Good to see how the tear down actually went on my engine Elin. The valve guides I can’t explain, just an error on the rebuilder’s part (I won’t say who, but it was a professionally done rebuild). I was there when the timing chain and gears were installed and I recall he had it all shimmed up and set with a degree wheel and then decided to remove the cam gear to change something (maybe he was trying to get an extra degree or two adjustment, I know on some TRs you can do that by reversing the gear). Obviously when he put it back in, it was reversed. Maybe he didn’t realize there’s a difference or, he genuinely thought it was interchangeable, we’ll never know. I do know he’s usually meticulous with everything. I remember him shimming and using a straight edge, but he never checked it again after the adjustment. I think the tight valve stems were caused by too big valve lash, I bet the ends are mushroomed as you suggest. Worth measuring, they could fixed with emery cloth and a drill. The rebuilder builds race engines, he told me he tends to build them “tight” on tolerances, I had no problem with that, bearing in mind everything is balanced etc. The engine always ran very smoothly. Finally, the engine was absolutely soaked when they put out the fire. I have no doubt that some got inside the engine. Also, although the cause of the fire was around the dizzy, coil, alt, battery area, a fuel line burned through and gas spilled onto the road and lit, basically cooking the underside of the engine. Hence my having it checked for melted seals etc.. I just wanted to clarify some of what I know about my engine and what happened during the fire, for your other viewers.
In the interest of diagnosing the result of the fire, could you possibly email Elin some pictures of the carnage to be included in the next installment of this series? Those pictures might even help Elin discover any other possible future issues with the engine and perhaps, allow him to do additional 'preventative maintenance'. Jus'say'n....
Elin thank goodness you stripped that engine down! It certainly wasn’t previously built by a professional as the owner had evidently been told! (At least you can now do it properly for him hopefully). 🙏
Would be interesting to know the rebuild history.. the block was done so well while the head was not. Then the cam gear being backwards too. Good thing you took it apart!
Elin, I honestly didn’t want another TR6 rebuild video but seeing you hone in on the problems from a bad previous build has been very satisfying; your accumulated knowledge and experience is rewarding you and particularly your customers now and the future looks bright.
love that outrageous French accent on the 15 min break :) Keep up the brilliant work Elin. Still want to see that GT6 finished, been watch you from the start on it as you sent out the videos, brilliant work.
That was interesting. Stuff happens during rebuilds, and this was a great example of a brief lapse. Nice that the engine survived, hopefully Morse of the car did too.
For a shade tree mechanic like me, tear down revealed some real head scratchers. Starting with clutch disc & pp. As with several other components exposed during disassembly, they seemed to show far more wear than I would've expected with just 20k km (c.12.5K mi) since rebuild. Best evidence I saw to back up claim of low mileage (kilometerage?) was "fresh" crosshatch on cylinder walls. And what's up extreme height variation on those valve guides? Looking forward to follow up videos and explanations so I can sleep at night!
Elin, this will be a very interesting series, I think. It's like this is the opening scene of 'Toronto CSI' where you are both the Chief Investigator, the Medical Examiner, and the Commentator! lol Or maybe, you portray the famous Sherlock Holmes, with Chef Tush as your trusted 'Watson'! The two of you delving into the 'untimely demise' of the engine, and, even at a distance from the scene of the crime, the two of you using genius, conjecture, experience, and careful consumption of your favorite beverages, arrive at the correct and perfect solution of the 'Case of the Shiny Slimy Pushrod'! 🕵♂👨🍳
Just a note regarding the tight valve stems, if all of the stems are tight then the guides were incorrectly reemed after fitting or possibly not reemed at all). This is an easy fix by reeming the guides to the correct clearance. If however it’s just the tops that are very slightly spread then I guess that some minor de-burring should sort that out but fairly unusual in my experience unless incorrect springs have been used and their seated pressure was too high. Valve stems are of a super hard material and I wouldn’t expect to see any obvious wear at 20k miles if the engine was assembled to correct spec. The valve guides however, are (generally) phosphor-bronze and therefore are a lot easier to machine or ream.
Excellent video Elin. Very thorough. It just shows that you can never be 100% sure that a rebuild is done correctly. Like you said, how did they install the cam sprocket with that misalignment?
Don't forget when the misaligned timing gear was wearing away it will have put metal filings into the oil and that will not be good for the main and big end bearings... I don't know about the sludge at the bottom of the pushrods though. As for the lack of fire damage, it is a big heavy cast iron block so it could absorb and disperse localised heat very well.
you may consider reusing the pressure plate as it looks like an original borg and beck ..it does have the straight fingers instead of the recessed aftermarket kits available which have been problematic in some installations ..I have had issues with the curved finger ap kits and went with a Sachs replacement pressure plate with straight fingers like the original along with a rip release bearing fitted on a bronze sleeve solved my issues ...not sure of other owners experiences this has been mine ..thank you time to watch the rest of the video
As my old governor used to say ; "Would you Adam & Eve it ! ". Maybe the cause of all those little issues was the modern type of magic, extra hot fire that we hear about theses days or sabotage by aliens during it's original recon job. Might even be the "C" change word that played a part in the whole saga or maybe Cheftush cast a demonic spell on proceedings while preparing his portable breakfast ?
It's a shame about the fire... however this post-fire inspection turned up some unrelated but definite issues that needed fixin'! The timing gear error was probably going to be a big problem if many more miles were put on that engine! Fortunate that it was caught now. I was also surprised by the valve guides! I wonder if some water got into the engine when they put out the fire... maybe through the vent in the valve cover? That might explain the milky oil. Now that you'll be addressing these things, "freshening up" everything and re-assembling it, Elin, we know it will be done right! 😎
I’m sure somebody paid a pretty penny for what I’d call a sloppy rebuild or perhaps a diy by someone who did not know what they were doing. We know you will make it right.
Maybe the Fire Service hit the car with ten thousand litres of water hence the milky oil. Hope you soon get back to being a real Rusty Beauties channel.
Good to see how the tear down actually went on my engine Elin. The valve guides I can’t explain, just an error on the rebuilder’s part (I won’t say who, but it was a professionally done rebuild). I was there when the timing chain and gears were installed and I recall he had it all shimmed up and set with a degree wheel and then decided to remove the cam gear to change something (maybe he was trying to get an extra degree or two adjustment, I know on some TRs you can do that by reversing the gear). Obviously when he put it back in, it was reversed. Maybe he didn’t realize there’s a difference or, he genuinely thought it was interchangeable, we’ll never know. I do know he’s usually meticulous with everything. I remember him shimming and using a straight edge, but he never checked it again after the adjustment.
I think the tight valve stems were caused by too big valve lash, I bet the ends are mushroomed as you suggest. Worth measuring, they could fixed with emery cloth and a drill.
The rebuilder builds race engines, he told me he tends to build them “tight” on tolerances, I had no problem with that, bearing in mind everything is balanced etc. The engine always ran very smoothly.
Finally, the engine was absolutely soaked when they put out the fire. I have no doubt that some got inside the engine. Also, although the cause of the fire was around the dizzy, coil, alt, battery area, a fuel line burned through and gas spilled onto the road and lit, basically cooking the underside of the engine. Hence my having it checked for melted seals etc..
I just wanted to clarify some of what I know about my engine and what happened during the fire, for your other viewers.
In the interest of diagnosing the result of the fire, could you possibly email Elin some pictures of the carnage to be included in the next installment of this series? Those pictures might even help Elin discover any other possible future issues with the engine and perhaps, allow him to do additional 'preventative maintenance'. Jus'say'n....
Elin thank goodness you stripped that engine down! It certainly wasn’t previously built by a professional as the owner had evidently been told! (At least you can now do it properly for him hopefully). 🙏
Would be interesting to know the rebuild history.. the block was done so well while the head was not. Then the cam gear being backwards too. Good thing you took it apart!
Elin, I honestly didn’t want another TR6 rebuild video but seeing you hone in on the problems from a bad previous build has been very satisfying; your accumulated knowledge and experience is rewarding you and particularly your customers now and the future looks bright.
love that outrageous French accent on the 15 min break :) Keep up the brilliant work Elin. Still want to see that GT6 finished, been watch you from the start on it as you sent out the videos, brilliant work.
Nice triumph on the TR6!
Hi Elin. Great meeting up with you in Port Perry. Keep the great content coming.
Thanks for the video, very interesting results.
That was interesting. Stuff happens during rebuilds, and this was a great example of a brief lapse. Nice that the engine survived, hopefully Morse of the car did too.
Thank you Elin
For a shade tree mechanic like me, tear down revealed some real head scratchers. Starting with clutch disc & pp. As with several other components exposed during disassembly, they seemed to show far more wear than I would've expected with just 20k km (c.12.5K mi) since rebuild. Best evidence I saw to back up claim of low mileage (kilometerage?) was "fresh" crosshatch on cylinder walls. And what's up extreme height variation on those valve guides? Looking forward to follow up videos and explanations so I can sleep at night!
Elin, this will be a very interesting series, I think. It's like this is the opening scene of 'Toronto CSI' where you are both the Chief Investigator, the Medical Examiner, and the Commentator! lol
Or maybe, you portray the famous Sherlock Holmes, with Chef Tush as your trusted 'Watson'! The two of you delving into the 'untimely demise' of the engine, and, even at a distance from the scene of the crime, the two of you using genius, conjecture, experience, and careful consumption of your favorite beverages, arrive at the correct and perfect solution of the 'Case of the Shiny Slimy Pushrod'!
🕵♂👨🍳
You do good work Elin
Just a note regarding the tight valve stems, if all of the stems are tight then the guides were incorrectly reemed after fitting or possibly not reemed at all). This is an easy fix by reeming the guides to the correct clearance. If however it’s just the tops that are very slightly spread then I guess that some minor de-burring should sort that out but fairly unusual in my experience unless incorrect springs have been used and their seated pressure was too high. Valve stems are of a super hard material and I wouldn’t expect to see any obvious wear at 20k miles if the engine was assembled to correct spec. The valve guides however, are (generally) phosphor-bronze and therefore are a lot easier to machine or ream.
Excellent video
Excellent video Elin. Very thorough. It just shows that you can never be 100% sure that a rebuild is done correctly. Like you said, how did they install the cam sprocket with that misalignment?
Don't forget when the misaligned timing gear was wearing away it will have put metal filings into the oil and that will not be good for the main and big end bearings...
I don't know about the sludge at the bottom of the pushrods though.
As for the lack of fire damage, it is a big heavy cast iron block so it could absorb and disperse localised heat very well.
Interesting diagnostic work and results. Thanks, Elin!
you may consider reusing the pressure plate as it looks like an original borg and beck ..it does have the straight fingers instead of the recessed aftermarket kits available which have been problematic in some installations ..I have had issues with the curved finger ap kits and went with a Sachs replacement pressure plate with straight fingers like the original along with a rip release bearing fitted on a bronze sleeve solved my issues ...not sure of other owners experiences this has been mine ..thank you time to watch the rest of the video
As my old governor used to say ; "Would you Adam & Eve it ! ". Maybe the cause of all those little issues was the modern type of magic, extra hot fire that we hear about theses days or sabotage by aliens during it's original recon job. Might even be the "C" change word that played a part in the whole saga or maybe Cheftush cast a demonic spell on proceedings while preparing his portable breakfast ?
Interesting finds.
It's a shame about the fire... however this post-fire inspection turned up some unrelated but definite issues that needed fixin'!
The timing gear error was probably going to be a big problem if many more miles were put on that engine! Fortunate that it was caught now.
I was also surprised by the valve guides!
I wonder if some water got into the engine when they put out the fire... maybe through the vent in the valve cover? That might explain the milky oil.
Now that you'll be addressing these things, "freshening up" everything and re-assembling it, Elin, we know it will be done right! 😎
I’m sure somebody paid a pretty penny for what I’d call a sloppy rebuild or perhaps a diy by someone who did not know what they were doing. We know you will make it right.
Grit in the oil from the cam chain
Maybe the Fire Service hit the car with ten thousand litres of water hence the milky oil. Hope you soon get back to being a real Rusty Beauties channel.
Is the car salvageable?
Ruined, heck no!