[Healeys] Four cylinder woes, part two!

Fri Mar 13 02:19:28 MDT 2020

Measure the bores in several places first. If no significant wear is 
apparent leave the pistons and rings well alone. Also look for ridges 
near the top of the bores. If they are not present, wear is not very 
likely. If the bores are fine, piston ring wear is not likely. Valves do 
rock a bit in the guides. They need to, they expand in the guides when 
the engine is running. You may or may not use cap seals on the valve 
guides.

If there is wear in the cylinders however have the block rebored and fit 
new pistons and rings

Burning some oil is nothing to worry about on the old engines. When new 
1ltr per 1000km (about 1 qrt per 500mls) was quite permissible (after 
running in during which oil consumption could be much higher). Check the 
crank case ventilation system, when dirty/blocked it can be a cause of 
considerable oil consumption. Anyway you probably loose most oil 
leaking. Overfilling the sump is another cause of oil consumption as 
excessive oil will be expelled through the crank case ventilation system

The head should be dead straight but the surface does not need to be 
super smooth. In most causes you can see feel the milling marks.

Replacing the bearing shells and seals is good practice if the bottom 
end comes apart. Does not cost an arm and a leg and if in time you will 
save on grinding the crankshaft. Measure the crank pins in various 
places and check if these are within limits.

Kees Oudesluijs

Op 13-3-2020 om 00:29 schreef Steven Kingsbury via Healeys:
> Latest update, took the head to a friend's machine shop and took the 
> valves out. All the intake vales had build up of soft carbon, a sign 
> of burning oil I was told and I'm going to have to also pull the 
> pistons to redo the rings. Fun, but I'm here, so why not? I'm also 
> going to get new valve guides pressed in and replace the ones in the 
> head as the valves seem to rock a bit going up and down. The head 
> though is not warped and is straight, but I will get it checked out 
> for cracks and resurface the head to make it super smooth.
>    I'm also going to drop the pan, and push the pistons out of the 
> block and replace the rings. And yes, I will plastiguage the crank to 
> make sure it's in good shape and install new rod bearings when in there.
>    I am also going to remove the tappet cover and take a good, hard, 
> close up look at all the lifters to make sure that's not a problem. 
> Right now, in for a penny, in for a pound. Sterling that is.
>    Basically, I'm making sure everything is correct this time and then 
> I will have no one but me to blame if it doesn't work. But all in all, 
> it seems pretty simple. So stay tuned for further updates as they happen.
>    Thanks for all the input, suggestions and guesses. This is actually 
> quite the fun project.
> Steven Kingsbury
>
> On March 12, 2020 at 12:38 PM, John Harper <ah100register at gmail.com> 
> wrote:
>
>> Hank
>>
>> The fact that number 2 exhaust valve is not the same colour as the 
>> others might be a clue. Maybe it is not closing fully? It would be 
>> worth checking for a stuck valve guide, broken spring or just lost  
>> clearance. A partially seized rocker is possible but not likely. This 
>> may not be the problem but it would not take much effort to pull the 
>> valve out and check for any burning on the working face.
>>
>> Best regards
>>
>> On Thu, 12 Mar 2020 at 18:18, <gradea1 at charter.net 
>> <mailto:gradea1 at charter.net>> wrote:
>>
>>     Hi Steven-good to hear from you!
>>
>>     That's a nice test, but I would magnaflux the head for cracks
>>     between 2-3 and have it shaved flat..could be a head gasket leak
>>     due to warped head...especially if valves and rings checked good.
>>
>>     Also, I don't recommend  NGK plugs- use Champion N-5...maybe
>>     cause of carbon on valves. Unless cam is flat, valve spring
>>     broken or tappet rods bent/broken, problem is in head-block fit.
>>
>>     Regards, Hank Leach
>>
>>
>>     -----------------------------------------
>>
>>     From: "Steven Kingsbury via Healeys"
>>     To: healeys at autox.teamnet <mailto:healeys at autox.teamnet>
>>     Cc:
>>     Sent: Thursday March 12 2020 9:40:25AM
>>     Subject: [Healeys] Four cylinder woes, part two!
>>
>>     Okay, here's the latest! I finally got to pull my head If you
>>     remember, I had 155 lbs of pressure in cylinders 1, 3, and 4 and
>>     only 25 lbs in cylinder number two. So with the head off, I was
>>     prepared to find a problem with I flipped it over to expose the
>>     valves, no such luck. Other than number two exhaust valve being a
>>     bit black, no cracks, nothing stuck and it looked fine. So then I
>>     went to look into the cylinders themselves, walls smooth, flat
>>     high compression pistons smooth, number three a bit rough on the
>>     top, but other than that and good.
>>        So then I went back to the head, put the spark plugs back in
>>     and filled the combustion chambers with paint thinner to see
>>     where it would leak out. Filled each chamber evenly and waited.
>>     Twelve hours later, and other than evaporation, no leaks! All
>>     chambers still even in their fluid retention.
>>        So then I rotated the crank to get all the pistons to an
>>     almost even position and put paint thinner in the cylinders at
>>     the same depth. No quick leak, not one cylinder faster than the
>>     others and all the fluid finally drained out smoothly and evenly
>>     in each cylinder.
>>        I'm a bit stumped. My next step is taking the head to a guy in
>>     town, an old machinist who builds his own engines and runs his
>>     car at Bonneville in the 300 mph range. He knows what he's doing
>>     and I'm sure he will give me some sage advice and help. Also as a
>>     side note, I went over the head with a magnifying glass and can
>>     see now cracks, but that doesn't mean they are not there I know.
>>     I was just thinking with a 100 pound plus difference, something
>>     would be obvious.
>>        I am also going to be taking off the tappet cover on the side,
>>     inspect all the lifters and see what I can find there. Like I
>>     said, I'm a bit perplexed, but I'm not done. I will find
>>     something wrong! Here are some photos for you, maybe you can see
>>     something I can't.
>>
>>     IMG_20200311_143602.jpg
>>     Here's the head, upside down and you can see the exhaust valve on
>>     number two is blacker than the others, but no cracks, chips, or
>>     visible damage.
>>     IMG_20200311_172123.jpg
>>     And here's the fluid I placed in the combustion chambers. It
>>     didn't drain out and just sat there.
>>
>>
>>     _______________________________________________
>>     Support Team.Net <http://Team.Net> http://www.team.net/donate.html
>>     Suggested annual donation  $12.75
>>
>>     Archive: http://www.team.net/pipermail/healeys
>>     http://autox.team.net/archive
>>
>>     Healeys at autox.team.net <mailto:Healeys at autox.team.net>
>>     http://autox.team.net/mailman/listinfo/healeys
>>
>>     Unsubscribe/Manage:
>>     http://autox.team.net/mailman/options/healeys/ah100register@gmail.com
>>
>>
>>
>> -- 
>> Best wishes
>>
>> John Harper
>>
>> AHC UK 100 Register Secretary
>
> _______________________________________________
> Support Team.Net http://www.team.net/donate.html
> Suggested annual donation  $12.75
>
> Archive: http://www.team.net/pipermail/healeys http://autox.team.net/archive
>
> Healeys at autox.team.net
> http://autox.team.net/mailman/listinfo/healeys
>
> Unsubscribe/Manage: http://autox.team.net/mailman/options/healeys/coudesluijs@chello.nl
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://autox.team.net/pipermail/healeys/attachments/20200313/6cb2e7e6/attachment.htm>