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And out in the garage there arose such a clatter..

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terriphill

Darth Vader
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AAAARGH...Just needing to vent my disappointment and frustration. The MG is going back to the drawing board. Had this thing 6 months and I have replaced EVERYTHING! Even put in a rebuilt motor, but it appears all the revving while we tried to figure out how to time it and set the new weber downdraft has spun a bearing. I got this running! It sounded great and the starter went out. Ordered a new starter, two days later picked it up....it was the wrong one! Reordered the starter, two days later picked it up! Yea! It works. Car starts on first turn. What's that noise? Clatter clatter? NOOOOOOOOOO! Let it warm up, maybe it just needs the oil to work through.....Nope. Give a little gas. Yep, that's what it is. All that revving on a new rebuild and I get to start again. FOOT, FOOT, FOOT!
I am beginning to believe this car is not a "Bradley" but perhaps Jezebel would be a more appropriate name!
Thanks for letting me vent. I 'm going back to the garage to begin tearing it down again. At least it a nice day.
 
Oh boy.
 
<span style="color: #CC0000">STEP ONE</span>!!!!!
Always make sure of the oil pressure before starting an engine, if possible. If you can't, make sure the only thing you are watching on the initial start is the oil pressure gauge. If it doesn't come up <u>at once</u>, shut it off and investigate.
I always liberally coat my bearings with assembly lube, as if the oil pressure doesn't come up right away, it offers a cushion before bearing damage occurs.
As someone else mentioned, though, the 1500 pump can be driven externally, so that one is easy.
When you replace the bearings, make sure to look at the oil pump for damage, too.
Jeff
 
Re: And out in the garage there arose such a clatt

And I gotta ask: did you Plasti-gauge your journals? Cheap insurance, that.
 
Re: And out in the garage there arose such a clatt

Actually, we didn't rebuild this one. When I bought this car, the guy said it ran. Got it home, it clattered with a bad bearing. I took out the motor, ordered new bearings and tried to replace them without turning the crank (lesson 1 learned the easiest isn't always the best) Put it together, get it running, it stil had the clatter because there was some damage and we should have turned the crank and resized the bearings. We started looking for someone to rebuild it for us when we found a 1500 motor from a triumph that was already rebuilt (It was about half of what it would cost to have ours rebuilt) We bought it, broke it down inspected it, looked it over, it was clean with new valves etc and a rebuilt head and pistons, etc. Its a risk you take when you rely on someone else's work.(Lesson 2 learned cheaper may not be the answer either) Turns out its not the oil presuure or anything else just one of those things that sucks. Fine. I will do this again. I am actuallly starting to get pretty good at tking this car apart and each time is a new learning experience. You know what they say....third times a charm. This time it will not be the cheapest or the easiest....just right (Besides, I have found this forum this go around.)
 
Re: And out in the garage there arose such a clatt

Terri, a good education is never easy or cheap. But the "school of hard knocks" comes well accredited.
Jeff
 
Re: And out in the garage there arose such a clatt

And teaches the best lessons!First time is for familiarity, second time is for practice, and hopefully third time is for good! Good luck /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif
 
Re: And out in the garage there arose such a clatt

"If'n ya ain't done it three times, ya ain't done it at all."


Terri: As you go thru this process, be SURE to post and ASK! We're all here, we're all experienced by the same "trial by fire" you've stepped into. Response times on this "forum" are closer to "Real Time" than any place else you could go.

...Step-by-step you will have the BEST council available. There are folk here who've done this for decades. And they'll give you enough information you'll think you've had the "Cliff Notes" from LBC *H**L*.


Patience ain't a virtue, but it'll stand ya in good stead with the info flowing from this website...

just a word in yer ear. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif
 
For future reference.....I just assumed the gauges were not actually working since the speedometer doesn't work and the the others stick too. I actually got some great advice to check the pressure with a screw driver bit and a drill and it worked. It was fine, the line to the gauge was plugged. But, since it appears to be too late for all this.....I appreciate the help. Next time, I will be checking the oil pressure before we start. I am beginning to wonder, since there was a clog in the line (Where there wasn't one before) if I have a clog somewhere in the motor that has caused the clatter I hear. So, before things get too far along, I am pulling it back out and starting again.
 
Teri, you definitely have an oil feed problem somewhere. A clogged line to the gauge would only affect the gauge reading, not the rest of the engine. Or, the pump was just extremely slow in picking up its initial prime. Time to do a little detective work.
Jeff
 
Okay, many may disagree with me on this one, but being as you had oil pressure all along, it may be possible that you did not dammage your bearings. If I were you, I would locate the source of the noise before you pull the engine. Even if it means reconnecting everything.

If you pull the engine and all your bearings and clearances look fine, you may have to stick the engine back in to find the source of the noise. Then maybe pull it again to fix the real source of the noise.

Because of Morris's law ("In any breakdown, the most difficult and espensive thing to repair is most likely the problem") it is most likely the bearings. But it is always best to be sure before you pull the motor. If it is the bearings, any additional dammage you do will come out when you turn the crank. Besides, it sounds like you have a spare anyway.

I would just really hate to see you pull the motor to find out you have a loose timing chain or a dropped socket, nut or whatever in your galleys.

Oh yeah, one more thing. A worn out valve train can make a horrible racket. If the PO did not check and renew worn components when he rebuilt, this could be the source of your clatter, too.
 
Not bad advice! A great diagnostic tool in cases like this is a stethascope to isolate the source of the clatter! A substitute for a stethascope would be a length of heater hose held to the ear, or even a long screwdriver held against suspected areas and close to ones ear will help isolate the source of noises. Of course, you have to be willing to run the engine again to re-create the clatter. If it is real loud and obvious, I would not run it though!
 
I really appreciate the help, but I think we have pretty much decided that if we are going to have a car that I have real faith in, it should be right. I truly feel that right means, pull the motor and start again. Considering the fact that (1.) I've heard this noise before in the last motor and I am almost 100% sure its a bearing and (2.) We really did not know what we were doing and put some pretty high revs on that motor when it wasn't even broken in. I would just be a lot more comfortable with starting over.
Like I said, I sure have learned a lot and the next time won't be nearly as difficult. I have learned all sorts of great stuff about how to connect it up, I've replaced nearly every working part on the car, and hey I didn't really buy it to drive it, I bought it to work on. (of course driving it is the ultimate prize, but if it becomes a "Crypt car" was it really worth it?) She does have a name....Jezebel. Oh and by the way....the Nardi steering wheel looks great on her in the garage! Isn't it funny what we choose to spend time on while we wait on parts? Maybe I'll start a photo journal this time.
 
Oh I hope so, we love pics.
 
My two pence is to drain the oild and see what it looks like before pulling it. Heck you are doing it anyway. Take a step back and then decide.

Patrick
 
Re: And out in the garage there arose such a clatt

I know a guy who rebuilt his engine, fired it up and then tore it down again because of a "what's that noise" /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/whistle.gif .

Nothing was wrong so he put it back together.

Same noise & he tears it apart AGAIN!

(He finds out after all this, that his new forged pistons were slapping like crazy until he heat cycled them a couple of times)
 
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