• Hi Guest!
    You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.

    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

Tight Crankshaft [engine reassembly]

No this is not my first engine rebuild and yes i do know to space the ring gapes by at least 40 degrees and yes i just watched a moss video telling me which side is up for the one ring that is not marked "TOP"
 
you can buy fogging oil at the usual places - puts a thin coat of oil (aerosol)
 
Not flipping you anything that should be considered a hard time.
I read your lead-in to this thread:
"After a few hours of reading directions, searching for lost parts that are right behind me and triple checking everything i could think of, I finally got the basics of the lower half of the engine put together. This includes; pistons, rods, crank and cam shaft, all new bearings etc. "

and just thought I'd ask to make sure.

If this WAS your first (and nothing wrong with that....we all have to start somewhere), step-by-step instructions would have ben in order.

As far as lubricating rings, ring grooves, wrist pins and such...I miss the old days when oil came in round cardboard cans with metal ends.
We'd fill our oil cans, then cut the top off, and dip the fully assembled piston and rod in until the wrist pin was covered for pre-lube.

Come to think of it, I think I still have one or two of those unopened cans on my shelf....
 
This is my second engine im rebuilding, the first was our 97 BMW 318ti. So I know the basics to watch for but there are still a lot of difference between the two engines. And i mean A LOT. So even thou this isn't my first time, there are still a lot of things i can learn and other things i might still not now. So keep the advice and tips coming, they are still helpful.
 
I found the instructions and figured i might delete the post so i didn't cause any unnecessary problems.

The one marked TOP goes second and the TOP means the direction it faces. And i already had the oil rings in first. I'm just gaping the rings right now.
 
What's your gap at? IIRC, .003 for every inch of bore for stock N/A stuff.
 
Top rings are at .014 Books says .011-.016
2nd ring is at .010 Books says .008-.013

the cylinders are bored out to .02
 
Ring gap formula

bore size x .0045" for top compression ring
bore size x .0035" for second compression ring
Oil control ring minimum .015"
 
I new this would happen at some point and it will happen again, but im missing 2 bolts screws that go into the engine. I have bolt that fit but they are flat so they don't fit correctly.
Now would it be ok to use some bolts that will fit the thread and are the correct length, or do i have to find the exact correct type of bolt for the empty holes?

The bolt holes im talking about are the 2 bottom ones in the picture.
talm3l.jpg




Also after im done timing the engine and have most things together. How do i know the correct way to place the Distributor Spindle back into the engine? What direction should the slash on the end be facing? If you don't know the part im talking about its number 49 in this image.

https://www.mossmotors.com/Graphics/Products/Schematics/SPM-003A.gif
 
Falkon said:
I new this would happen at some point and it will happen again, but im missing 2 bolts screws that go into the engine. I have bolt that fit but they are flat so they don't fit correctly.
Now would it be ok to use some bolts that will fit the thread and are the correct length, or do i have to find the exact correct type of bolt for the empty holes?

The bolt holes im talking about are the 2 bottom ones in the picture.
talm3l.jpg




Also after im done timing the engine and have most things together. How do i know the correct way to place the Distributor Spindle back into the engine? What direction should the slash on the end be facing? If you don't know the part im talking about its number 49 in this image.

https://www.mossmotors.com/Graphics/Products/Schematics/SPM-003A.gif


The screws you need are 1/4"-28x1/4" or 1/2" socket head.

Drive spindle is approximately 2 and 8 O'clock, with the large offset uppermost.

I gather you're doing your build without a Bentley manual? You really should invest in one.
 
This is at TDC correct? I do have a Haynes Manuel, but its very vague on the spindle position subject.
 
Falkon said:
This is at TDC correct? I do have a Haynes Manuel, but its very vague on the spindle position subject.

Yes, #1 TDC on it's compression stroke. Line up the dimples in the sprockets or timing mark on pulley to pointer if you have your timing cover on already.

I don't care for most of the others. The Bentley is the #1 manual to have; others are OK to have, but as supplemental, in my opinion.
 
I cant seem to find the correct type of bolt ANYWHERE I looked at Ace, Big R, Fastenal, Wrench and Hammer, Lowe's, Home-depot, and a few more. No one has it. I do have ones that fit but they don't have the counter sunk head. Also the ones shown on Moss do not look like the correct ones. They look like the one that i have in the picture. Any idea where to get two of these bolts.
1iicgl.jpg
 
Falkon said:
I cant seem to find the correct type of bolt ANYWHERE I looked at Ace, Big R, Fastenal, Wrench and Hammer, Lowe's, Home-depot, and a few more.

You usually have to look in the special assortment they usually hide behind the counter, I'd be very surprised if you can't find this in a local hardware store like an Ace.

Anyway, this is the one. Look at McMaster-Car under Socket Cap Screws or search the product # below.


Black-Oxide Alloy Steel
1/4"-28
3/8"

qty 50 91253A301* $7.50

alloyflatfull.gif


https://www.mcmaster.com/
 
I'm rebuilding a 1275 and ran into the exact same problem. After putting the new bearings and rings in place the engine was extremely hard to turn by hand and seemed to hang up at a particular portion of the rotation.
Turned out, IIRC, that I had installed the center main cap backwards. It looks symmetrical and will bolt up either way. When I turned the cap 180 degrees and rebolted it, the problem was fixed.

Fred
 
Sometimes its the simplest stuff. Turns out i put the thrust washers in backwards. After i flipped them around it was a bit easier to turn but its still not easy to turn by hand. I know that all the rods and bearings are facing the correct direction and the center main bearing cannot be placed in the other direction because of the Collars that are on it. The collars are shown in the picture below.

r73ddg.jpg

This pic was taken before i turned all four thrust washers around.
 
I hate to be the one to tell you this, but if you torqued down the caps while they were on backwards, you might have tweaked them. Did you have the block line bored and the rods reconditioned in the first place?
 
I had not torqued the down yet, and since I dont know exactly what u mean by having the block line bored I would have to say no on that one, but I do believe I had them recondition the rods. I have to check the reciept cause I don't know for sure.
 
Might be a good time to have some liquid refreshments while you're going through the receipts. Many times I have to take a break and then get back to it.
 
Back
Top