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TR2/3/3A Upgrading Tr3A engine

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David_Reaka

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I am currently in the process of replacing the cylinder head gasket on my 1959 TR3A. I have decided since I have gone this far I might as well upgrade the pistons from existing 83mm to 87mm. Is there anything else I should be doing during this procedure? I am getting the head inspected for cracks/warps. I am hoping to take the engine out of the vehicle and make the job a winter project in the basement. Brief car history: I have had the vehicle since 1986 and have put less than 1000 miles on it in that time. It has always had an overheating problem. Initially it would boil out the overflow on the Rad. Uprgrading the waterpump, new core in rad and fitting Sleeved Thermostat Original Type have reduced the problem. Temperature now will creep up past 185...Recently I noticed the rad water appeared to have oil in it, hence the head gasket approach. Small water leak was confirmed at # 3 and 4 cylinders. Furthermore, previous engine work seems to be confirmed by the fact that the wet-liners at 3 and 4 are flush with the block face rather than the .003 - .0055 proud of the block as per specs. Any advice out there to make this a success will be greatly appreciated. Thank you, David
 
Replacing liners and pistons require removing the rods, so replace the rod bearings.
As long as you are there, replace the crank shaft bearings.
As long as you are there, check the oil pump for wear and clearances.
As long as you are there, check the crank and cam sockets, chain, and chain tensioner. Replace as necessary.
As long as you are there, front and rear crank seals.
As long as you are there, replace the clutch and throwout bearing.
As long as you are there, anything else you might find that is worn.

As long as you are there, Good Luck.
 
As long as you are there install a supercharger!
 
FWIW 87mm is going to make the engine more prone to overheat, not less. You're increasing displacement and heat generation, while leaving the cooling system the same size (except for making the water passages around the cylinders smaller).

I am beginning to think that many of the TRactor engines left the factory with the liner seats machined just a little bit too deep and possibly even not exactly square with the top of the block. At any rate, the TR3 block that I had in my TR3A had insufficient liner protrusion on one side, even with new gaskets & liners (tried several of each), and seemed to have perpetual problems with head gasket leaks. Here's a thread that documents the solution I hit on, after several years of fighting the problem:
https://www.britishcarforum.com/bcforum/ubbthreads.php/topics/741116
Drove that engine perhaps another 10 years & 100,000 miles without ever blowing a head gasket again.

Note that this can be done without removing the engine or even dropping the pan. When I discovered the same problem on my 'new' TR3, I installed the modified gasket in a weekend.
 
Thank you every one for the advice!!!! Randall where would one get the 26 AWG copper wire? The secret must be to keep the solder off the fire ring...and the Cu wire as close to the fire ring as possible. David
 
I got the bare copper wire from MMC : https://www.mcmaster.com/#oxygen-free-copper-wire/=dxanr5 though there should be plenty of other places that have it.

I wasn't particularly careful about solder placement; as you can perhaps see in the photo. That shot was taken before I noticed there wasn't solder covering both ends of the added wire, I added more later. Except for joining the ends, the other blobs are just to hold it in place during installation. Ken G (British Frame and Engine) suggested using superglue in place of the solder, but I didn't feel like being that adventuresome.

I did use Tarn-X this time to clean up the gasket before soldering. Much easier than the Scotch-Brite pad I used last time, and the solder went on fairly easy. Hopefully it won't cause any long-term corrosion problems.
 
Nice fix Randall!
You might be interested to know that ultra high vacuum systems use almost the identical sort of seal, basically a thin silver wire ring squashed between two flanges.
 
Once and forever,If you have a tr 3/4 that gets hot,Cut to the chase and install a tr7 fan.Its cheep easy and works EVERY time.You have only to cutoff the wimpy paddles, dolly the stumps flat and drill 4 holes.No clearance problems and 13 blades pulling tons of air.
As far as the liner issue, I recall that the liners were to be set into the block less the figure 8 seals and then cut flush to the block, the seals then establish the crush of .005in. You are well advised to do this with NEW liners if you are not wanting to go back into the job a second time!!!
MD(mad dog)
 
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