Not having a good day...

[keithmac]

Yup
Plans are afoot ! Transmission cover is off. Just the torsion bar reaction plate to deal with etc.
and I will drop the engine and gear box out. Then its a full going over for the engine and the gear box.
Thanks for the replies , I will keep you informed on progress , though it may be a month by the time the machine shop is done with it, what with Xmas and all
Cheers

[abowie]

Good idea. It's painful but once it's done you'll have a reliable drive train you trust. I built the engines in all of my cars, and driving my 3.8 OTS on Sunday I pulled 5,500 in 1st and 2nd with full throttle a few times; the noise is glorious.

Get the block hot dipped and sandblasted in the water jacket as long as this won't upset the bores. Use a combination of degreaser, high pressure water, compressed air and elbow grease to clean out the oil galleries in the block.

Make sure you pull the sludge plugs out of the crank and clean the oil galleries. These can be a bit scary as they may be peened in and getting the machine shop to remove them and tap the threads is recommended. Use new plugs and either peen them in or as we do use permanent heavy duty Loctite. Do this yourself so you can inspect and re-clean the galleries.

Ensure that the sump baffle is removed and the sump properly cleaned out. Use a combination of sandblasting and wire brushes to clean our sludge from the oil pickup pipes. Once you've done this you'll have removed most of the hidden crap.

Your head should be fine but for completeness I'd at least check the clearances while it's off as it's a lot easier to redo the shims on the bench. If you've not done this before make sure you understand what it involves before you start as it's easy to bend valves. Essentially, never turn anything unless you only have only one cam in and the head face a minimum of 1" above the bench. Stripping it cleaning it and reassembling it is only a couple of hours work and personally I'd do that if it were mine.

I routinely bead blast all components then wash in kerosene in our parts washer before reassembly.

Getting the gearbox looked at is wise as it's relatively cheap to have it rebuilt while it's out. Have a look at the tailshaft too and if you have any doubt replace UJs and get it balanced while the engine is out because again it's easy.

[Hugo]

I believe the original poster has already had 'issues' with the head ("leaking inlet valve" - oil leak I presume?) so his problems are not confined to one crank journal! As you say, the only way to fix an engine like this is a complete nut & bolt overhaul. Pain in the butt when it's supposed to have been done, but that is the reality and it's no use pretending otherwise.

[keithmac]

I would strongly suspect that failure to clean the oil galleries is what led to this problem. There has been evidence in my tear down , in numerous areas, of short cuts and what I call " oh thats good enough" so if it was difficult , it likely did not get done .
I will be certain it is done this time.
I look forward to the day I can take her to 5500 rpm in 1st and 2nd. With 20 miles since purchase
driving her would be nice
As Hugo mentioned the head is in the very reputable shop which has done many e-type engines.
Fortunately I am only 1.5 hours from Toronto where there are reputable experts. I found out the hard way with my MG that the local boys are not Brit compatible.
This is an American car. I drove 15hrs to St. Louis and 15hrs back. I talked to the dealer that sold me the car and sent him a few pics. He offered to buy the car back. Nice . but I have too much time , money and effort over my seven months of ownership.
Besides , this car is becoming known to me. The dash and the IRS are the only things I have not been into and they are on my list !
It can be a long winter here
Cheers All
Keith

[Hugo]

I'm not so sure it originated in the galleries - you've had some serious swarf in there to do that amount of damage. It's academic of course. Maybe we'll never know.
Incidentally, I got the plugs out of my crank (5 out of 6 anyway) with a 3/4" (or maybe it was a 1") air impact gun. Curiously, the correct hex head just chewed them up, but then we bashed a torx head in there & that gripped enough to turn them. Just! They are very soft metal, which means that they chew up easily but on the other hand they are easy to drill out.

[keithmac]

The Lump is out!
Much admiration to all of you have done this before ( especially in a cramped garage when it is -20c outside )
Fiddly, finicky business but we got her done. I hope it goes back in easier than it came out but I have a strong suspicion this may not be the case.
Thanks again to all the members for there invaluable help. ( I nay need more yet !)
Spent an hour getting the E-brake light sender to work properly. It had been previously repaired by a mental defective as has much of the car.
Some times I think it was restored at "Joes corner Garage" and Joe gave most jobs to young Billy.
As in "hurry up get it done by 4:00 o'clock don't bother with the manual ( what manual ?)
Thank goodness the body and IRS are in great shape. But everywhere I work there is something wrong , missing , loose maladjusted or incorrect.
Happy New year to ALL !

[keithmac]

Well it is Now June, six months since the engine came out. Third over pistons now and third over crank and big end bearings.Gear box rebuilt with NOS synchros and bearings/layshaft. Got it back a week ago .The lump /gearbox is fully assembled and ready to go back in. That gearbox spring is a scary thing to put back in when you don't know what your doing. Two floor jacks and a tie down strap did the trick. ( after 2 hours of other futile attempts )
Thanks to Browns Lane Jags for machine work and short block assembly , they have been great to work with.
I would recommend Tom Owen ( Browns Lane Jags )to anyone in Canada looking to get E-type advice, parts or work done.
Much work ahead yet. Hoping to get her on the road in a month or less !

[Durango2k]

Looks like 3rd over-bore + a skimmed deck and possibly skimmed head ?

Did you go for 8:1 pistons or 9:1 as original? I guess that -others may chime in- 9:1 will give you pinging troubles later, the compression becomes too high if you take all the changes into account. There‘s an excel chart by Ray Livingston which tells you in advance whats ok and whats not.

Maybe an idea to go for a thicker head gasket ?

Carsten

[keithmac]

IT'S ALIVE !
First start today after an engine and gear box rebuild. Took a bit to get the oil pressure up to the cams first ( 8 sessions @10 seconds each on the starter- plugs out ) Once that and a dozen other last minute things were done, she started up in two seconds flat.
No leaks yet and 150psi after only three revolutions of the starter on each cylinder. Looking forward to driving her after 13 months of ownership.
Oh and Kudos to ANY of you that have restored these cars before. What a character building experience !
And thanks to this website and all of you for your advice.
Cheers,
Keith

[alfred]

that is wonderful news, Hope to see you and the "restored" car at Bronte creek in September.

Alfred