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Author: Subject: Engine advice please + summary of my day
MP3C

posted on 16/5/14 at 09:33 PM Reply With Quote
Engine advice please + summary of my day

Hi guys!

First off ill give you a pic of my finished car (after winter project) to get you interested







Right first off, car was running really well after a nice 3 hour session with Northampton motorsport I will add the print outs from the dyno runs later on as I cant find them at the moment
Car originally was roughly 85-90 BHP and after the upgrades managed (pre rolling road session) 115 BHP and after the guys at Northampton Motorsports had changed a few bits and bobs it ended up running at a nice 144.6 BHP which I am more than happy with and the big smile on the way home from the skin peeling off my face said it all! EVEN IN THE RAIN!!!!

However I digress and get back on topic

Today due to the weather I thought I would take it to work (pic above) and all went well. On the way home it seemed the coolant feed from the water pump to the top of the header tank got blocked with some gunk and I guess due to the pressure blew the hose off... the result being my coolant spread all across the A14 and my engine temp going mental but manged to make it to the free towing part (due to roadworks)

Guy came after about an hour (fixed the car in the mean time) and he took me to their compound to be dropped off and a nice chap there had a hose pipe for me to fill the coolant back up which meant I was able to drive off!

Right here comes the engine advice bit. After the engine overheating part and my getting the coolant flowing and everything the engine was making a horrible ticking noise from cylinder head. It wasn't too bad at first however when I finally got home it had progressed to a nice TAP TAP TAP. Got the spanners our and took the rocker cover off to look at the cam and followers and on inspection found (excuse the lack of engine knowledge here) the follower had dropped leaving the cam (when the cam lobe wasn't pushing the valve down) a good 5-7mm from the back of the lobe. The riser for the cam follower (i think) was loose which is the reason for it falling.

The question is... This being loose for roughly 30 miles - will it have done any damage or am I ok just to tighten it up and set the correct gap with the feeler gauge again?

Thanks in advance for the advice and sorry for the shed load of information and words thrown at you... its been a long day so I sort of just typed everything!

Matt

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mark chandler

posted on 16/5/14 at 09:46 PM Reply With Quote
It sounds to me like the head has got very hot and the valve insert has dropped which created the initial gap, it then rattle the adjusting nut loose.

They are non interference engines, get a straight edge and see if all the valves caps are all the same height, if not I would be wary of twiddling to the right gap as the valve may already be down 1/4" so you may risk the valve spring binding and damaging the cam.

If the are all the same height you have nothing to lose
Regards Mark

[Edited on 16/5/14 by mark chandler]

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mookaloid

posted on 16/5/14 at 09:48 PM Reply With Quote
Erm what engine is it?

Hard to be sure but what have you got to lose by trying it? if it's knackered then you will know soon enough....





"That thing you're thinking - it wont be that."


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MP3C

posted on 16/5/14 at 10:17 PM Reply With Quote
It's a 2.0ltr pinto engine, the bolt had come loose and seem to have spun round - presumably by rattling down when engine was running and had dropped the follower. I don't really want to be taking the head off and everything! have just got it all back together!

Thanks

Matt

[Edited on 16/5/14 by MP3C]

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sjmatthews

posted on 17/5/14 at 06:03 AM Reply With Quote
Inspect the cam lobe and follower for damage, and the ball stud/nut/thread condition. You'll have to replace any worn/damaged items.

If things are in good condition, reset the valve clearance making sure you securely tighten the stud nut, and should be ok. It is not uncommon for ball studs to come loose.





I'll be in the garage dear!

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Dick

posted on 17/5/14 at 07:02 AM Reply With Quote
Raced pintos for years so if it was mine I would re torque the cylinder head bolts and then reset the camshaft put the covers on and have fun . What you have said about it getting hot and then the problem was common place when racing
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ian locostzx9rc2

posted on 17/5/14 at 04:16 PM Reply With Quote
Agree with last two posts check parts reset and give it a run ..
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MP3C

posted on 18/5/14 at 09:44 PM Reply With Quote
Just an update for everybody, set everything up again after looking and not seeing Any ware or problems, put it all back together and it runs fine again happy happy! I also flushed the coolant and drilled the return on the header tank to make sure nothing gets caught in it again!

Thanks alot for the replys much appreciated!

Matt

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