mikeh501 Posted November 1, 2021 Share Posted November 1, 2021 the light on mine gives a bit of a glow sometimes when idling even, its just inherint to the engine isnt it. unless you think youve done something wrong id at least try and start it for a few seconds to be sure. your engine must have been apart more times than triggers broom at this point and id be gagging to get to the next milestone! good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted November 1, 2021 Share Posted November 1, 2021 If you have a Proper Job near you I saw a large plastic tray in the gardening department which looked ideal for draining coolant.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missingsid Posted November 1, 2021 Share Posted November 1, 2021 I really feel your pain. Part of me leans toward a faulty sender but if it is a blockage it will be catastrophic which you've already had. Although the serp oil pump is a vast improvement over the old dizzy oil pump you can at least prime the old one with a drill. Will removing the plugs and spinning the engine over on the starter cause damage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted November 2, 2021 Share Posted November 2, 2021 I cut the bottom off a 5L plastic bottle and cut two ears into it so it hangs under the coolant hose, then you can split a joint and drain everything into it and it acts like a funnel, worked really well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreePointFive Posted November 15, 2021 Author Share Posted November 15, 2021 I have spent two weeks trying to gather enough F&*ks to take the sump off for the third time in a month. With the timing cover off, I've been looking at how the oil flows through the various ports and I think I have found the problem but I can't be certain as it doesn't all make sense. I think Fridge suggested there could be a pressure relief valve stuck, seems like that's the winner to me. I can make the pump draw oil by manually turning the drive cog, if I move it in the housing in the direction the engine spins. In that case, it comes out of the port with the red arrow: However, it might be because I've got it upside down but the oil goes into the port adjacent to it (yellow arrow) and then goes back to the oil pickup pipe. It would then recirculate. What I don't know is if this is normal running and the pump spins so quickly that shouldn't be a problem. Doesn't seem right though. Which is the red line here (borrowed from a previous Fridge post): I think it's worth showing just how rough the cut is for the front port for entertainment/horror purposes. The other problem was that when removing the cover, two M10-ish washers fell out of it and I have no idea where they're from. Oh dear. So the next clue is to work out how to service the oil relief valves as I know they're in the manual. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted November 17, 2021 Share Posted November 17, 2021 It's been a while since I had my head around it all but the album of photos is here if it helps you see what's what without dissecting your own bits: https://fuddymuckers.co.uk/gallery/thumb.php?dir=v8_front_cover That hole looks so rough I thought it was a failed casting for a moment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted November 17, 2021 Share Posted November 17, 2021 I'm struggling to remember, but I think the cam followers have washers in them like that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreePointFive Posted November 17, 2021 Author Share Posted November 17, 2021 1 hour ago, FridgeFreezer said: That hole looks so rough I thought it was a failed casting for a moment That's exactly what I thought until I checked the old front cover to make sure the hole should even be there. Hard to see how such a bodge could be even be part of a production process in a modern factory. The followers are all intact so I don't think the washers came from there...but at this point I'm ruling nothing out. I'm sending it to Turners to have a look at (you'd think they'd stop returning my calls by now) so they can compare with their stock as it's a slightly different design to my old one and I can't play spot the difference to see the wrongness. I had been using a plan to get an MOT before Christmas as motivation, that's now off the table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted November 18, 2021 Share Posted November 18, 2021 10 hours ago, ThreePointFive said: That's exactly what I thought until I checked the old front cover to make sure the hole should even be there. Hard to see how such a bodge could be even be part of a production process in a modern factory. You've seen how the valley on a Rover V8 looks, right? On 11/15/2021 at 11:42 PM, ThreePointFive said: The other problem was that when removing the cover, two M10-ish washers fell out of it and I have no idea where they're from. Oh dear. Aren't those from the rocker shaft? Looks familiar anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreePointFive Posted December 20, 2021 Author Share Posted December 20, 2021 It was the pressure switch. It was brand new, as was the timing cover so thought it was unlikely to be the culprit, but no. Swapped for a genuine one and pressure up straight away. I cannot workout why it would have worked up until I stripped the engine and then stopped as soon as it was reassmbled. I also now have oil streaming out of the rockers, so I do have a theory. The threaded boss of the senor is longer than the genuine part, so I wonder if I was missing a shim or two (like the ones I found...) when I reassembled it and it was blocking the oilway by being wound in too far. I am normally a bit more careful than that, so I would be surprised but now the oil is coming out from the rockers on just the starter and we know the pump was working before, it does suggest a blockage that is now removed. What can we learn from this? Always suspect the sensor? Though I am not convinced I did have oil flow. Never trust aftermarket. For those that bang on that it's all made in the same factory, the switches are different in every dimension except thread, so no, they are absolutely not the same. I could have MOTed this car in October and this whole thing has been a massive waste of time, money and motivation. I've started it, it sounds good. Really good. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted December 20, 2021 Share Posted December 20, 2021 47 minutes ago, ThreePointFive said: I've started it, it sounds good. Really good. That almost sounds like some mojo has returned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted December 20, 2021 Share Posted December 20, 2021 Good to see progress again! Hopefully you find the motivation to continue with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreePointFive Posted December 20, 2021 Author Share Posted December 20, 2021 Kind of. My annoyance with it being unfinished is once again greater than the perceived effort to finish it. Wait until the next minor inconvenience and I'll be right back to whinging again. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chazza Posted December 20, 2021 Share Posted December 20, 2021 I couldn't agree more with you about genuine parts. Most of the parts made in India and other slave-labour manufacturing areas, have appalling quality control. I had the opposite problem; the original sensor sprung a leak a few thousand kilometres after the rebuild. A really fun job to replace it, when the engine is in the car! Well done for finding the problem, Cheers Charlie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreePointFive Posted December 30, 2021 Author Share Posted December 30, 2021 I can't get my laptop to talk to the ECU any more - it's working just fine as the car is running but there's no comms. I've tried the auto detection in Tuner Studio and it just won't find it. I am sure it is running very rich so I need to make adjustments, but it's as if nothing is there. I've checked the cable is plugged in... I can't remember when the last time I tried it was, but I recently upgraded to Win11 - could that have any bearing on this? In other news, the engine is a lot more leaky than before, seems I have far more coolant leaks I am having to find and I am not sure I don't have an oil leak at the rear of the engine as I keep getting a drip at the bellhousing. I had an incredibly dry engine before so I am really annoyed if this is the case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 31 minutes ago, ThreePointFive said: I can't remember when the last time I tried it was, but I recently upgraded to Win11 - could that have any bearing on this? Definitely. Are you using some sort of usb to serial adapter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreePointFive Posted December 30, 2021 Author Share Posted December 30, 2021 Yeah, just a usb to serial cable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 Make sure it's being recognised in the Device Manager, if not you may have to go hunt for drivers. The FTDI stuff should have native drivers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 2 hours ago, elbekko said: The FTDI stuff should have native drivers. And if it's not FTDI, bin it and get an FTDI one... although I'm sure we've been here before in this thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreePointFive Posted December 30, 2021 Author Share Posted December 30, 2021 ...and I still don't know what FTDI means! I have downloaded the old drivers for it (needed PL2303 from Prolific) and it works perfectly again, so thanks for the help. This period of enthusiasm is already being tested. I have run the engine up to temperature and all of the clicking/ticking noises are back. Seems it wasn't a slipped liner. As that was grasping at straws, I have no idea where to go with this now. Let's run through what's been done: The block has been pressure tested Top hatted liners Cam replaced (twice...) Cam bearings replaced Lifters replaced and preload checked Big end bearings replaced (twice) Piston rings replaced (twice...) Crank polished Rocker shafts replaced Valve springs replaced Valves lapped Head gaskets replaced Head bolts replaced I've had both rocker covers off on separate occasions and there is nothing clicking but the moment it gets up to temperature, this noise comes back. For a few mniutes when I first started it up, it sounded so smooth, exactly like I want. Now it sounds like an aircooled engine again. Having had the engine apart twice and there being no damage to any of these components (except the cam but that was due to an error on my part), I cannot locate what this noise is. I even put exhaust paste on the manifolds just to make sure it wasn't a leak there, and I've tried two different types of exhaust gasket. The noise is definitely in time with a cylinder, but I cannot find which one. I'm tempted now to just ignore it, get it running on MS as well as I can and then see if it goes away or if it breaks entirely. At least if it did, I'd finally know what is wrong. What would a bent conrod sound like? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 45 minutes ago, ThreePointFive said: I even put exhaust paste on the manifolds just to make sure it wasn't a leak there, and I've tried two different types of exhaust gasket. Are you 100% sure your exhaust manifolds don't just have a pinhole leak? If you suspect a duff cylinder, look at each exhaust port with an IR thermometer. 45 minutes ago, ThreePointFive said: The noise is definitely in time with a cylinder, but I cannot find which one. Pull plug leads one by one, see if the noise changes / goes away. 45 minutes ago, ThreePointFive said: What would a bent conrod sound like? I doubt it'd just be a tick. And you'd have seen scoring on the cylinder walls I would think. 46 minutes ago, ThreePointFive said: ...and I still don't know what FTDI means! The chipset used for the conversion. Like in this adapter: https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/serial-converters-extenders/0429252 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 I seem to always have a ticking from the manifolds with V8's, the 109 is worse as the exhaust downpipes are not perfectly aligned to the angle of the manifolds and always seem to want to develop a small blow - if you want to come over and listen to it you're very welcome FTDI are the guys that make the good USB-Serial chips that power the reliable adapters; https://ftdichip.com/ Per the link Ben posted, buying a genuine FTDI adapter from RS or the like feels a bit spendy compared to the cheap clones on eBlag but it can cut out a whole world of pain with the serial comms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted December 31, 2021 Share Posted December 31, 2021 7 hours ago, FridgeFreezer said: I seem to always have a ticking from the manifolds with V8's, the 109 is worse as the exhaust downpipes are not perfectly aligned to the angle of the manifolds and always seem to want to develop a small blow - if you want to come over and listen to it you're very welcome Same. They just do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreePointFive Posted December 31, 2021 Author Share Posted December 31, 2021 I get that some clicking is usual but this is somewhere between a knock and a click, hard to really describe and recording it only picks up the tick which does sound like an exhaust leak on playback. Especially as you can't tell how much louder the click is than the engine - which is already loud on a 'sports' exhaust. PXL_20211230_103923071~2_Trim.mp4 I think you're right Elbekko, I'll pull the leads off and see if that makes any difference. Fridge, I would like to hear yours anyway, I can offload a crate of beer I owe you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chazza Posted December 31, 2021 Share Posted December 31, 2021 Mine doesn't have any ticks now after a full rebuild; I did have the exhaust manifolds faces sanded flat and I use high-temperature silicone as a manifold gasket. Perhaps that is the reason, Cheers Charlie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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