New project 74 3500

R

rickyv8

Member
Hi

I have recently bought a 74 3500, TUC 272M apparently a genuine 46000 miles, White been in storage for years, got it started but runs lumpy and sounds like misfire, oil change new plugs made a small difference, it's does idle without wanting to cut out and starts relatively easy, not smokey like it's burning oil but certainly not running correctly

I've took the carbs off and I've given them a good clean, I've taken rocker covers off and looks very black and still some very stogey black oil about

Is it worth taking heads off and getting cleaned, setting tapperts, it sounded a bit tappety but not had it up to temperature to get fresh oil round it all

Would I be better doing all that putting it back together see how it runs or diving into see if camshaft is ok now before I go much further?
 
sounds nice. oil and filter needs changing but setting tappets? these are hydraulic on 3500 and do not need setting ? check air filter/ leaks etc and fresh fuel.
do let us all know how it progresses .
 
with such a long layup maybe worth dropping the sump to clean the sludge out and oil pickup.
 
Always worth dropping sump as more often than not it will be full of sludge ( if top end of engine is black/ coked )with a risk it blocking pick up pipe and in turn jamming oil pressure relief valve as well giving no pressure.
Clive.
 
regarding dropping the sump.
I had a good look under and it seems that it is almost impossible to access the front bolts?
How is this done?
Peter
 
You may need to put a jack under the motor and this may give you better access to the sump bolts under the cross member
 
If you are disassembling the top end of an unknown car, then given a new cam, followers and timing gear (quality duplex is better than original) can be done for around £200, you'd be nuts not to if there is any sign of wear whatsoever. Most likely with accurate timing and valve opening you'll restore a fair bit of power even at 46,000 miles. The timing gear in particular is only good for 60,000 or so anyway.

You'd be good to go for another 50,000 miles at least with only oil servicing.
 
rickyv8 said:
I've took the carbs off and I've given them a good clean, I've taken rocker covers off and looks very black and still some very stogey black oil about
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Hi Ricky,

It could be given how black you indicate it looks that either the engine has far more than 46,000 miles, or maybe the oil wasn't changed very often. Dropping the sump and following Peter's good advice of doing a top end overall is certainly something worth considering. The degree of camshaft and lifter wear being a good indicator of use.

Ron.
 
sorry forgetting about the tappets being hydraulic, will it be best to get heads cleaned first and sump, then see if that makes a difference to running before digging into camshaft?
it looks like its not had very many miles, done looking around it and interior etc, just not had very many oil changes
 
Checking the tops of the tappets will tell you the condition of the top end. Just make sure everything goes back in the same place.

"looks like its not had very many miles, done looking around it and interior etc, just not had very many oil changes"

Hmmm, this isn't necessary good news. Read here: RPi Engineering - V8 Engines
 
ButterFingers said:
regarding dropping the sump.
I had a good look under and it seems that it is almost impossible to access the front bolts?
How is this done?
Peter
Click to expand...
You can access them from in front of the cross member with a suitable spanner. Not quick but quite easy. I've just dropped the sump on mine!
 
Get someone to turn the engine for you, with the rocker covers off. Take a careful look at the rockers and see how far they all travel, as they should all dip the same amount. If they don't, your cam needs looking at. I actually ran my engine on my old V8 without the rocker covers and you easily see the difference, indeed one of them was hardly moving at all.

Sump - I removed the two nuts on the underside of the engine mounts, jacked the engine up an inch or so on a flat board on the sump pan. Then remove the front bolts on the sump, drop it back down and remove the rest. Not too difficult, although a little fiddly :) and a lot easier if the radiator is out. If you have low oil pressure, you can actually remove the big end sheels in situ and replace them. Not a proper fix I know, but it certainly helped with mine.

Richard
 
^As Richard says above you can run the engine at idle with the rocker covers off to have a look - just don't be tempted to rev it, oil goes everywhere!
 
I've got a series 1 v8 that had been laid up since 1984. Mine was dirty on the top end, not black but had certainly seen much better days. Before attempting to start it I took the sump off to find an inch or so of sludge and potentially blocked strainer. As has been previously mentioned, for the price of top end components, on an unknown engine, you'd be mad not to do the work. I'm no engine expert but I put in new tappets, pushrods, timing gear and cam, along with a high yield oil pump for good measure. I had the heads cleaned and valves reground. It now runs a treat, the sweetest v8 I've had. If you go the new cam route, make sure you run in the new cam by running at 2k revs for 20 mins, with cam lube.
The rockers and shafts needed a really good clean up too. All that gunge you can see in the outside is likely to be blocking up the insides too. I cleaned mine in lots of morrisons maintenance spray (far cheaper than wd40), the straw is great for getting inside the shafts and encouraging out the gunge. An airline helped too. Also make sure that the oil feed to the rocker pedestals are absolutely clear. After priming the oil pump to get pressure up, I stared it up. It's quite enthralling to watch with the rocker covers off and so good to see a really good flow of oil from front to back. Any rocker that is not getting oil indicates that there's still a blockage in the shaft / arm. Sorry if I'm going on and on but I really enjoyed doing it, and not being an engine expert I was delighted with the results!
 


quick update, got manifold off and had a look at camshaft, tried to get a good pic of lobes in place to check condition but not the easiest thing to do lol
tappet looks clean and even, no bad markings or obvious bad wear

so I am sending radiator away for cleaning and check, it seems a bit damp around bottom, so possible recore
 
Phil Robson said:
Just a standard open ended / ring spanner. Nothing special....
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I had a good look under today and even if all the bolts can be accessed and undone, the sump will not come off unless the exhaust system is removed, the front crossover pipe completely blocks the sump
from dropping down and out. Not the best design in under car access that I have come across over the years.
I suppose that one could always cut the crossover pipe and then re-weld it, but that seems
rather ex-stream to just drop the sump?

Peter
 
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