Evening all -

I'm hoping for an answer to this one and I can't get the car on the lift for a while. I need to know if the oil pan on a 1961 3.8 MK2 can be removed without interference from some unmovable object - so a sub frame member or such. I know there are many cars where jacking the engine up is needed, while others the pan drops easily, perhaps after removing some steering links. Can anyone tell me if the MK2 is in the "easy to drop" category or the "Remove the engine to drop the pan" category?

Thanks,

Allan,

 

It can be done but the front subframe needs to be removed, its not as bad as it sounds. What you need to do is:


Support the car safely using the body rather than the subframe (be careful as the jacking points might not be in the best condition to do this).
Remove the road wheels.
Disconnect the brake flexi hoses.
Disconnect the power steering pipes (if fitted).
Disconnect the steering linkage from the column to the steering box.
Unbolt the anti-roll bar from the u clamps that fix it to the body.
Support the subframe on a jack.
Remove the rear subframe mounting bolts (one each side horizontlly through the chassis rail).
Remove the front subframe slab mounts to the front of the chassis rail (two each side).
Drop the sub-frame down.
The sump should then be able to be removed fairly easily.

 

I was reading an article on piston slap and they seemed to suggest that if you removed the plug lead from the affected cylinder the noise should reduce or stop altogether as there is no explosion and therefore the forces causing the slap are less. It might be worth trying this but I still think you should check the tappets and cams as they sound a lot worse to me.

 

Hmm. Well the reason I was asking is that there is a mechanic I got in touch with that has done a lot of work on the XK engine, but mostly from E-Types, and I had him listen to the videos in the "piston slap" thread. His opinion is that its a sticking wrist pin and given the condition of the engine otherwise, he thinks an "in-car" rebuild might work - drop the pan, take the head off, deal with the wrist pin and new pistons, bearings, valve job, etc....but this assumes he can drop the pan "without interference". I guess it will depend on his definition of interference.

Yea, so actually did that already and the noise drops way off hardly even there. The issue is that I've read that can also apply to a wrist pin. I think I'm just going to have to assume the engine will need a rebuild at least to a partial extent. I mean....its only money....

 

[QUOTE=Treozen;2240896]Hmm. Well the reason I was asking is that there is a mechanic I got in touch with that has done a lot of work on the XK engine, but mostly from E-Types, and I had him listen to the videos in the "piston slap" thread. His opinion is that its a sticking wrist pin and given the condition of the engine otherwise, he thinks an "in-car" rebuild might work - drop the pan, take the head off, deal with the wrist pin and new pistons, bearings, valve job, etc....but this assumes he can drop the pan "without interference". I guess it will depend on his definition of interference.



To be honest by the time you have done all of the above you might as well pull the engine out and carry out a rebore which won't cost a lot more and you then know its all fine. Rebuilding an engine in the car like this is a lot harder than on an engine stand, while on an E-Type it might not be so bad once you get the bonnet off, just getting the head on and off in a MK2 engine bay is a struggle due to its weight and how close you can get to it.

I would also consider how much the partial rebuild above is going to cost and how much more to do it properly and if you pull it apart and find that it does need a full rebuild or the partial rebuild is completed and doesn't fix it what do you do then?

If you take it apart and its not worth doing the partial rebuild will you just sell it with the engine in bits? If so then you will probably get a lot less for it. If you do the partial rebuild and it doesn't work you will have wasted more money on it.

I would suggest that you either leave it alone and sell it as is or embark on an engine rebuild and be prepared to fully rebuild it and anything less is a bonus.

If you do rebuild it at least you will know that its been done properly.

Out of interest when did the noise start, has it always done it or is it a new thing? If its new could it just be that something has siezed from lack of use and it might free up when you drive it? To be honest its really hard to hear on the video and if it gets better when its warm I would honestly leave it alone until I needed to pull the engine out.

 

Unfortunately, I'm not sure when it started. When I bought the car I made an evaluation mistake that I normally don't - the engine was warm when I pulled up, and as such, I missed the knock because you really can't hear it very well once its warm. Usually I ask that the car not be started until I get there, but in this case I didn't and the rationale I got was that they had to move it out into the driveway. I now realize it was to hide a noise that would have raised some questions. I've had the car since Nov 2018, and although I have not run the engine that much, at least until recently, it did go through a tank of gas in that time and the noise has been the same - no better, no worse. I can get the engine pulled rebuilt for $10K, which I gather is actually pretty reasonable, not sure what the in-car version will cost. I'm creeping up on the idea of just keeping the car and chipping way and what it needs, starting with the engine to get the big pill out of the way.

 

Personally I wouldn't worry about the engine, I would sort out the body work and use the car for a bit and see if you like it.

10K for an engine rebuild is probably not bad for a top professional, in the UK it would cost me around £1500-2000 if I did it myself and the engine isn't hard to rebuild (although everything is just so heavy).