Below are some excerpts from a series of messages that I bounced through
the land-rover-owner mailing list. Since I have gotten to the point
where this seems to be fairly generic I thought some of the people here
might have some ideas or comments...
The prognosis is not good I fear...
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Date: Wed, 15 Jul 92 20:54:56 EDT
The brakes, hubs etc. of my 109 are in the process of coming back together.
On this front things seem to be going rather smoothly. On the other hand,
things with the engine are not so smooth. Despite having wd40, penetrating
oil, etc. in the bores for some 5 months, and more recently added, the engine
will not turn when I place a 1 1/8 socket on the front crankshaft nut.
How much torque should I put through this thing before I should goto step
two? Some people have suggested that I get a massive piece of iron pipe
and just hang off of it. Myself, I think this could cause some problems.
Step two is to remove the sump & head, disconnect the rods and use a block
of wood to give that old fashioned individual attention to the
unco-operative pistons. While I am at it I can run my hone through the
bores.
BTW, The valves move fine as do the rockers. The oil in the sump was like
new, though 15 years old. Strangely enough, some things are in excellent
shape. And, yes, it is in neutral, though it is minus wheels and on axle
stands.
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Date: Thu, 16 Jul 92 23:30:00 EDT
A status report and some confusion...
Well being midnight I figured that it was time to come in from playing
with the beast in the garage. Granted, I had decided that I wasn't
going to come in until I got the head off. I might add at this point
that that thing weighs a ton. I was helping a friend with his '66
Mustang last weekend and put its' head back on. It has nothing on this
"thing" and it was the six cylinder job. I guess the Yanks must have
had an iron shortage in the sixties. And yes, in both cases the
manifolds were attached. In my case, there were only so many bolts I
was going to undo. Eighteen! head bolts was enough without counting
all of the others that needed to come off. (Two hex bolts and one nut
for the exhaust pipe? Strange...) But I stray...
So, yes, the head is now off, I am cleaned up from being covered with
Britian's finest quality oil from standing in the engine bay. Some
observations...
Coking in the engine is at a minimum. In fact the head is in far
better shape than the head of my Mini was when I last had it off.
I estimate maybe five minutes with a wire brush to clean off what
little carbon that there is.
The bores? Well, I had expected surface rust at the least. I had
visions of seeing a seething mass of oxidation that resembles a
particular '76 Jeep Wagoneer that inhabits a less privileged place
in my yard. Yes, I strayed once upon a time, but I have seen the
light and traded it for a TR-7. (I just hope the light isn't that
of an oncoming train.)
So the bores are nice and shiney and look like new. The penetrating
oil, WD40, etc. that had been poured into the cylinders? Well, it is
all still sitting there. (About an inch in each cylinder. (Can I
estimate what I put in evenly or what... :-) ) The tops of the
pistons look rather good too.
All of the pistons are lined up at the same level. In other words at
the half way mark. Curious, I had not expected that.
So with nice shiney bores, what gives? Everything that I have seen
about the engine thus far shows it to be in excellent condition. The
top of the head under the valve cover is clean, no oil deposits etc.
In fact I couldn't get it any cleaner if I tried. I am not sure if
I mentioned it in a previous message, but when I drained the sump the
other day, the oil came out in excellent shape. A dark golden colour
despite being fifteen years old.
I am confused at this late hour... <sigh>
Comments?
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Date: Sun, 19 Jul 92 23:09:23 EDT
A short update on the reluctant heart of my garaged beast.
I removed the sump today. (A baffled sump! Great for those fast racing
turns... :-) ) Of the 22 bolts and two nuts, I found 22 bolts, and one
stud for one of the nuts (centre rear). No sign of the second stud...
My opinion of what I found? Well, it is even in better shape down there
that it was up top. The lower half has a nice clean sheen of oil across
it. Not a trace of any dirt. I am impressed.
Considering the crank is in a horizontal position, getting at the nuts
for the connecting rods should be simple. Moving the pistons is another
story however. Since the crank is kind of in the way, I presume I will
have to bang them upwards. Any suggestions on this? I initially thought
I could use something like a broom handle, but worry I might just put it
right through the piston. Can a piston take much force from below?
Of course, with the pistons disconnected I can again try to turn the crank.
Only two would be connected at a time. BTW, While I am inclinded to be
crawling across the gravel floor under this thing, I might as well take a
look at the transmission brake.
BTW, I am still having problems with the high quality Canadian Tire six
point sockets. I busted my fifth one this morning on the crank nut. They
all crack along the same three points. If my 12 point had not started to
look like it was going to strip the bolt, I'd go back to it. Thankfully
the sockets are of the lifetime guarantee type. I wonder how many times
Canadian Tire is going to put up with my daily visits... Still, a socket
should be able to take more that 70-100 pounds of torque... <1>
Rgds,
1. As of Monday evening I had cracked seven of them... One from Sears
too...
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Date: Mon, 20 Jul 92 22:22:18 EDT
Greetings from the mosquito infested garage...
Methinks I am in trouble and I am really beginning to feel frustrated. I
removed the end caps from the connecting rods this evening thus giving each
piston no reason why it should not move upwards. Guess what. None of
them want to move upwards. I have even offered them some persuasion
in the form of a long piece of wood and a mallet and some not so gentle
tapping from below.
They do not want to move... Any of them...
Comments?
I really don't want to even think this, but how tough is it going to
be to pull the engine. Reading about it is nice in my armchair. How
big a pain is it really? Well, at least undoing the engine mounts is
easier than in a Mini... :-(
Rgds,
Dixon
PS. The bearing shells are in excellent shape. What else is new.
Everything seems to be nice except those stupid piston rings...
<sigh>
--
dixon kenner, dixon@fourfold.ocunix.on.ca
FourFold Symmetry, Breckenridge, Quebec, Canada
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