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Spitfire Spitfire engine removal

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zottlander

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Well the new head gasket stopped the bubbling coolant bottle. However i made the mistake of testing the rings. Now i know that my rings are somewhat subpar. 140,140,160,140 . on the compression test. When i squirt a teaspoon of marvel mystery oil in to each clyn. i get 150,150,170,150.( i used the m+m oil because more of it will burn up than 30 weight) The 160/170 clyn. i believe is the result of a valve problem that interferes with a full discharge of the exhaust stroke. Is it practical to remove the engine without the tranny? Or is that just silly? Also what does pinning the crank thrust washers mean? Thanks too all.
 
Zottlander, You can get the engine out without the Tranny but you have to undo all those bolts under the dash, when just the four driveshaft bolts, two tranny mounts, a couple of wires and one clutch hose and all the rest can be done sitting on the floor drinking a cup of coffee. This does not include all the out side work which will take it's toll on your back before you start the tranny. Now if it's the clutch you need to get at it's a different story. Pinning any washer or bushing in effect makes it a bit larger by way of takeng a small punch and going at about a 45 degree angle and tapping the sides of the metal a few times, this will raise little metal burrs and make it fit tighter, useful but not a lasting fix. Old car salesmen would do this on bearing caps to keep and engine from knocking. Now you know. Wayne
 
It depends what your goal is here but I would not necessarily conclude from those compression results that you should pull the engine. Additionally (here I admit ignorance of Spit engines) but it would seem likely that the rings could be addressed w/o pulling the engine.

But as I said -- it depends on how you plan to drive the car & what you expect from the engine.
 
Zottlander, a 10 pound increase in the compression readings wet over dry is certainly no cause to pull the engine, unless you have underlying problems to address, such as extremely low oil pressure, or a bearing knock.
Is it smoking excessively? Have you done any other diagnostic tests, such as a cylinder leakdown test? How bad is the crankshaft end float? (An indication of worn thrust washers.)
Do you have a valve problem, or rather a cam that is worn?
I'm not trying to talk you out of yanking the engine, but rather trying to save you unnecessary work and expense.
I certainly wouldn't pull it down based only on those compression values.
Jeff
 
[ QUOTE ]
Pinning any washer or bushing in effect makes it a bit larger by way of takeng a small punch and going at about a 45 degree angle and tapping the sides of the metal a few times, this will raise little metal burrs and make it fit tighter, useful but not a lasting fix. Old car salesmen would do this on bearing caps to keep and engine from knocking. Now you know. Wayne

[/ QUOTE ]
W,
Are you sure that you are not refering to peining or peening, which might be used as you say. I think that Zot was refering to pinning (as in dowel pin) the crankshaft end thrust washers which is sometimes done to prevent their rotation. Whether pinning actually helps anything or not, I'll leave up to other opinions.
D
 
Hello Zottlander,
Dave is quite right, the idea is to drill and ream the block and the thrust bearing to retain the bearing in case of excessive wear. The dowel pin should be an interference fit in the block and thrust bearing. This is a common modification on both 4 and 6 cylinder Triumph engines, particularly for competition use. It saves the block from severe damage that can occur if the bearing drops into the sump and the crank then rubs on the block itself.

Alec
 
Zottlander;

It's very easy to remove the engine without the transmission. I rebuilt the bottom of my engine last winter and removed the engine without removing the transmission. You just need to remove the bolts attaching the engine and transmission and also support the transmission prior to disconnecting the two.
 
Dave, there are times you feel elated by helping someone and others you just feel like a dork. Well el dorko on the pinning. My brain even works with a southern accent and we say all these words about the same and me with an English wife I just catch heck all the time. Wayne
 
Wayne ,maybe I can releive some of the strain. The operation you were describing for use on washers or bushings is also known as "Knurling"it can be done as you defined or there are tools that create definite patterns in the metal.For example, flakey engine overhauls rarely get new valve guides they just Knurl them and as you indicated this is not a lasting fix. I blow some sometime too-Huh Dave.---Keoke
 
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