johny

Diagonal must make putting a remote servo on rather complicated......

Theres a complete engine going on a well known auction site for not a lot of money but not sure the logistics tie up well....

And you drive a dangerous old classic car? Anyway its the discs you want to worry about not the grinder....

thats possible however its not just that the new pump 'should' be in better condition than the original but that its physically bigger (not sure of this on a 2.5L) so giving a higher flow rate....

Look at the oil pump as well. Its very easy to remove with the sump off and can be checked with a feeler gauge although it might be that a new one will be of higher capacity and worth putting on regardless.....

unfortunately it doesnt look like a free one is available online for your car so its either ebay or somewhere like Rimmerbros to buy one. However have you read through your Haynes manual? Does the explanation of crankshaft removal seem clear?

Im sure you can do it for a lot less by just repairing whats damaged. If we assume the most likely problem, big end bearing failure, is the only one then a crankshaft regrind plus new bearings and sundries will cost say 250 pounds. This will need time and patience as well as mechanical know how but I think this latter requirement can be learnt as you go along by following the workshop manual (Haynes is a bit limited). Theres no better or satisfying way to learn although if you havent done any other engine jobs its a bit of a big first step and would be best tackled with a bit of assistance....

Thing is in the old days the bodywork was usually long gone before the engine so there wasnt much point in make longer lasting engines.....

And looks like theyre using a German car to do it!

The bearings can be replaced in situ but unfortunately by the time a big end makes a knocking sound there has been metal to metal contact and the crank bearing surface will have been damaged. Then only by taking out the crank (engine out of car) to regrind it to a smaller size and using new oversize bearings can you get back to the close tolerances required for a correctly running engine....

If the pinion assembly takes quite a bit to get out the o-ring could have stuck and then be damaged during the process. Inspect it after removal and make sure the inside of the OD casing hole is nice and clean before reassembly - the last thing you want is to find it leaking after putting the cover, carpets and facia back on.....

Thats a little worrying because if the correct coolant has been used and changed regularly there should be minimal corrosion of any component in the circuit. If there has been corrosion then sludge and debris will have been produced that is not good for cooling and perhaps you should think about flushing the circuit sometime with a soda solution (see the other thread on this site). Any debris in the circuit is also not good for the waterpump seal so this could be another reason for it starting to leak - replacements are not too expensive and its a useful spare to have if you plan to keep the car long term as you'll need it at some stage.....

just got to hope the new bearing you put in is as good a quality as the old one.....

I wonder how effective the additives in Millers VSPe and others are at protecting against the ravages of E10😲

Has the car been left unused for a while? I've had a water pump that leaked temporarily after being left for fair time which then stopped and gave good service for years afterwards. I can only think that the rubber seal stuck through lack of movement and was damaged when started but after running for a while the seal surface 'bedded' in again to reseal once more.....

Cant find any bad reviews for Comma Classic online and personally Id stick to the oil grade recommended by Triumph....

some objective explanations would be nice as well.....

I can confirm that the cheap ones dont last very long☹️

I think the pinion assembly will come out with the gearbox in place but as access might be tight you might have to undo the gearbox mountings and jack it up slightly. Its easy to undo the pinion fixing bolt but the assembly might need a bit of a pull to remove from the OD casing (its sealed with an o-ring that can stick). Some oil will come out as you do this (less if you have jacked up the rear of the box) so you can either drain the gearbox from its normal drain plug beforehand or just catch what comes out from the pinion hole. Should be an easy job and then you can inspect the pinion gear and also feel with a finger the condition of the worm gear inside the OD....

It seems that although theres no requirement to use 5% Ethanol in petrol other than 95 it is sometimes used in other grades. As at that concentration its not considered to be damaging theres no requirement to indicate whether any particular petrol has it so you'll never know. Going to 10% is different as its acknowledged that it could damage some vehicles so it should be indicated at the pump....

And you'll go to heaven🧚‍♂️

Ive gone the opposite way on my Vitesse and put a small ball valve in the rubber hose that goes from the water pump housing to the carb manifold heater. In the summer I close this so that no coolant can go through the manifold/heater circuit and so is forced into the other two circuits - the engine and radiator. My thinking is that I dont need either manifold ot interior heating in the summer so the coolant is better off going elsewhere especially as I have an uprated rad fitted. I cant say for definite its an improvement but I dont have any overheating issues.....

Im hoping my Millers VSPe additive is going to do as it says on the tin 'combat the adverse effects of ethanol up to E10' as well as boosting octane and protecting my valve seats👍

oh dear that sounds like the worst scenario, are you 100% sure the drive in the gearbox isnt turning (can you put something in it)? If it isnt then the problem is with the plastic drive gears inside with one mounted on the OD output shaft and the other on the end of the little shaft the angle drive connects to. First thing is to remove this little shaft assembly to inspect its gear but when you do this oil may come out depending on the level in the gearbox. If your very lucky it may just be this gear thats damaged and not the other (although as they run together Id expect both to have suffered) so you can get away with just replacing it with a new one of the correct ratio. In the opposite case the OD will need to be removed and opened up.....

I would just add Steve that what Kevin has said about the overflow system is correct but unfortunately the same exit is used when the system overheats. I think this is what happened in your case so the radiator cap lifted to release the excess pressure and discharge it via the tube. However unlike with the normal coolant expansion process (which occurs during the first few miles) overheating is more explosive and its quite common for the pipe to be blown off!