Wait a minute I've been here before!
On the way home thursday evening, less than 1/4 mile away from home in the just
repaired BGT.. BAM BAM BAM sputter Bam sputter silence....
Why me I ask and walk the rest of the way home with my room mate. "This symptom
sounds very familure" I grumble to myself. "I have almost 200 miles from the
last time it died. Well I'm glad its almost home and not on the narrow
sholdered windy highway 17." We went home, fires up the Land Rover brought it
back to the BGT; hooked a chain between the two and I towed her home.
"Why me??"
For those who do not remember the last amazing episode of how the BGT fails, in
an attempt to pass SMOG on a car with a non-stock cam (It would have been nice
if the previous owner let me know) the mechanic adjusted the valve lash out to
0.024" (0.015" stock). I made the mistake of deciding to tighten down the lash
next week. Before next week came, the head of a push rod snapped off leaving
the #4 exhaust valve perminatly shut and an explosion in the intake everytime
the #4 plug fired.
I decided to purchase a new set of push rods since I though the others could be
stressed too. After fumbling bout with wrong parts, Moss motors sending the
push rods from an adjacent box to the ones I ordered, then discovering that the
previous owner had put the later longer pushrods into the car that came with
shorter push rods, I ordered a full set of chrome molly push rods from The
Roadster Factory and got back on the road.
Fast forward to Saturday.
I pulled off the valve cover to see that two of my new push rods had part of the
sides of the cups discentigrating!!!!
My brand new less than 200 mile chrome molly push rods!!!!! Argh! I though I
had heard that noise before.
I had them set ot 0.018" I have been told that aftermarket cams have the valve
lash set slightly looser. I pulled the rocker arm yet again. Maybe I need wing
nut head nuts?
An examination showed that the sides of the two push rods had disintigrated by
being pushed out. A search down the pushrod tubes with my magnet on a rod found
most of the debris from one push rod top but nothing from the other. Loose
chunks of metal inside my engine!! :*(
I examined the intact push rods closely. There was bright shiney metal going
only about half way down the push rod caps. Hmm I grabed one of my old push
rods. The whole cap is shiney and different shaped!
The push rods I got from the Roadster Factory have a deeper narrower pocket than
my old ones. I checked the fit of the bal end of the adjusting nut on a rocker
arm. On the old one, it fits. On a new one, the ball only goes about half way
down the pocket befor the diameter narrows down.
This means the sides of the cup has to bare the pressure of opening the valve
springs. ACK! No wonder they died in such a short time.
One of two things is going on. Ether there is something strange about the
adjuster screws in my BGT, or the chrome molly push rods that The Roadster
Factory are defective/ not intended for use with MGBs.
Soctt Fisher has an engine out of the car. I hope to drop by soon with my push
rods to try to see how they fit on the adjusting screws from his stock car.
Once I varify for sure on a second engine I will be able to tell you if the
Roadster Factory's pushrods are OK or not. I have never heard of larger
diameter balls on oftermarket adjusting screws but who knows what the dreaded
previous owner might have done.
Till then, the BGT sits in the drive way silent as spring rolls by and mountain
roads becken
TeriAnn "Why Me?"
TeriAnn Wakeman One of these days, I'll be old enough that
twakeman@apple.com people will stop calling me crazy and start
LINK: TWAKEMAN calling me eccentric.
408-974-2344 TR3A - TS75519L, MGBGT - GHD4U149572G, 109 - 164000561
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