testing a rebuilt engine

Post by **youngun** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 9:43 pm

Ill be rebuilding my engine soon and want to set up some kind of test rig for it and the gearbox before it goes back in the car (which will be many many years from now at the pace im going!!). Anyone got any recommendations, and also any designs or scribbles to allow me to construct a decent engine cradle out of angle/box iron?

thanks,
YG

Post by **AndrewSkinner** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 9:49 pm

I dont know from any experiance but I am sure you would need a very simple flat frame so the engine mounts have something to bolt onto and the gearbox mounts and then a way of holding it still. One cheap idea would be to raise the mounts and 'fill' the base of the frame with bricks or sand bags.

Post by **alanworland** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 10:04 pm

I once made up a cradle to hold a Triumph engine (mainly to stop it rolling about the floor) but decided to have it running - no gearbox.
Just a short length of exhaust and a small container for water circulation.
Things that i remember are:-
The noise - pretty loud and smoky (would need a silencer depending on neighbours and run the pipe outside)
How quick it all warmed up (meaning I couldn't run it for long so to get any meaningfull run time it would need a radiator installed)
I would seriously think twice about doing it again as although it was good fun (my son remembers it well as we nearly blew the glass out of the greenhouse!) it didn't really achieve anything (other than confirming it would run)
I couldn't 'load' it and any blipping of the throttle would produce an unwanted reaction in the engine.
All together I think this would create an awfull lot of work, why not use the effort on the body and run it in that!

Post by **bmcecosse** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 11:15 pm

You could just lash it to a sturdy work bench - but as alan says above - it proves very little since you can't load it up in any way!

Post by **Judge** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 8:10 am

Hasn't anyone got a dynamometer

Post by **moggiesgalore** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 2:15 pm

I agree with the comments above. If the engine took hours and hours to refit it might be worth it, but a Moggy is about as good as it gets for a quick engine swap!

Post by **youngun** » Fri Feb 29, 2008 10:40 pm

Hmm i suppose so.

Thanks for the help people!

Post by **Spag** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 3:22 pm

Depends how bored you are really... It can provide a bit of entertainment...

Engine test - but sorry, not an A series

http://www.spagweb.com/v8mini/gallery/0 ... 8_test.htm

Post by **Orkney** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 5:23 pm

Mental LOL

Post by **MarkyB** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 6:17 pm

I've run a Moggie engine just sitting on its sump but without the gearbox ( and it started a lot easier than the V8 on that site)
I'd say you would be better fitting the engine if its the gearbox you want to test as running the box with no load won't tell you any more than turning it over by hand will.

Post by **Spag** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 6:42 am

Well, it will confirm that you have the cam and dizzy timed in, and will show if there's any oil or water leaks.

Also check the oil pressure, as it's a bit quicker to pull the pump out before it's back in the car.

The V8 was a little reluctant, but that's the joy of an engine of unknown history, and far too many HT leads

Here's a v. simple cradle that may give some ideas if you want to make a stand.

And if you find your way down to 18th June on here http://www.spagweb.com/gallery/ed_06_mr_ed/ , then there's that engine being fired... Bit more fun with the EFI!