Diary of another engine rebuild

1933 Rolls-Royce 20/25: engine # E8L

Part one - the strip down

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So what happened?

This engine was rebuilt in the 1980s, at which time the block was sleeved back to the original bore diameter of 3.25 inches.  The block had evidently suffered some sort of damage inside the tappet chests because the rebuilder tack-welded metal repair sheets to the inner casting.  These crude repairs eventually started to leech water from the cooling system into the sump.  Due to the location of the damage it is not possible to get full access for a successful and permanent repair.  A few extra years of motoring have been achieved by coating the inside of the tappet chests (including the leaking repair plates) with Pro-Weld casting repair resin.  Unfortunately, the block wall or repair plates have distorted to the point that coolant freely leaks into the sump via the tappets.

The time has come to replace the engine block.  Whilst the engine is stripped the opportunity will be taken to inspect the other components and bring the whole unit back to A1 condition.

Date - 2005	Job	Hours	Click for pictures
12th September	Drained the oil and coolant.	1
	Gearbox under-tray.
	The gearbox and clutch had already been removed before the need for an engine rebuild had been identified.  These photographs show the main external gearbox features.
	These photographs show the main elements of the clutch assembly.
	Flywheel.
17th September	Removed the bonnet.	1
27th September	Removed the radiator.	1.5
29th September	Car onto axle stands.  Removed and stripped all 5 wheels	-
30th September	Took wheels to Macclesfield to be rebuilt.	-
1st October	Removed the front and both side under-trays.	1.5
5th October	Spent an odd hour or so disconnecting various pipes and rods that connect between the chassis and engine.	1
7th October	Disconnected the remaining links between engine and chassis.	3
9th October	Removed engine from the chassis.	2
10th October	Busy day, today.  5 pages of activity!  Removed the rocker shaft.	0.5
10th October	Removed the manifolds.	0.5
10th October	Removed the cylinder head.	0.5
10th October	Removed the water pump and other odds and sods.	2
10th October	Inverted the engine and removed the front sub-frame.	0.5
11th October	Today was a bit like the Curate's egg - good in parts.  Realised that I did not have a spanner or socket large enough to remove the starting-dog nut. Removed the oil pump and sump.	2.5
11th October	Removed the pistons - after much faffing about with the engine stand.	1.5
11th October	Big end problems.
14th October	Removed the timing cover	0.5
18th October	Removed crankshaft damper	1
18th October	Removed #6 main bearing cap to inspect the state of the white metal.	0.5
23rd October	Removed the remaining bearing caps.	2
25th October	Removed crankshaft from case. Started measuring journals and pins.	1
26th October	Re-checked journal measurements. Removed sludge traps.	4
29th October	De-greased the crankshaft. Measured cam wheel-to-dynamo-drive backlash at 0.0045" (slightly greater than specification 0f 0.003").	3
31st October	Removed the dynamo drive.
31st October	Removed the cam wheel and bearing carrier.
31st October	Removed the distributor.
31st October	Removed the cylinder block and tappets	5
1st November   2nd November	Started to remove the water pump drive. Two minutes work turned into two hours.   finished removing the water pump drive.	2
2nd November	Removed the idler gear.
2nd November	Removed the camshaft.	5
7th November	Degreased all of the big bits. Dismantled the rest of the crankshaft damper.	4
8th November	Delivered relevant components to the machine shop. Hollow feeling in the wallet is beginning.	-
10th November	Collected the rebuilt wheels from Macclesfield.	-
15th November	Degreasing. Cleaned the sludge traps, cam bearings and all components from the timing chest. The 5 ball races were extracted and checked: 3 were noisy. All will be replaced.	3
23rd November	De-studded the cylinder head (except for the ones that would not budge).	1.5
29th November	Waiting for everything - kicking tyres. Started to clean the wheel weights.	3
3rd December	Continuing with wheel weights	4
4th December	Priming the wheel weights - watching paint dry!	2
15th December	More wheel work - but at least it's finished.	5.5
Total hours to date		66.0