A good day in the life of a classic car owner.

[68vitesse]

So far so good, last time I did this ended up with two weeks back ache.

Surprised at the amount of surface rust on flywheel after six months.

Regards

Paul.

 

Edited January 30, 2022 by 68vitesse
Title change.

[Colin Lindsay]

Looks like too much silicone sealer on that head, it's squashing out everywhere...

Always great when an engine comes out and you've free access, even better when it goes back in. Keep us posted.

[Andy Moss]

Looks more like shaving foam. Always good to shave those ports. Works a treat. 🪒 

[68vitesse]

Another morning.

Regards

Paul.

 

[Stratton Jimmer]

You must have been burning the midnight oil as your clock indicates that it's 12:25. Too early in the morning for me!

[68vitesse]

1 hour ago, Stratton Jimmer said:

You must have been burning the midnight oil as your clock indicates that it's 12:25. Too early in the morning for me!

Trying to keep the neighbour's happy, they complain if to much noise during the day.

Regards

Paul.

[JohnD]

Paul,

Another one who uses a load leveller to extract/replace the engine & gearbox.   MUCH easier than doing as the WSM says, and removing the bonnet!

[68vitesse]

I modified my load leveller by removing the crank handle and welding on a large nut then use a battery impact wrench to adjust the load, much easier.

Regards

Paul.

[Stratton Jimmer]

That's a lovely shade of dark green on your Vit JohnD.

[JohnD]

Thank you, SJ!      "British Racing Green" is an undefined colour that ranges from spring leaf to almost black.      This shade was chosen by the PO, and I've no idea what it is, but Peugeot Conifer Green is a very close match that I've used for touch-ups.

[NonMember]

3 hours ago, JohnD said:

"British Racing Green" is an undefined colour that ranges from spring leaf to almost black.

Indeed, as I have found, the Jaguar BRG covers most of that range, depending on year. My Vitesse had been painted Jag BRG - the almost black one - for a previous owner.

[68vitesse]

A couple of days ago got the engine started and up to temperature no problems, so today thought I would retorgue the head, which is not a quick job on a Mk1 2L. On starting the engine had fuel dripping from front carb only, so probably slivers etc. as at higher revs it was not so bad. Then noticed coolant level dropping so thought it was getting rid of air untill I checked the oil, shut of the engine and walked away.

Used Mini flanged nuts without washers for the head studs with a NOS Stanpart head gasket.

In all my years of owning cars never had a coolant to oil leak.

Keeps me busy in retirement.

Regards

Paul.

 

[Pete Lewis]

heck yes something pretty dramatic to get coolant in the sump  as you say  its unusual 

time for some strong tea and back to look see  

good luck its  easy to identify the culprit 

Pete

[Colin Lindsay]

36 minutes ago, 68vitesse said:

Used Mini flanged nuts without washers for the head studs with a NOS Stanpart head gasket.

In all my years of owning cars never had a coolant to oil leak.

Funnily enough that's what I'm using too, the Mini flanged nuts and an NOS head gasket on the 1200 Estate, and the coolant is escaping out of the gap between the head and block; never happened before, although I should be happy that it's running out of the engine rather than down in. I've to remove the head again before the weekend and will report. I hope it's not the nuts, although others have used them with no issues at all.

[Pete Lewis]

guess the question is if used flanged nuts and no washers are the threads clean for the slimmer fitting nut to not be thread blocked by crud etc

Pete

[Colin Lindsay]

6 minutes ago, Pete Lewis said:

guess the question is if used flanged nuts and no washers are the threads clean for the slimmer fitting nut to not be thread blocked by crud etc

Pete

On mine I used washers, although some posters said they were unnecessary; my intention was to replace without any once I've replaced the head gasket. The studs are all new, both head and block rebuilt, so no rust or crud on the threads. 

[68vitesse]

1 minute ago, Pete Lewis said:

guess the question is if used flanged nuts and no washers are the threads clean for the slimmer fitting nut to not be thread blocked by crud etc

Pete

Ran the nuts down the studs before fitting head but did not check thread length so nuts could be bottoming out. On torquing the nuts after backing them off a quarter turn a lot more movement on the long studs than the short ones.

Will lift the head in next few days.

Regards

Paul.

[Nick Jones]

The head gasket is not the only way for water to get into the oil.

The rocker cover retaining studs go through to the water jacket sometimes, as do a couple of the timing cover studs. A bit of lock’n seal sorts that.  Then there’s the question of cracks. 
 

How much water are we talking here and is the same fault that the head was originally removed for?

Nick

[68vitesse]

58 minutes ago, Nick Jones said:

The rocker cover retaining studs go through to the water jacket sometimes, as do a couple of the timing cover studs. A bit of lock’n seal sorts that.  Then there’s the question of cracks. 

How much water are we talking here and is the same fault that the head was originally removed for?

Nick

Thanks, will check rocker cover studs as I had them out, timing cover not removed, head gasket failed between five and six and perhaps some other leaks.

As to amount of water, perhaps getting on for over half a pint judging from level on dip stick, so more than just a seep into the oil.

Regards

Paul.

 

[rogerguzzi]

Hello All

             I made a jig and redrilled the block and tapped it 7/16" so I could torque it down a bit more and bought new studs etc from Colin Witor

Roger

[PeteH]

HI

Without wishing to "teach granny to suck eggs". Are you absolutely sure the head, or even the block (unlikely, But?) are perfectly flat?. Also, re the leakage, have you considered checking the head, particularly, with NDT, micro cracking is hard to detect visually, but should show under dye penetrant.

Reading what has been written, I don`t think improper Torquing is necessarily the issue. Though the state of the Head gasket would suggest a lack of such?. Which would beg the question, is the torque wrench accurate?. "Back in the day" our`s where re-calibrated on a frequent basis. Another question which niggles, Do the flanged washers need a different torque figure?. Using separate washers, there are two "sliding friction faces" the flanged washer has only one.

Generally speaking, the manufacturers tolerances where usually "sufficient" for purpose, so increasing the torque, as some would, to get a tight joint, would be more likely to over-stress the studs/bolts.

I note also, the use of an NOS Stanpart Gasket. Copper, age hardens so could that be contributory?

Pete

[68vitesse]

Nick Jones called it, connected the compressor to radiator overflow pipe this morning and got a "nice" fountain out of the hole for the front stud.

Between initial start and retorque I decided to use the polished rocker cover retaining bolts I used on another engine without problems. The other engine is a very early 2L Mk1 and the one I put back in the Vitesse is a late 2L Mk1.

Looks like I will need of few gallons of oil and some oil filters to clean things up, you live and learn.

Regards

Paul.

 

[Colin Lindsay]

1 hour ago, PeteH said:

Do the flanged washers need a different torque figure?.

I note also, the use of an NOS Stanpart Gasket. Copper, age hardens so could that be contributory?

Pete

Interesting points. I was on an American Triumph site recently and they were talking about torque settings, with the general consensus being that they torqued way in excess of the given figure - where the Spitfire / Herald was 42 - 46 they were talking about 60 at least and as high as 66. I don't think I'd go that high and risk stripped threads or sheared studs but it's something to think on. When I remove the head later in the week I'll check for straightness. 

The head gasket was indeed NOS but mint and well stored, I've had it at least 15 years myself and there was no damage nor any sign of distortion or weakness. Some of my others are showing slight signs of rust so have been passed over. With all the discussions on the quality of modern versions I thought perhaps it was a sensible move but only an inspection will tell.

[RogerH]

1 hour ago, PeteH said:

HI

Without wishing to "teach granny to suck eggs". Are you absolutely sure the head, or even the block (unlikely, But?) are perfectly flat?. Also, re the leakage, have you considered checking the head, particularly, with NDT, micro cracking is hard to detect visually, but should show under dye penetrant.

Reading what has been written, I don`t think improper Torquing is necessarily the issue. Though the state of the Head gasket would suggest a lack of such?. Which would beg the question, is the torque wrench accurate?. "Back in the day" our`s where re-calibrated on a frequent basis. Another question which niggles, Do the flanged washers need a different torque figure?. Using separate washers, there are two "sliding friction faces" the flanged washer has only one.

Generally speaking, the manufacturers tolerances where usually "sufficient" for purpose, so increasing the torque, as some would, to get a tight joint, would be more likely to over-stress the studs/bolts.

I note also, the use of an NOS Stanpart Gasket. Copper, age hardens so could that be contributory?

Pete

On a composite head gasket the ability of the Copper to compress would be a very minor issue indeed.

The sandwich filling takes up all of the compression when torquing. 

Perhaps it becomes more relevant if it was a solid copper gasket.

But then steel gaskets have no compression available.

The washers under the stud nuts are important - they are special and need to be hard.

Roger

[Pete Lewis]

1 hour ago, 68vitesse said:

"nice" fountain out of the hole for the front stud.

so with luck this is a easy fix   the learning curve goes on and on mostly founded on the mistakes we all get into making over a lifetime 

so was there some residue of coolant in the rocker zone ??

Pete