Junglie Posted March 11, 2023 Share Posted March 11, 2023 OK, this is it for the day. One picture, one video. Hope the video works... Pic. Got the front casing off and started to clean it up, and found that the aluminium around the crank bearing is crazed. It's pretty rough to touch and it looks almost as though the front of the casing has been whacked hard and pushed back in. It was aso clearly leaking oil through the bearing seal, but it may be that "they all do that" The crazing is inside as well, though not as obvious. Next thing. There's fore and aft movement in the camshaft with the cover off, and a fair amount of slack in the camchain. I can't see how (if) that's tensioned so I don't know if it's an issue or not. But hopefully someone here does... I have a video here: http://www.motorbikestoday.com/IMG_1643.MOV if that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallfry Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 That crazing is quite common. It is caused by the die casting process, the mould itself being too cold for the molten metal, or so I was told years ago. Also can be caused by using recycled materials, which can have other things in the mix, and not using "virgin" materials. That look like a vee belt engine, so fore and aft movement with the cover off is quite normal, as are leaking oil seals, once the wearing face on the pulley get a small groove in it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 2 hours ago, smallfry said: That crazing is quite common. It is caused by the die casting process ^ this, every one I've ever seen is like that to some degree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junglie Posted March 12, 2023 Author Share Posted March 12, 2023 Well that's one thing at least that hasn't gone wrong. Thanks guys. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallfry Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 6 hours ago, Junglie said: Well that's one thing at least that hasn't gone wrong. Thanks guys. Dont worry, its a Land Rover. There will be plenty of other things to test your patience and temper. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul C Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 V8 camchains don't have tensioners, the endfloat on the cam disappears under load with the distributor and oil pump load on the helical gear. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escape Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 As above, the endfloat of the camshaft will be taken up by the load from the distributor drive. I would replace the chain, as that does have some slack and there is no tensioner to adjust. Better replace while your in there, it can (will) make quite a difference to performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junglie Posted March 13, 2023 Author Share Posted March 13, 2023 33 minutes ago, Escape said: ...I would replace the chain, as that does have some slack and there is no tensioner to adjust. Better replace while your in there... Yeah, that was my initial thought, just didn't want to do it if it was completely unnecessary... Didn't think about the performance side, but I guess it'll keep the valve timing more accurate so it makes sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 If you're that far into the engine I'd replace the chain as a matter of course. Even the steel-geared duplex ones are cheap enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 55 minutes ago, FridgeFreezer said: If you're that far into the engine I'd replace the chain as a matter of course. And, honestly, the cam as well. They're wear items on an RV8. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phill S Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 And that means lifters too. Good ones are hard to find... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junglie Posted March 13, 2023 Author Share Posted March 13, 2023 Oh God... I thought my M5 was a money pit I should have just bought the "Absolutely everything you'll never need" kit I looked at before - it was more than the whole engine cost me to buy but a sight cheaper than buying all this stuff piecemeal... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 If I had the front cover off but not the top end I would leave the cam alone. Although if I was doing it, I'd use V8Tuner for the lifters as they know which ones are good. I think the lot I got were actually Allmakes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallfry Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 1 hour ago, Junglie said: Oh God... I thought my M5 was a money pit I had better not comment for fear of upsetting the natives ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 1 hour ago, Junglie said: I should have just bought the "Absolutely everything you'll never need" kit I looked at before But it was mostly full of bargain basement scrap components. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreePointFive Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 2 hours ago, Bowie69 said: But it was mostly full of bargain basement scrap components. Those packages only ever seem to benefit the supplier in putting together the cheapest components possible and charging a premium for nothing but convenience. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallfry Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 3 hours ago, Bowie69 said: But it was mostly full of bargain basement scrap components. Maybe so, but they do look nice in the photo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escape Posted March 14, 2023 Share Posted March 14, 2023 To be fair, the parts for a Rover V8 are not expensive, unless you go over the top. A standard cam will do just fine, a Piper or Crower high torque one is a bit more but worth the money. But like others I am worried about the quality of more generic parts when buying new, not only the lifters but also things like the water pump, thermostat, hoses... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted March 14, 2023 Share Posted March 14, 2023 Indeed we're spoiled by VERY cheap parts making the good/genuine ones feel expensive when they're often not bad in the scheme of things. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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