlier.

These are the results once the 1.6 multiplication has been done:

No 1 inlet 0.93, exhaust 1.06
No 3 inlet0.98, exhaust 0.99
No 5 inlet 0.93, exhaust 0.78
No 7 inlet 1,09, exhaust 0.88

No 2 inlet 0.85, exhaust 1,02
No 4 inlet 1.15, exhaust 0.90
No 6 inlet 0.70, exhaust 0.93
No 8 inlet 1.07, exhaust 1.07

What shims should I put under the rocker posts - I can't seem to find what thicknesses they come in?

I bought a set of shims which I think had a few different thicknesses in it. I can't remember what they were though.

Chris.

ChrisJC wrote:I bought a set of shims which I think had a few different thicknesses in it. I can't remember what they were though.

Chris.

Great help - thanks.

Yes, my shim set came in three different thicknesses. I've probably got the ones I didn't use left over but they are probably lost for ever in the bottom of an ice cream tube of bits and bobs!

Tom.

SuperV8 wrote:Yes, my shim set came in three different thicknesses. I've probably got the ones I didn't use left over but they are probably lost for ever in the bottom of an ice cream tube of bits and bobs!

Tom.

Thanks Tom. I have got a set from Real Steel and they come in 16, 32 and 48 thou thicknesses if I remember correctly. I shall use the thinnest which should bring my preloads to as near to 40 - 60 thou as I can. This engine is destined for a Series 1 LR, so isn't going to be a screamer!