Banksy82

Actual end float is .037, front thrust is approx .094 and rear thrust .088. I believe that standard is around the .092 mark so they may be poorly measured standards or possibly very worn oversize. They have 0025 stamped on the back... which if a dimension I would read as .0025 but I didn't think they are available in this size... I will get a set of +10 and +15 and see what I can do..

Fantastic, thank you. It's all a little odd really. I had .040 end float on the crank and an annoying / worrying loud tapping / rattling audible at speed. With the end float being so large I expected to find similar wear throughout and a smoking gun on the noise. I can't believe a previous owner went to the trouble of a regrind and then reassembled with such a huge endfloat.. Some of the other shells show deeper scoring but the journals are all okay so I think it is worth replacing the bearings anyway? There is some pitting on some of the cam lobes and I imagine the same of the followers.. I wonder if this could be the source of my noise... I will continue to investigate

Thanks, I'll try with the finest I have first 1200 maybe as I don't think the marks are anything more than on the surface - interested to know what might have caused it to try and prevent the same thing happening elsewhere. Picture of bearing cap shell below - these show the expected wear pattern - I plan on replacing these and the main bearings with new .010 under to get a little more life out of the engine. Do you have any idea what the working clearance should be between bearing and journal? I can't seem to find it in the book. Thanks Again

Evening all. Does anyone have any idea on the below. This is the crank pin for cylinder 3 and there is an odd wear pattern running around the surface. it resembles a regular 'zebra stripe' running left to right in the image - it isn't quite as noticeable with the naked eye but shows up clearly in the photograph. It almost looks like brinelling from roller bearings but I have never seen anything like this on a plain bearing. The crank has had a 10 thou regrind at some point in its life - there are .010 under bearings installed and the pins mic up at 1.8657 which i believe to be 2 tenths oversize for 10 thou under. Any thoughts gratefully received. Karl

Looking at the pictures of new items my gears don't look as bad as I thought - I'm used to involute gear profiles not chain drives and they looked very pointy. Given they will have worn into the chain and the chain looks to be in good condition and in spec. I am going to leave it all as it was including the original tensioner. For the sake of 4 quid I will probably acquire a new seal but for now I'm calling the timing setup 'good'! Crank and camshaft to check next!

I decided the seal was bad as it is very hard indeed - I would expect some flex in the lip but there really isn't any - Is this normal?

Pretty much my thoughts, I am being rather frugal as I haven't had the car for all that long so I'm still going through the major components and as yet have no idea of total costs to remedy any immediate trouble. In terms of timescale, once drive train, suspension and brakes are checked over I can go back through and replace in tolerance but worn components in the order of most need. Given I want to drive the thing for most of next summer I would hazard a guess that the next time i would look would be in 12mths. I am unlikely to do 10k in that time.

This is the state of my current tensioner. The grooves are in the order of 8 thou deep and with the leaf only 20thou or so I'm minded to replace... Does anyone have experience of the quality of aftermarket parts from the usual suppliers? Thanks

@standardthread Thank you for the useful tips. Oh the teeth are definitely worn - I wouldn't dream of trying to put a new chain on the sprockets. I'm sure I should replace them but my thoughts are that as they have worn together and within book tolerance I can put off the £60 it would cost me to replace items that can be reasonably easily accessed later with the engine in the car.... Any other thoughts on this??

Duly noted! I’ll post a picture when I get back in the workshop to see what the knowledgeable folks here think of the state of my original one!

There was - unfortunately - an undiagnosed noise that is partly the reason the lump is on my workshop floor. I was convinced it was cam / tappet / rocker related but the more I listened to it the more worried I got! 😁 I'm picking up an engine stand on Thursday so should be able to get the sump off and investigate my fate...

I will probably do a visual check and then when it all looks beyond salvage mic up the journals to try and convince myself that I don't need a regrind! 😁

Thanks for the info! I'm looking for a 'refreshed' engine I think. It is as much about finding out where things are and deciding on the best course of action for each part. At least that way I won't be wondering what the state of x is all the time! On that note I have just checked the tension on the timing chain and the slack is currently at 11/32 (.344) and the book limit for renewal is 0.4. I am minded to call it 'in tolerance' and just replace the tensioner which is reasonably badly scored. no apology necessary - I do know this but that doesn't mean I wouldn't have forgotten! - I'd rather be reminded of something than be looking at a pile of parts on the bench with that sick feeling!

This is golden info thank you - I'll visually assess and probably post photos here for a second opinion. I have mics and slip gauges that I would trust to be accurate to a couple or three tenths and are repeatable to 1 tenth but it appears that a visual inspection may tell me all I need to know.

Thanks for the input. What is the best way to assess the bearings? Assuming there is no obvious play I was thinking of removing the crank to measure journals against the book to prove the crank and then plastigauge to measure clearances?

This is an excellent idea - thanks!

@RobPearcePerfect. Thank you. Sorry I should have mentioned - yes it is a Late MKIV with a 3 rail box and a D-type OD. Biggest sign of leak is around the sump, the whole area is swimming in oil/filth soup! I can't really tell if it is coming from the sump itself or from the cam cover gasket / oil seal so I was going to clean and change those 3 for certain and then wondered where else is likely to be in need.

Hello All, I have spent the last weekend removing the engine and gearbox from my recently acquired spitfire to address a couple of known faults. Crankshaft end float excessive Throwout bearing noise (or so I thought - turns out locating pin for the bearing assembly is completely missing and the whole carrier was just flapping in the breeze!) Mystery loud tapping at idle that doesn't go away with speed - first thought it was valve train but now not so sure - I'll investigate. Sort oil leak from sump. Now I have the lump out the whole gearbox and Overdrive is covered in oil and I am contemplating renewing gaskets and seals while I have convenient access. Question is are there any seals / gaskets that are best left alone unless they are known to have failed or can I merrily strip them all out and replace with new from Moss / Paddocks? Equally is there any that definitely should be replaced regardless? Also looking at removing flywheel and back plate to mount block on engine stand - any concerns with doing this? Karl.

This sounds like an excellent idea - I'm sure I can fabricate something.

Yes, I have been looking through it this evening - it all sounds so easy... we'll see!

Thanks for this - really useful. I have just been out to look at the lifting points - is it best to remove the alternator or is it happy enough being stressed during the lift

Perfect - thank you. I'll have a look at some parts costs and come up with a plan.

The stuff of dreams! 🙂

I have a 2 ton engine hoist that I have used for many different things but never to hoist an engine! Plan would be to lift engine and gearbox and roll car out from underneath (easier to roll the car on the gravel than crane) and then drop down onto pallet for separation. Would I then need to acquire an engine stand from somewhere?

Hmm... I can sort of see how the two possible issues may show similar symptoms. The bearing noise stopping with the clutch in and the crank pushed fully forwards... and i like the idea of a quick maintenance fix. My worry is buggering about under the car and then needing to pull the gearbox again later... The car is outside and on gravel - (FOR AXLE WORK ONLY) to raise it I lay an inch thick 3' x 5' hardwood board under the car to allow the jack to roll and to support the jack stands and spread the load. For me to be comfortable getting under the car I will need to move it to a concrete pad that would require some fencing removal and is a bit further away from my workshop. In my mind the engine and box would be fairly easy to remove and would allow me to work in the comfort of a dry workshop. Am I underestimating the work required to remove the motor?