New Project

[ColinB]

Thanks Brian - that would have been very useful but unfortunately I haven't got one. As it happens a couple of strong hits with a cold chisel got it moving after which it came off pretty readily. The counterweight is interesting with a great big spring inside. I don't know how that is supposed to work but anyway it is off. I will liaise with John Griffiths before taking off the chain case as it looks as if the bolts holding it on also connect the engine mounting plate to the block in which case I will need to provide support under the sump.

I have also given the front mudguards a third coat of top coat. The paint was a little thick and hard to spread so I'll drop over to Craftmaster at some point and get some thinners.

[jeans_old_man]

I'm glad you managed to get it off. It is fascinating - not a counterweight but a damper for torsional vibrations, much like on many modern cars, especially diesels. Modern ones have a resilient rubber between the weight and the crankshaft. Presumably yours relies on friction.

Going back to the tapping noise, someone on the MG forum had a similar problem after fitting a new crankshaft. The conrods were not perfectly aligned to the bores and there was insufficient clearance at the side of one of the little-end bearings causing it to tap against the gudgeon-pin boss at every stroke. Just a thought if you cannot find anything more obvious.

Your wings (fenders?) are looking good. Seems you are getting the hang of coach painting. It does sound like hard work though!

Brian

[ColinB]

Thanks Brian, yes coach painting requires a lot of effort but I'm enjoying getting a new skill. I'm pretty sure the noise problem is in timing chain area as the internal tapping noise is musically the same as when I tap the outside, but I'm always grateful for other ideas. I'll keep you posted.

[ColinB]

Well I think I have found the source of the noise and it will be easy to fix: the Mexican hat oil thrower was rubbing slightly on the chain case which you can see in the second picture. Everything else in there is fine. Whitmores used a paper gasket so I'll use cork as a replacement which will create a bit more clearance for the oil thrower and I will also dress the edge of it slightly. The paper gasket had indeed covered the oil drain which is visible in picture three so I will be careful with my new one to allow for a clear return to the sump.

Chain and thrower

Rubbing on the chain case

Return hole

[jeans_old_man]

Wow! That's some chain. What an interesting design - and two issues solved. You must be pleased. Full steam ahead now. I look forward to seeing it on the road. Brian

[jeans_old_man]

Hi Colin, just looked at the engine drawing that you posted earlier and it looks like the oil thrower you have is too big. The drawing shows the thrower fitting inside the recess in the front cover. Could you use your new-found metalwork skills to make it smaller? Brian

[ColinB]

I must confess I jumped to the wrong conclusion about the thrower Brian as when I trial-fitted it inside the cover it was too small to touch the rubbed part and is just like the drawing. It is in fact a join in the chain that is rubbing. This is a replacement sourced by Whitmores which is obviously variable in length depending on the need while the original was made to fit the car. So one link protrudes slightly with a split pin retainer and it is this which has been rubbing. I think the cork gasket will resolve this too but I may just thin out the cover slightly too where it has been rubbing.

[jeans_old_man]

The trouble is that you might run into problems on the outside with clearance to the fanbelt pulley - it looks close on the drawing. I know it's a faff, but I would take the chain off and grind the problem link down then peen it over. You would need to line up the timing marks and take off the timing gears so that you can reassemble it.

[indian301]

I would remove the cotter pin and place a piece of steel behind the pin and peen it over insitu.. I see no need to remove the chain from the engine.

Dave

[ColinB]

On a more agricultural approach I can slip a thin spacer between the back of the pulley and the oil thrower if necessary. I don’t really want to mess with the chain if I don’t have to. It’s a pretty quick job to bolt it all up and crank it over to see if the problem has gone away.

[ColinB]

Tapping has ceased but as Brian predicted the pulley is too close to the case so I'll need to make a spacer. I tried the engine before putting the damper on and it was all fine but the very strong spring in the damper pushes the pully very actively towards the oil thrower thus revealing a lack of tolerance. After finding the core problem I don't see this as a setback, just another small step towards the solution. I reckon a 1mm spacer will be enough which I will make out of steel to resist the compression from the spring.

Update - I just bought M32 0.5 and 1mm shims on eBay as these will be better than a home made job.

[ColinB]

Success! I put 2mm of spacers between the oil thrower and the end of the pully and when I fired her up the tapping had gone and the pully wasn't binding. Hopefully that will be the end of it..

The lower water connection on this engine is a potential leak path between the coolant and the sump - the connector is held against the block by a stud which is secured into a drilling which goes through the block into the oily parts. When I took the stud out I noticed that it was orange through the threads and as I have a bit of milky murk in the oil I think water has been squeezing through. The head and block have been skimmed, I have a new gasket and the nuts are torqued up to 45 lb ft so I doubt (hope) it isn't coming in the top end.

The stud is clearly not the original fixing but it will do. My fix is to extend the thread and put a nut on the lower part so I can seal it with a positive connection probably against a copper washer.

[ColinB]

Water system hooked up so I was able to run her for 5 minutes or so until the water started to warm through. No sign of unpleasant noises so I think I can move on.

I will change the oil to see if my fix on the lower water fitting actually worked, but the next job is to cover the running boards and make the bracket that supports the rear of the front mudguards. After that the mudguards can go on together with the valance which sits on top of the front part of the mudguards.

[jeans_old_man]

Hi Colin,
The later 972cc engine is riddled with studs that extend into the water jacket. Not least are the head studs, the six studs that hold the camshaft down and the the two that hold the rocker cover. The best solution I have found so far is to use Loctite thread lock but if anyone knows a better fix I should be very grateful to hear it. Brian

[ColinB]

Yes I agree Brian. The only difference with this stud is that it doesn't have a gasket to seal against any leakage, while the other penetrations are generally to secure a component hard against the block with a gasket in between. This particular stud just screwed in and I imagine after 90 years there was a little looseness in the thread. I used a black non-setting sealant on the thread and against the fibre gasket and nut I used to make a positive connection.