Hello all:
After getting so many good answers from this list about oil pressure &
Spitfire
motor innards, I thought I would post the results of my experiment.
I had a car afflicted with death rattle on the first startup of the day, and
under light throttle when fully warmed up. I strongly suspected rod bearings
and armed with "net guidance". I replaced the (big end) rod bearings. I am
happy
to say that the noise is gone. The day before replacing the bearings, I
installed
a mechanical oil pressure guage on the car. It appears that the "hot" oil
pressure has increased from ~18 PSI to ~27 PSI (20/50W GTX).
The bearings that came off the motor showed;
#2 & #3 were a little worn, #1 & #4 were significantly more worn - these
were probably the rattlers. The upper bearing halfs were the most worn on
all four. Had the motor been out of the car, I would have replaced the main
bearings as well. I know this may be the quick and temporary fix, but for
$17 and a little labor I am able to drive the car without that noise again.
We shall see how long it lasts. My only regret is not having some oversize
thrust washers on hand. It would have been an ideal time to install them.
Thanks to all on this list for educating me on motor internals.
On a (marginally) related subject:
My wife brought home a couple of bottles of "SPITFIRE premium ale"
yesterday. She found them at a specialty beer & wine store that was
going out of business. I don't know whether to drink them, pour them
into the oil filler cap, or break them over the bough, errrr bumper.
For those who are interested, Spitfire premium ale is brewed & bottled
by Shepherd Neame (Britains oldest brewers according to the label)
Faversham Kent, ME13 7AX. It is imported to the States by:
Westwood importing Co. Columbus, Ohio.
The bottle label also claims that Spitfire premium ale won the gold medal
in the International brewing awards 1994.
Bob (with the cleanest sump in NC)
75, 78, 78 Spitfires
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