Rattlely SC.

T

tony

New Member
Well, today I dropped the old oil , put a new filter on and refilled the sump with 20/50.
Went for a short drive to get her warm. The noises have certainly quietened down but still there, 90% sure it's big ends, so it's sump off and out with the micrometer!Hopefully the crankshaft isn't worn. I also replaced the bulb for the oil pressure warning light, bulb had blown, not been taken out! It comes on at idle which is another reason I think it's bearings.
So, I've taken the battery out and put it on the trickle charger. Motor may have to wait a while till I find some time.
Will keep you informed. :roll:
Tony.
 
Think I've found the problem! (see pic)
Surprisingly the shaft is still standard 2.000" dia. the two journals that I've checked so far are no more than 0.001" out of round so I'll replace the shells, if I can find some standard ones.
The sump had NO gasket at all so that's another thing to find. :roll:
Feel a lot happier now that I now the problem.
Tony.
 

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tony said:
The sump had NO gasket at all so that's another thing to find. :roll:
Click to expand...

That's normal, this is how it was supposed to be. No gasket, just a smear of sealing compound.
 
That'll be another vote for treating main and big end bearings as a routine service item on the 4 cyl, then. Pleased you have a clear result.

Chris
 
Blimey! What mileage is your car reading? Mine weren't much worse than Brian Northampton's when i did mine at 48k, and I thought they were pretty shot! I also found the crank was still round within tolerance, and have been told it's a pretty robust bit of kit, putting the wear on the consumable bearing shells. Speaking of which, have you found any replacements yet? I spent 11 months looking for NOS big end bearings to no avail. In the end I settled on some new ones from JRW for £130 all in. Std sized mains are still reasonably available on fleabay for £30-50. Somebody needs to get these remanufactured at Rover (not Jaguar) prices! Grinding a perfectly good crank to accept plus-size shells is pointless, and doesn't address the lack of bearings for the future.
Good luck with it all! Michael
 
Make sure that you get the right main bearings. If you use the early type of mains in a late type block, the oil holes will not line up, and the crank will seize. You will be looking for a long time for a sump gasket!
 
As far as I can tell, car has done about 180 K km's.
I see mains on ebay, but will have to do a serious search for big ends.
I don't fancy having to remove crankshaft for a regrind.
Strange that I can get anything I need for my Triumphs but Rover bits are unobtainium :x
Tony.
 
Thanks everyone.
You're right, JRW have them in stock..100 pounds. plus postage.
At least I know I can get some ...at a price. I"ll do a bit more investigating locally before I commit myself.
Sorry about the invisable sump gasket,should have checked the manual. :oops:
Tony.
 
chrisyork said:
Perhaps worth emailing a few of the sellers to see if they have any not listed?
Click to expand...

By all means give it a go - well worth while if it saves you such a big figure - but I was emailing these sellers (as well as the Dutch bearing seller on ebay) from Sept-Feb, and standard sized rod bearings were non-existent for any of them. At least the mains are in ready supply, so you can save a cool £50 or so there.
Michael
 
Gentlemen,
Many thanks for your suggestions, I'll try a bit more to see what I can locate, but I have a feeling I may have to go for the gold plated one's.
One more silly question, are the big end nuts reusable or as Mr Haynes says they have to be renewed....I don't always trust what he tells me :roll:
They seem to be an odd sized thread.
Thanks
Tony.
 
I stuck a load of loctite round mine just to be on the safe side. I reckon I would have found out by now if they were prone to working loose. Michael
 
Having looked all over the net, I can find any thing but standard size shells, so have reluctantly ordered the gold ones. :roll:
Just had a cateract op yesterday so it may be a while until I can fit them.
Will keep you updated.
Tony.
 
Well, got my gold plated big end shells last week and fitted them this morning.
The rattles have disappeared, took her for a drive and got her warm after lunch 100 +kph and no engine noises, but...oil light comes on at idle when warm. When I got the car oil light had a blown bulb, probably as well, with rattles and oil light on too I would have been seriously worried. :roll:
I was going to substitute the sender with a Triumph one to see if it improved things but of course the thread is different.
Do I try to get a new sender or have a look at the pressure relief valve ? Suppose if it's not these two it's the oil pump. :(
Tony.
 
I'd have a look at the pressure release valve. If the filter has been left on for a long time in the engine's past (coupled to greater than ideal tolerances at the bottom end) it's possible a bit of crud might have got in there and is preventing the valve from closing cleanly, which would be more noticeable when the oil is hot.
The workshop manual also suggests that a worn release valve return spring could present these symptoms in the event that bottom-end bearings are still good, so it may be worth checking and replacing that.

Before all that though, are you running the correct oil? 20w50 is the recommendation, as it's thick enough at higher temperatures (than say, 20w40). Check your oil level too, when low, the large sump pick-up can end up sucking on a touch of air. Speaking of which, did you renew/inspect the rubber O ring seal of the oil pick up pipe, as this could result in air being picked up as well?

In terms of the oil sender, the real test of low oil pressure is whether you can hear the timing chains rattling at idle. The light/gauge is just a visual indication.

Others will tell you it's unlikely to be the oil pump. They are apparently incredibly strong.

Michael
 
Thanks Michael,
Running fresh 5 litres of 20/50 oil and I did replace the O ring while I had the bottom apart.I'll have a listen for timing chain noises but didn't notice any untoward noises yesterday.
Thinking of making an adaptor to fit a pressure gauge.
I see sender units for series 2 & 3 Landrovers are readily available on ebay. I wonder if the thread is the same ?
Thanks
Tony.
 
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