Top end rebuild

All's well with it to be honest. I'm getting around 35-40psi at 2000rpm and on the motorway run home on Sunday afternoon it hovered around 35psi and stayed at around 25psi when I stopped at the end of the slip road whereas before the rebuild it would slowly drop to about 5psi by the time the lights changed.

I was sceptical about the need for another oil change so soon especially as the dipstick oil looked clean but it's definitely been worth doing as it's much quieter and there's more consistent oil pressure. I guess all the parts I've cleaned still had microscopic particles on them which had been loosened and have now ended up in the filter?

My car was in at the local engines tuners D&B Carburettors yesterday and he's taken out the standard BAK needles and order a selection of richer ones to try next week. He fitted a pair of BAL needles so I could drive it home as that was all he had in stock and already it seems better so I can't wait for next week now to get it set correctly. He wouldn't take any money yet though even though he did a mornings work on it saying 'just pay me when it's finished next week'!
 
Hello Stan,

Your engine is fitted with the replacement oil pressure sender isn't it?....large metal nut section topped off with a black plastic cylinder.

If so, then almost without fail the oil pressure variations that you are seeing is down to it.

The reason I feel so sure is that I had three of them fitted in as many months, and each started giving spurious readings after a week or so prior to leaking oil from the interface between the large nut and the plastic cylinder. Each was replaced under warranty. Prior to replacing the third one, the oil pressure at idle dropped to 20psi and never moved again, even with the engine at 2000 rpm. :shock: The fellow at the Rover spares centre asked me.......... was it leaking and reading odd up upon returning the first one?... I said it was,..is this common with these I asked,... he replied..yes.

I have since fitted the original Smiths sender and no such problems. At idle, coolant temperature 82 to 85 degrees C...30psi, at 2000 rpm...40psi, and at 3000rpm,..50psi.

All the best,
Ron.
 
Well...the Britpart sender continues to give random (low) readings so I've fitted a 0-60 psi mechanical gauge, picked up from ebay...

@ 600 rpm idle hot


2000 rpm hot


2500 rpm hot


Fittings from Speedograph-Richfield


Finally got round to fitting that vacuum gauge as well!


If I come across an original oil sender I'll fit that too...but at least I've got some peace of mind now. :)
 
after seeing this in the flesh today - it's a fantastic looking engine bay, a fantastic sounding engine and a lovely looking car...
 
rockdemon said:
after seeing this in the flesh today - it's a fantastic looking engine bay, a fantastic sounding engine and a lovely looking car...
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Thanks Rich, was good to meet up yesterday for a chat.

Good luck with your engine and, as I said, give me a shout if you need a hand any time - but if I don't catch you before, see you at the Rugeley Rally! :)

Cheers,
 
vaultsman said:
Hmm...wasn't happy with this 2 tenths of a thou figure...bit of heat and differential expansion, slight contamination in the oil...before you know it the gears'll pick up on the cover and I'll have lost a tooth or three on the cam/dizzy gear. So I nipped to the local LR dealer at lunchtime and bought an OEM gasket for the grand sum of 56p. Which mics up at .012"...twice the thickness of the one in the upgrade kit!

So the .0002" to .0042" would become .0062" to .0102", or more likely .003" to .007" after the gasket compresses!

I'm happier with this, I know wear will increase it over time, but the taller gears with this sort of end float will still deliver much better volume than the the P6 gears. So the spacer plate's now licked up on the surface grinder, burrs stoned off the gears, and all bolted up. Feels right at about 4 to 5 thou. :)
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Hi Stan . Bet you thought you'd seen the last of this thread ! Fitted my upgrade kit today , i found as you did , with the gaskets supplied with the kit the gears bound up with the cover bolted up . I have been studying this thread for a few months ( stalking you :LOL: ) so i was armed up with a new standard gasket . With that fitted and bolted down the gears turn o.k and i think i have around 0.03" to 0.05" end float . Not easy to measure accurately . I spent about 5 hours assembling , measuring , disassembling , then trying again ! Seems best with the kit gasket under the spacer plate and the OEM gasket between spacer plate and cover . Does that fit with what you found ? I know it was a few years ago that you did yours . Just got the jitters about firing it up . Thoughts more than welcome :)
Stina

Ps , Edit , what sort of oil flow/pressure do you have now after putting a few k miles on it ?
 
Hi Stina,

Glad you managed to get it fitted OK...and assuming you mean .003" to .005" (3 to 5 thou) end float, then yes that's the clearance I was happy with.

Have you packed the gears with Vaseline? Or using a priming tool? I did both, purely for belt and braces as I wanted to be absolutely sure the pressure came up quickly when cranking.

Can't comment on what flow I'm getting now, but pressure seems fine at 35 psi at 2000 rpm once the oils up to temperature.

I remember crossing fingers (and everything else :D ) when I turned the key for the first time. Have a cuppa to hand (or a glass of wine!) when you do this...20 minutes is a long time to be sitting there!

All the best with it! :)
 
I remember crossing fingers (and everything else :D ) when I turned the key for the first time. Have a cuppa to hand (or a glass of wine!) when you do this...20 minutes is a long time to be sitting there!
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Stina isnt changing the cam (yet) so wont need to do this???

Do you know someone called alan from the vaults? Friend of the family, popped round today to pick up a birthday card and showed me a pic of ocy in the original colour :)

Rich
 
rockdemon said:
Stina isnt changing the cam (yet) so wont need to do this???
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My mistake Rich...I've been out of the loop for the last couple of weeks and assumed Stina was doing a similar job as Occie's.

rockdemon said:
Do you know someone called alan from the vaults? Friend of the family, popped round today to pick up a birthday card and showed me a pic of ocy in the original colour :)

Rich
Click to expand...

Hmmm...did know an Alan from the original Vaults...but that was before I bought Occie.

However...my memory's not what you'd call infallible these days! :D
 
Hi Stan thanks for that . I just changed the timing gears and uprated the oil pump . Just want to be sure i've got it right .
 
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