Running rich, wet plugs

[MorrisGoa]

Thanks kennatt, myoldjalopy, oliver90owner

Well, the news from you is ominous

I've contacted the old mechanic to come & take a look at it. Towing it to his workshop seems to be the only option I have.

I will lay your last 3 posts before him to assess the situation. A denter(bodywork expert with no engine experience) gave me some faint hope saying that it might be an issue of water having seeped on the piston heads & rusted them out & some valve there is spoilt. Thus requiring some polishing(on the lathe) of piston heads & replacing the valves. His logic being that ever since the car was started after a 2 year gap it was misfiring. This will be the 4th opinion to give to the old mechanic.

The 5th opinion of a mechanic who heard the engine sound through the video says "connecting rod bearings which have worn out due to lack of engine oil which has increased the clearance and causing the knocking sound when accelerated"

This whole present situation is difficult to absorb. A car that was driven in with no engine issues for bodywork has reached this stage.

Will fill you in with the latest...

[kennatt]

tell your denter to stay with the day job of fixing dents, if you run an engine without oil to the point of it knocking,its every moving part in the engine that suffers, everything will have worn to some extent or another,the quickest to wear are the bottom end bearings crankshaft,con rods and piston rings,then followed by oil pump and upper engine components. From your username I suppose you are in goa,if you were in uk I would suggest trying to find another known good engine to replace,because to rebuild will probably be more expensive. But don't know what availability you have out there. But whatever you do,if our diagnosis if correct ,don't drive it. Hope we are wrong ,somone out there must have an oil pressure guage and compression tester. because it would prove the engine one way or another. Why don't you buy one ,your mech,could just fit it to test,its also a good thing to have anyway,many owners fit them many think its essential. The oil light is no indication of pressure ,just shows that there is some being produced. If you look through your very first posting where you explain the actions of your mechanic and the thrashing up hill in first and the running for a week with a known bad oil leak,to the point of no oil and a knocking sound,I know exactly when and where your problems first started.
Good luck

[myoldjalopy]

I think kennat's diagnosis of what has happened sounds all too likely, unfortunately. I do hope your 'old mechanic' understands these engines better than the recent one. If so, he will be able to identify what needs doing - and this is what you need - an accurate diagnosis from someone experienced who can examine the engine personally. Do let us know how this turns out.........

[MorrisGoa]

Thanks for the replies.

I've made progress since my last post.

The car was towed to the old mechanic last week. He cleaned the sooty spark plugs over the kitchen gas hob. Once done the car started instantly and was idling perfectly(no weird sounds & black smoke). We didn't accelerate it since it might have caused damaged & there were many doubts that the engine might have been damaged as my video earlier seemed to indicate.

The engine dismantling process began. He reports that the pistons are undamaged. One connecting rod bearing needs attention. There is no wabble/play to re-create the knocking. The oil pump works.

We will take the engine block to a person who specializes in engine blocks & has better measuring equipment & a lathe for inspection/work if required.

1. The main bearings lower (pic of it held in the hand) are copper colour. Is this the normal colour? (Their counterpart upper main bearings seem more silver in colour).

2. After the third main bearing(upper side, refer pic) closest to the flywheel, there is a half circle crevice/slot which looks a lot like the 2 crevices/slots on the sump(into which cork gaskets/seals are inserted). There was nothing in here when the mechanic dismantled the engine. Is this crevice/slot supposed to have a gasket or something in here?

Many thanks.

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[kennatt]

the bearings should be matt grey,with no or little scoring,the copper is the coating placed on the steel to provide a bond with the bearing material ,the bearings are done for and require replacement ,resulting in low oil pressure knocking and eventually breaking up....

[kennatt]

the bearings should be matt grey,with no or little scoring,the copper is the coating placed on the steel to provide a bond with the bearing material ,the bearings are done for and require replacement ,resulting in low oil pressure knocking and eventually breaking up.not sure what you mean about slot can you mark the photo to show it.

[oliver90owner]

Kennat is spot on. Likely (almost certain) the crank will need a regrind to accept new bearings. Fitting new precision bearings to an out of spec crank will soon consign them to the scrap heap. Looks like a complete strip and comprehensive clean to be sure there is no metal particles floating round the galleries and drillings.... to destroy any new bearings fitted. 'Tanking' the block would be the best way.

[les]

If you end up with a new assembly it's a good plan to coat the crank journals and shell faces with engine lube, this thickish oil will protect on initial start up, especially if the engine stands a while before use.

[MorrisGoa]

Thanks kennatt, oliver90owner, les

@kennatt, I've marked out the half circle shaped slot/crevice with red. Remember this is beyond the third upper main bearing(seen in pic). It is closest to the flywheel.

I guess the comforting aspect of this ordeal is that the engine isn't a write-off

Thanks.

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[Mark Wilson]

The "crevice" is the eyebrow housing which forms part of the rear scroll seal which supposedly directs oil back into the block. It doesn't have a gasket, it just has to be in very close alignment with the crankshaft (.002") so if it wasn't leaking at the rear before try not to disturb the housing!

Sorry to hear of all your woes, bad enough learning about engines over here where we have lots of parts and still a few (not many) mechanics who know about old engines.

Mark

[MorrisGoa]

Thanks Mark Wilson.

You are right, the new mechanics just don't seem to know about classic cars. For these vehicles what one needs is someone with past experience. I had recently gone to an electrician(familiar with alternator fitted modern cars), who was baffled as to why the car was going off when the battery terminal was removed. when that behaviour is by design.

During my research work, I learnt that a few of the spares are manufactured in Sri Lanka & then exported to Europe.
(http://www.morrisminor.dk/srilanka/srilanka_e.html) and (http://www.morrisminor.dk/srilanka/srilanka_e.html)

Online spare parts shopping is the easiest aspect for me. The problem is finding someone to carry & bring them here. I tried the postal route, but the Customs officials here are corrupt & that too one has to go to meet them at their office located 600Km away.

[kennatt]

theres not many new mechanics in England that know about classic cars either if they can't plug into diagnostics and just replace an electronic unit (instead of stripping and repairing) they usually are stumped. Good luck with it at least if you get a good and comprehensive rebuild you will know that the car will be fine for 20 years or longer.