Hello again listers!
The tear down on TS15848E (my TR2 engine) is complete. Today I took the
crankshaft, camshaft, head, pistons and rods to the local machine shop
for evaluation. My oil pressure has been very low so I expected
trouble. I also noticed some slight grooves in the crank and some
gouges in the bearing sleeve inserts. At the machine shop the machinist
(sp?) popped out one of my bearing sleeve inserts and saw on the
underside that it was a .010" oversized sleeve. (The crank had been
ground once before.). My machinist says that with the wear that is
evident visually he is sure that it will take at least another .020" and
possible .030" of grinding to put things right.
TRF offers 10, 20 and 30 thousandths bearing sleeve inserts, but not
.040". Moss does offer a .040" bearing sleeve. TRF also builds
engines. Is there a reason they don't offer .040" bearing inserts? Do
.040" bearings wear quickly or fail suddenly?
The machinist also says that the cam must be seriously worn where it
rides in its bearings and this would also contribute to low oil
pressure. Visibly noticeable was the gouging on the lobe for the fuel
pump. He suggests a new cam is probably in order as these cannot be
easily machined. For engine #15848 would I have replaceable cam
bearings?? My Bentley Service manual says that block replacement was
necessary on the earlier engines, but changes were in the works.
At least my machinist says he will have no problem with rebuilding my
cylinder head. The #3 exhaust valve is burned as I suspected from the
low compression test which remained low on a wet test. The shop says
all of my exhaust valves are seating too deeply into the head and new
seats are needed for all four.
I was planning on new cylinder sleeves, pistons, rings, etc., but TRF
says they have none in stock and it may be some time before they are
available. Before the tear down my compression was 175 - 200 psi on #s
1, 2, and 4. The 65 psi on #3 was the valve problem. Would I be silly
to redo the valves, the crank bearings, the cam and leave the cylinder
sleeves alone??
The head has been off the engine for more than a month and I have
rotated the crank many times in removing the pistons, crank, etc. With
the block upside down and standing on the head studs as "legs," I
removed the pistons by letting them "drop" through the top of the
cylinder sleeves. I have never clamped down the cylinder sleeves as in
shown in the Bentley manual. I don't think I could begin to remove the
stud bolts from the upper block to put in a shorter stud to hold a
washer and a nut in place as a sleeve clamp. On an engine that has had
several thousand miles on it are the cylinder sleeves going to come
loose that easily??
Perhaps with all the problems that my engine seems to have and the
expense to make it minimally reliable, I would be better off going for a
TRF short block at around $2,000. Would that include a ground crank,
new bearings, new or reconditioned cam, new cylinder sleeves, pistons
and rings?
My car is (was?) a marginal candidate for restoration. I would like to
avoid putting excessive amounts of money into it. I would be pleased to
hear from some of you who have been there and done this and that. I am
sorry to ask so many questions for which some of the answers may be
obvious to more experienced motor heads, but I am relatively new to
Triumph ownership and I am doing an engine overhaul for the very first
time. If I am judging things correctly, I think this is really what
"the list" was intended to be. (As someone who lives quite far from any
other active club members with whom I could consult, I find the
resources of the list very valuable. Thanks in advance for the help I
know is forthcoming.)
Respectfully yours,
Rob Blubaugh,
Rensselaer, IN USA
TR2 #TS7690 - built with pride in Coventry, England, UK 18 August 1955
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