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TR4/4A Look what I found in a 4A oil filter?

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karls59tr

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100_1571.jpgAnyone recognize this piece of metal? It was in the stock oil filter canister. I was changing the oil and the filter. I have a 4A that I am selling because it needs a new frame. Figured I'd get the engine running to make it more saleable. It ran fine about 8 years ago except for some black smoke but I attributed that to having to keep the choke pulled out to keep it idling and the fact that I put too much oil into the cylinders for start up. How could something that big (1&1/2") get in there? That item on the right was also in the oil canister. It's a stone???? Might be a good idea for me to drop the oil pan and see what's in there!
 
I cannot imagine a way it could just 'get in there' during engine operation - seems more likely it was in the canister when it was offered up last time around.
 
Only thing that comes to my mind is the top of a rocker pedestal. But I can't explain how it could break like that, especially the little piece on the other side of the bolt hole. And it seems kind of big to have found it's way down past a push rod.

You might at least pop the rocker cover off and look for any marks on one of the pushrods. I assume the broken pedestal (if that's what it is) would have been discovered and replaced already.
 
That metal piece looked familiar - perhaps I have placed it. Is it the right size to be one of the release 'fingers' on the pressure plate?

clutch1_zpslpbumlzr.jpg


Though I think the 4A may have used a diaphragm clutch.
 
I agree that it must have got knocked into the canister by a careless PO...along with the stone. How cluttered does a workshop have to be for that to happen? Metal piece is not wide enough to be a release finger. I was planning on removing the rocker cover anyway so I'll check in there to see if anything is amiss. Has anyone used those "rubber" rocker cover gaskets and found them to be OK.?
 
karls59tr said:
Has anyone used those "rubber" rocker cover gaskets and found them to be OK.?
Click to expand...
I've got one of Justin Wagner's silicone gaskets and really like it. He doesn't sell them any more, but Joe Alexander sells something similar.
https://www.the-vintage-racer.com/index.php/gasket-innovations/triumph-gaskets/product/92-gtr-34s

The ones Joe sells aren't the same as the ones Justin sold, but from what I hear, they work even better. (The ones from Justin expand when they get hot, so you have to let them cool before reinstalling. The racers throw them in an ice chest :smile: )

I did use a nitrile rubber gasket many years ago. It was better than cork, but not by a whole lot.

Also, the trick with the cork is to glue it to the rocker cover and put it on a flat surface while the glue hardens. Then just use grease or a weak sealant like Hylomar between the gasket & cylinder head, so it won't stick and tear the cork next time you remove it.
 
It can't. Trust me. If it came from anywhere in the engine lubricated areas, it would have to A) go through the pickup screen, and B) go through the pump.
I know exactly what happens when a small cotter key goes through a pump.View attachment 47926See the crack on the far side? You run that part through a pump, it would pitch the entire pump out the side of the block.
 
Recently I disassembled an old TR3 engine. The oil pump cylinder as shown in the previous photo was broken into 5 pieces.
Charley
 
Guess I was lucky. When my oil pump sucked up a bit of metal (broken corner off a rod bolt locktab) through the broken screen, it just sheared off the tang that drives the pump. The pump itself was fine.

But I heartily agree, no way for a rock that size to make it through the pump.
 
I have spent the last week playing with my 2 1/2 year old grandson, I know exactly how those things got in the canister.
 
TR3driver said:
Also, the trick with the cork is to glue it to the rocker cover and put it on a flat surface while the glue hardens. Then just use grease or a weak sealant like Hylomar between the gasket & cylinder head, so it won't stick and tear the cork next time you remove it.
Click to expand...

I second that advice. What I use for the flat surface is the cylinder head itself. I rest the seal on the head followed by the valve cover and finally something with a little bit of weight resting on top to hold things down. It makes a world of difference. The same technique can be used with the silicone gaskets using RTV for the "glue".
 
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