Hallum
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Update: Yesterday I stripped the rest of the engine to check over everything else that I could (bagging and tagging along the way!). Didn't find any more nasty surprises other than a very worn timing chain and tensioner (had about an inch of play either side of equilibrium). It looks like at least 1 tooth had slipped. I have had a look at the journals of the crank and they look good to me. The do not have any scoring or excessive wear that I can see. Some of the bearings however have some medium/light scoring I checked the #4 conrod for straightness against a metal rule, which showed that it is true - phew. I have had a better look at the wear of the bores. I have no means of measuring the difference of the main cylinder from the lip, but its easily noticeable when moving your finger across. So, the question of what to do still remains. I have not been able to find a piston to replace #4 so I think it is going to have to stay for now (unless one turns up in the near future). What is your guys thought on replacing the bearings, thrust washers, and piston rings along with honing each bore. Is that an acceptable approach? Nick, that's kind of you to mention about your surplus engines. Dependent on what you think of the above and the pictures it may be an option to consider. Also, does the mark "010 U/S" mean +010 oversize on the bearings? A better look at the #4 piston: Timing chain: Some more pictures: Thanks, Harry
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A little ode to the service of #4 so far. In all seriousness, I am still undecided on which approach. I have asked round all the usual places for an original F grade piston with the same/similar weight. Waiting to hear back from most. No luck so far. If any do come up, what kind of tolerance is acceptable with the piston weight? BTW I appriciate your optimism Nick 😉 Thanks, Harry
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Interesting. Yorkshire_spam I am not sure I do feel to lucky after Nick saying the piston is only about 5mm thick. The biggest gouge is not far off the centre and probably about 3mm deep at its worst point. I think every time I went up a steep hill in the future I would begin to perspire uncontrollably Dusz, I like your suggestion. I need to check the wear on the cylinders yet though. I think it is the most cost effective solution other than just leaving it. Jonny, I have had the car since Sept 2013, but have only done about 500 miles since then (if that) due to working on it a fair bit. Out of curiosity, if I were to go for a rebuilt, how much would I be looking at all in assuming a rebore is not required? I get that if the piston has not let go yet, it may last longer, but I don't think I would be able to drive it now without the fear of what if? Thanks for the advise so far gents! Harry
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Hi guys, thanks for the insights. Oil consumption has always been, good, as is compression. I did a compression test, all be it cold as the engine was already out of the car, and #4 was the lowest. Just under 10% less than the highest 2 and 3 which I thought was acceptable. #1: 140 #2: 155 #3: 155 #4: 135. How thick are the pistons? Is there a possibility of it blowing all the way through on the larger gouges? I hate to suggest it as I am not a fan of 'bodges', but could material be added to the piston in situ for strength? As much as I would like to do a rebuild, its not really possible at the moment, mainly due to financial reasons 🙁. As I said earlier, this is my first time on an engine so its all a bit unfamiliar to me. Thanks! Harry
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Had some issues recently with the engine running hot, which I am pretty sure now is down to the radiator. While I had the radiator out I wanted to pull the engine and have a look over it (I received no service history with the car, nor have I ever spoken to a PO as purchase from a scrapyard). After removing the head I found the gasket was in pretty good shape. Pistons were quite coked up. Sadly I did find this is what cylinder 4 looked like after removing the majority of the carbon (very carefully). Now I haven't worked on an engine before, but even I can appreciate this is not good. So I am curious as to what has happened. It looks like a chunk of the piston has broken out and then been smashed back onto the surface of the piston by the valve. Strangely, the valve does not look to be at all damaged, nor the cylinder itself. What could have caused this? Overheating? Pre-ignition? Foreign material? I assume this can't have happened in my ownership as I would have thought it would have made a hell of a noise when it happened? So, what are my options now? I assume the only one is a re-bore and new pistons? Another view of #4 #4 before cleaning A much happier looking #3 Engine out Thanks, Harry
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300! I need to get me down to the gym more often! 🙂 Harry
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I am sure it is, but 120 lb/ft is surprising just how tight it is. I was on the limit of how tight I could get the nut to go with a 0.5m torque wrench just as it reached 120. I would invest in a torque wrench; I am sure you will find a number of uses for it in future when working on the car. Harry
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120 lb/ft if I remember correctly 🙂 You can't really do it with anything other than a torque wrench. That is other than hanging a 16.5 kg mass 1m from the nut on a breaker bar (with the bar parallel to the ground) to the point where the system stops tightening - but I think that would be a bit of a faf! 😉 Harry
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Hi Jamie, Sorry, yes you are right about the last one. The first 2 however I believe are correct. They both look to match the size of that fitted to mine, just seem to differ in the angle of the reservoir. You can see the pictures of mine below (ps. ignore the rust, its on my list ). The brake reservoir is perpendicular to the pushrod, the clutch is angled. Unsure if they are suppose to differ or if this was from the factory? Thanks, Harry
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You mean like these?: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MAST.....a1gdNp7MaQPVebD1ZhjQ http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TRIU.....5:g:eUAAAMXQ-3NRk~Nf http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TRIU.....b:g:SngAAOSwI-BWHDj~ Cannot speak for the quality of them as I have not purchased from any of them myself. However, they seem to match what you describe. I too have a MK3. If I remember correctly, mine matches the shape of the first; the reservoir being perpendicular to the push rod. Harry
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Well, Changed out the condenser and rotor arms for the old ones, and she ran beautifully 🙂. I will aim to find out which was the issue (I think the condenser) in the coming days. I would still like to replace them both as I think they will be coming to the end of there life soon. I will be buying a red rotor arm as suggested by Tony. With regards to the condenser, has anyone got suggestions where to buy decent quality ones? Thanks for the help! Harry
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I went to do mine not to long ago to discover this horror 🤔 Needle rollers had collapsed this was the result to the half shaft. Still makes me shiver now 😉
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Hi Guys, Thanks for the responses. The engine was timed about 2 months ago to 6 BTDC as per the manual. Is it better to have it set a 10 in that case? With regards to the ignition, its not electric; standard dizzy. The condenser, rotor arm, and coil were replaced around three weeks ago, and had been running fine up until the point the jets were replaced so I assume it is unlikely to be any of them. Nick, I thought the same thing initially hence why on multiple occasions I pulled the choke to see if it would make a difference. Also deliberately setting the carbs to run lean off-choke, but with no change. There is the correct amount of oil in the dashpot. In the meantime, I shall wait on a friend to borrow his timing gun again. Many thanks, Harry
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Hi All, After 10 months of working on my MK3 spitfire I finally got it through it's MOT last month! Woohoo! The car has been treating me well ever since. However, an issue has now developed that I can't work out. On Sunday I finally got round to replacing the carb jets after discovering one of the previous owners fitted different sized carb jets (they were about 15mm different in length). The carbs are twin SU's (HS2). I tuned the carbs accordingly, and have been having issues ever since. The engine runs smoothly and revs nicely when it not under load, however, under-load is a different story. Essentially, they car is suffering from a loss of power through extreme bucking/hesitation accompanied by an occasional backfire through the carbs. Initially I assumed this was due to ill-tuned carbs, however, after tuning a number of times, I am convinced it must be something else. I have checked the obvious; spark plugs all good, fuel in both bowls, jets do not appear to be blocked. I have tried applying the choke when driving but its not changing the running of the engine at all. Its also important to note the issue is consistent at all temperatures. Could the timing need to be changed? Any suggestions/ideas would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks, Harry
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Half shaft