[Fot] PI question and Jeff ship the engine

Thu Feb 22 05:28:01 MST 2007

Chuck
The PI fuel systems works as follows
The  shuttle stop bears against a piston (called a follower)  which has a
rubber diaphram on it to seal the shuttle chamber from the fuel cam body. The
piston which has a spring behind it  must move freely in its bore which is
bronze lined. Fuel pressure pushes the piston back towards the fuel cam. The
control link bears against the other end of the piston and runs up and down
the fuel cam driven by vaccuum in the dash pot . I'm assuming you are
referring to the control link as the "snail cam ". The link has three small
hardended rollers, the middle one being smaller and running on the fuel cam .
the two outer rollers are larger and the same size approx .375inch and run on
the face of the follower. On the top of the link arm is a small ball joint
which is attached to the dash pot diaphragm. Often the rollers get worn due to
lack of lubrication and the ball joint wears and can fail as it is plastic .
The whole link including the rollers is a replacement item and available .
The diameter of the rollers is critical and must be accurate to half a thou.
We tune our race engines by changing the roller diameters and 1 to 2 thou
makes a big difference. The rollers need to be made on a tool and cutter
grinder to get the accuracy required. I suggest you buy a new link .
It sounds like you have pushed the piston in as far as it will go against the
shuttle stop
I also suggest not using WD40 on the metering unit as it tends to gum up the
shuttle and rotor drive . You need to check the piston has not gummed up with
the WD40
I have a couple of metering units in pieces in the workshop and if you need to
know the diameters of the rollers let me know and I will mic them up for you
.
My race car is PI and I do all my own work so I'm on intimate terms with the
metering unit. Be very careful about checking for fuel leaks around the
metering unit, some are not obvious
Hope this helps . Most workshop manuals show all the parts in the metering
unit
Regards
Geoff Byrne
TR 6 racer Sydney Aus
  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Chuck Arnold
  To: Kas Kastner ; greg ; Durant, Jeff ; Tony Lindsey-Dean ;
malcolmpdi at btinternet.com ; gkbyrne at optushome.com.au
  Sent: Thursday, February 22, 2007 9:16 AM
  Subject: Re: PI question and Jeff ship the engine

  Thanks KAs.
  Now I am beginning to get how the shuttle moveable stop works.  I presume
with no pressure [like mine which is not even hooked up], the shuttle stop is
in the full in position. As fuel pressure is built, the stop moves out till it
contacts the diaphram and cam foller.  I have, but had not intended in
installing the diaphram with the snail cam.  The snail cam unit came without a
cam follower [cannot look a gift horse in the mouth, I got the unit for free].
So now my problem is to determine how far out of the metering unit the
moveable stop comes at WOT  may have to pressure it up to determine this.
Also, need to understand how I use the diaphram with the snail cam. and how
big in diameter the face of the cam foller I will make needs to be.

  Does anyone included on this message know the answer?

  Thanks all,
  chuck

  On 2/21/07, Kas Kastner <kaskas at cox.net> wrote:
    I don't  quite follow what your question is Chuck. I presume you have the
diaphragm that fits up against the back of the fuel dist. housing in your mix
of parts.  When the pressure comes up in the system then the plunger  will
move out from contact from the shuttle in the distributor. Without fuel
pressure  probably there would not be any movement of the plunger (it is
attached to the diaphragm).
    Never Be beaten by Equipment
    Kas Kastner
      ----- Original Message -----
      From: Chuck Arnold
      To: Durant, Jeff ; Tony Lindsey-Dean ; Kastner ; greg
      Sent: Tuesday, February 20, 2007 7:55 PM
      Subject: PI question and Jeff ship the engine

      Thanks Jeff.  Yes, just ship it on up.  Appreciate it.

      On PI:  I am in the midst of the install [making AN4 steel braided
injector hoses, etc.]  I had the metering unit rebuilt by Prestige in England.
Sat for ayear, so I had to put wd40 in the ports to free up the rotor -- it
worked and it is free now. I have aquestion about the end the cam foller will
push on [the "free stop" end.  It seems quite stiff -- pushing in on the
eenter area results in no movement.  Is this normal, or should it press in
some?   Also, the snail cam had no cam follower, so I an making one.  How wide
should the end be that push in the free stop?
      thanks,
      Chuck

      On 2/20/07, Durant, Jeff <Jeff.Durant at lamrc.com > wrote:
        Hi Chuck,

        Sorry for the delay, again!  I just returned from a couple of cold
weeks in Dresden.  I really enjoy Germany, even if it's cold this time of
year.

        Your engine is in the back of my truck after having a bud come over
yesterday and help me lift it in.  It is strapped down to a pallet, covered
and ready to drop off at the freight forwarder.  Let me know if that's OK.

        To the engine:  As I'd mentioned before, consider it a good core
simply because it has sat so long (indoors) but with no manifolds. It is a
bare long block from a '73.  It has a wide port head that looks like it has
never been off.  No sundries at all except for a valve cover and distributor
drive.  It is the way I received it save replacing the oil pan.

        I looked around Sunday for engine mounts, flywheel, front pulley,
water pump housing, and dipstick, etc. but no luck.  I think I may have some
spares in the cellar but didn't get down there to check.  Now I'm worried
about sundries because I have 2 engines to build.  I will keep digging and
will send up (UPS) any other engine parts I can find along with the PI
fittings you need.  I'm certain there are parts somewhere in the garage
rafters or in the cellar.

        What to do with the engine before putting back into service?
Personally, I'd strip it, clean entirely, replace bearings, seals, rings for
the lower end and do a valve job up top.  That way you will have a solid
baseline to start with.  It will also give us some time to hunt down the
sundries.  Plan B.  At a minimum, I'd check the rod and main bearings for
wear, replace if worn and replace the front and rear seals, give it a go.
And/or.......Pull the head, inspect the rings, valves etc. It would cost you a
head set but worth the effort.

        I've not had issues running the standard head studs/washers/nuts. I
have successfully run head bolts on one of my race engines.  Either way, I've
never blown a head gasket on the TR6 or my TR250.  ARP makes some nice head
bolts as does Caterpillar.  I have ARP rod bolts in my race engine and for the
new one I'm building.  For a hopped up street engine (up to about 190 hp) I've
always used standard components without a failure.  Just be sure it's built
right and use the Kastner mods.

        Regards,

        Jeff

        Jeff Durant
        New Product Development
        Lam Research
        Office: (510) 572-5375
        Cell: (510) 386-9467

------------------------------------------------------------------------

        From: Chuck Arnold [mailto: triosan at gmail.com]
        Sent: Monday, February 05, 2007 9:36 AM
        To: Durant, Jeff
        Subject: Hey Jeff, need info on engine condition

        Hi Jeff,

        Question on the engine -- how complete is it -- need info so can get
parts ordered as needed.  Alternator?  Starter Motor? Valve Cover?

        Any idea of the year [early or late head, hoping it is later as ?I an
expecting to hook it to the header I have for that config.  OK if not as I do
have another head.]

        Do you think I should pull the pistons/rods to see how they are?  What
about the head -- replace gasket and head bolts?

        Thanks again, Chuck

        On 12/12/06, Durant, Jeff < Jeff.Durant at lamrc.com> wrote:

        Chuck,

        I finally found your e-mail address in some old papers from Applied I
had out in the garage.

        A lot has happened since we last spoke.  I've changed jobs, from
Applied Materials to Lam Research in Fremont.  Closer to home, more $$ and
almost zero travel.  What a deal!  Finally have more time to work on the cars
and motorcycles.

        I wanted to get in touch to give you your engine and see how you are.
I also don't know how to change my e-mail address on FOT.  Needless to say, I
have not had any contact with FOT for going on 5 months.  Bummer.  Can you
help here?

        How the 250 coming?  I'm very interested in hearing how the build is
progressing with all the gory details.

        Regards,

        Jeff

        Jeff Durant

        Systems Engineering Manager
        New Product Development
        Lam Research
        Office: (510) 572-5375
        Cell: (510) 386-9467

        --
        Chuck Arnold

      --
      Chuck Arnold

  --
  Chuck Arnold