I decided to replace the thrust washers in my TR6 since it was a nice day,
and the crankshaft seemed was a little loose. Also, I didn't know if they'd
ever been replaced, and the car has 83,000 miles on it. When I pulled the
oil pan off I was greeted by a layer about 1/8" thick of metal powder/oil
sludge at the bottom of the pan. I expected (what I thought was) the worst
- totally shot main bearings. Surprisingly, the bearings all looked pretty
good. The front thrust washer had some of the bearing surface delaminated,
but otherwise not tremendously bad wear.
I asked my neighbor (a mechanic) to take a look, and he pointed out that
the camshaft had at least 2 lobes worn out. Ouch! I guess I should have
paid attention to the recent threads regarding cam sources.
I have 2 questions:
1) He (my neighbor) said it looked like I ought to be able to replace the
cam with the engine _in_situ_, if I remove the radiator. Anybody done this?
2) What's the consensus on sealant for the sump gasket? I do have a new
paper gasket, and am leaning toward a silicone sealant, spread thin, and
letting it get tacky before assembly.
Thanks
Ted Stevens
stevens@erols.com
74 TR6
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