Paul T. Posted May 7, 2006 Share Posted May 7, 2006 With reference to this thread ...I think I have blown the head gasket...quite a bit of steam coming out of the breather. ('99 SLR) Bugger When I'm brave enough to have a look I will know whats gone wrong. Perhaps I should have posted this in the Tech Section, but I wanted to share my saddening burden with everyone. The truth is that I have spun no.1 big-end bearing ☹️ ☹️ The rod is NFG *thumbdown* and no.1 pin needs a regind. Questions are: can you get over-size bearings 🤔 Could I use a standard crank from a trophy engine which is mint and sitting in my garage. Are the con rods std in the VHPD, they have the same part number as the spare rods that I have 🤔 Can someone give me an estimated price for a crank and rod 🤔 5 weeks to go before Lemans and my garage looks like a breakers yard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nifty Posted May 7, 2006 Share Posted May 7, 2006 If you are finding it difficult to get the bits for Le Mans I have a VHPD sitting idle in the garage. It hasn't run for a while but to the best of my knowledge it should do. You could borrow this to get you to LM and back if you are desperate. (Usual proviso of "you bend it, you mend it") Keep off the straight and narrow 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nifty Posted May 7, 2006 Share Posted May 7, 2006 Look on the bright side too, now's the time to get it converted to 1900 spec *tongue* Keep off the straight and narrow 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan7 Posted May 7, 2006 Share Posted May 7, 2006 Paul That's a real bummer 🙆🏻 How do you get the dead flies off your teeth....... 😬 R5AAH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Plato Posted May 8, 2006 Share Posted May 8, 2006 Paul - call me , I know where the parts are 07771 891947 ps - you only noted the effect , not the cause Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul T. Posted May 8, 2006 Author Share Posted May 8, 2006 OK...hands up, she was delinquent of oil *eek* 🙆🏻 🙆🏻 😳 😳 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevsta Posted May 8, 2006 Share Posted May 8, 2006 Having an oh dear moment myself. Ran dry of oil at 70mph and don't know how long for until I realised. All my fault and now I have to try and no doubt rebuild the entire fecking engine! Was on my way to first track day of the year (saturday just gone). What should I expect to have to re-do as it were? Anybody done this and know how much it roughly costs? ☹️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul T. Posted May 8, 2006 Author Share Posted May 8, 2006 It all depends on the extent of the damage, my crank is beyond repair...circa £250-£500 depending on the type of crank used. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you may as well face facts, plus £100 each rod if required 🤔 Bearing shells, set £80 Gaskets and oil seals £80 Labour at £30-£40/hr I better stop before you have a heart attack *eek* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Day Posted May 8, 2006 Share Posted May 8, 2006 Kev I'm really sorry to hear this & after all your hard work with the recent Pace DS BB. Was this after you fitted the DS? I know this is a bit sensitive at the moment but would you care to say how it happened? Mick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevsta Posted May 9, 2006 Share Posted May 9, 2006 Yes it was with the dry sump fitted but was my fault. I shimmed the pump to get what I thought was the correct tension on the belt only for it to break. This is not a reflection of the quality of belt or the system just that I did not fit it correctly. I should have called neil when I noticed it was what I thought was slack. I know what you're all thinking...should have fitted a warning light....well I did...but the sun was behind me and I didn't see it light up as it was being lit by that big thing in the sky. I had been a hawk eye with the guages anyway and so I think I spotted it quite early but how ealry is hard to tell. Think I will fit a buzzer now! That is not very nice to hear about the prices...considering the amount I spent to protect the engine from this! Don't get me wrong, I am confident in the sry sump capabilities....just wish I had had it checked by pace upon instal. Anyone want to buy a dry sumped, slightly tinkered VVC roadsport?!?!?! Engine only done 35,000 miles plus a minute or two without any oil ☹️ ☹️ ☹️ Anyone else got any ideas....perhaps I would be better off buying another bottom end at those prices?!?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gambo Posted May 9, 2006 Share Posted May 9, 2006 Kevsta, know how you feel. That is exactely what happened to me. Except I ran it thinking it would be ok when I put the new belt on. Threw a rod ☹️. I am trying to work out how to get an sensor to work on the pump pulley to sense its speed, if it drops below a certain rpm i.e the rpm its at a idle it will set of an alarm or light. have thought of a bike speedo type device with display on dash. Not sure of details yet but if I do I'll post it . RED 2.0 HPC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevsta Posted May 9, 2006 Share Posted May 9, 2006 I am going to fit a buzzer on the oil pressure warning light system....that way I will know immediately and can shut off within seconds of it going. No harm would be done to engine that way! That is the reason I am going to rebuild it to make sure everything is ok....or not... Anyone know what the difference is between a VVC bottom end and a standard 1800 bottom end....I might be able to get my hands on a standard 1800... I am having a think about a tensioner pulley to go on the belt at the moment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Corb Posted May 9, 2006 Share Posted May 9, 2006 VVC and std 1800 bottom and are the same. Have you seen the VHPD engines for sale on pistonheads in the Lotus section? 15000miler for £2500? (inlcudes loads of bits you could flog) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beelzebub Posted May 9, 2006 Share Posted May 9, 2006 I "think" PTP can do a short engine for £1300. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Plato Posted May 10, 2006 Share Posted May 10, 2006 why not fit a oil pressure sensor , and in addition to it lighting a lamp - you could also have it wired to the inertia switch so that the engine would be cut ?. or have a trigger arm on the belt that acts as a switch (RS book )- when the belt is absent the switch will cut the engine . Dave here is C7 TOP South Wales AO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beelzebub Posted May 10, 2006 Share Posted May 10, 2006 Kevsta. Sorry to hear about your misfortune ☹️ I'm also using the Pace system. How slack/tight was the belt prior to & after you fitted the shims 🤔 Tia, D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevsta Posted May 12, 2006 Share Posted May 12, 2006 The OP I had on hot idle was lighting the lamp (just over 1 bar) and so would cut the engine out. I hadn't had a chance to play much witht he pressure settings, but I was going to increase it slightly as I felt this was a little too low for hot idle. I think the buzzer will be quite easy to instal in the line but like the idea of something to help safeguard...the only problem being if it goes say on a bend at high speed . Many thanks for all your comments though (and sorry to Paul for the thread highjack!) I have managed to buy a complete 1800 engine for very little and will go about converting the bottom end to fit. Will check liner heights etc before instal though (as it will be in pieces I may do some work on it as the engine had HG failure probably due to liner heights). Any other suggestions to what I should do whilst it's in pices...I will be doing it at DVA anyway, wish I could afford to fit forged pistons but they cost more than I hope the rebuild will! Regarding the tension, I don't wish to comment on it really. The shim I added was 1.5mm think if I remember correctly, and it snapped after 150 miles. All I can suggest is that you get clear instruction from neil about what the correct tension is! I believe ROger king will be posting something about it on here very soon. If in doubt...call them! Just bvear in mind that the tension doesn't need to be anything like a cam belt or alternator belt...I found that out the hard way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul T. Posted June 12, 2006 Author Share Posted June 12, 2006 Just to conclude this chapter of mishaps, After the rebuild the OP still didn't come up when trying to turn the engine without firing 🤔 and when fired the OP was at 4bar but wized to 8bar when lightley reved to 3500rpm. On a warm engine the OP failed to be greater than 1 bar even when cruising at 4k. Fitted a new Oil pump saturday (OEM) the old one had a very sticky PRV, hence Low OP etc Going Le Mans tomorrow, fingers crossed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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