Strange, I heard that about him too ;)

Update & quick question
 

The engine has been done now and the car should be ready for collection tomorrow, Monday.

Sean said the crank was totally scrap, all the bearings were thin as paper :eek2: and it had also taken a rod. Short and tall of it is £1200 plus £400 labour, which I thought very fair. I'll be getting the crank back to have look at.

I have a question about running-in *quickly gets into flame-proof suit*

I have a trip to France to do next week and thought that might just be the running-in the engine needs. As it's the bottom-end which has had the rebuild, motorway use would be OK. What do you folks think?

For the first 1000m just don't use more than c. 4k revs (which, in 5th, is motorway cruising speed :))... BUT don't be tempted to boot it. Just accelerate gently up to your speeds, without using significant boost loads. I've noticed you can make perfectly adequate progress, by keeping boost to c.0bar/psi i.e. the equivalent to normal aspiration. It's fine.

Woe betide should the red mist descend and you find yourself caning it, for whatever reason :nono: You'll invariably regret it. Just employ common sense.

If it has just had a crank replacement with new bearings and nothing done to the pistons and bores then you have no fears at all.

Crank and mains and big ends are as run in as they will ever be after about 50 [ FIFTY ] miles. It is pistons, rings and bores that take the time.

I would expect that any engine builder would fit new rings as a matter of course when the engine is down. So if that is the case, then 350 - 400 miles of steady - non flat out running will sort out the rings.

IF it has had new pistons as well, then it will need the 1000 miles as a safety margin to get the pistons and rings shaped to the bores. So 4000 rpm and light duty.

It's not ideal to flog all the way down a motorway at 4000 rpm without letting the revs fluctuate up and down - up to 4400 downhill on the overrun is no big deal - but 4400 uphill under load is not a good idea.

Does that answer for you ?

David APi

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Apologies for this minor hijack...

APIDavid, when an engine is rebuilt with new pistons, rings, etc. (and/or conrods?), should a basic mineral 'running in' oil be used?

Presumably this is to prevent the smoothing of the cylinder, or cylinder liner, walls (if fully synth was used), which in turn prevents blow by, yes?

Can you elaborate on the science of this practice.

Cheers

John

Dave

Super satisfactory answer, thanks for taking the time :thumb:

I'll ask Sean exactly what he has done when the car's collected tomorrow

Modern oils have all sorts of friction reducers in their make up to improve MPG and make the engines' generally more efficient and long lived.

They do exactly what you don't want to do in a new engine.

You need the parts to wear in to each other. By using a synthetic oil from first start you run the danger of polishing the bores to a mirror shine and never allowing the piston rings to bed in and do their work correctly.

If they polish the bores you will always burn oil. So I recommend a standard mineral oil of 10W40 or 15W40 with as few additives in as possible. ANY proper brand name oil will do. Not necessarily Motoring Discount centre own brand or similar etc., etc.

We buy generic bulk oil in 205 litre barrels and it could be just about any brand. Never caused us a problem, We have tried expensive name brands with no obvious difference, except the cost. Our bulk oil has gone up 3 times so far this year at about £40 more per barrel every time.

Antifreeze has also gone up by over £100 per barrel for a 205 litre size. Last year £188.00 a barrel this year £295.00 per barrel:eek2: .

Not at all comfortable that.

David APi

Cheers for the explanation.

I feel for you in these not so good economic times - we're all feeling it aren't we? :(.

That's a mental increase though - a 57% jump within 12 months or less!!! Gumph! :eek:

Tough times - sure, but;

Last week I heard of a dentist who is only working 2 days a week now.

It seems that those that have opted out of the NHS and gone private are feeling it, as teeth are something that can get ignored if they don't ache. So all the pay-per-bite customers are saving pounds and leaving the greedy bugger with nothing to do.

Whilst the NHS ones are still coining it, as they are paid by Gordons gang.

Last time I went, it was £45.00 or something to sit in a chair for 10 minutes.

David

Ha! Don't get me talking about ruddy Dentists' fees :mad:... that's why I don't go :D. (They never mentioned that job in Vocational Guidance at school did they! :lol1:).

I brush regularly and have no fillings at the age of 40 - I'll take the risk with my own diagnoses, thanks, lol. I won't pay it - simple as.

<This thread has taken a turn for the surreal :wonder: :lol1:>

Update
 

Got the car back and managed to do 630 miles and...

the crank dropped - AGAIN!

I really couldn't beleive what I was hearing. Not just that but can't think possibly why it should happen again. Sean at Speedway Garage is a very experienced engine builder

Sean was as disappointed as me as he'll have to go through all that work for the second time. The profit has certainly gone out the job for him

Sorry to hear that. Be interesting to see why it went again. So i take it the rebuild has a warranty then?

Yes, Speedway warranted the work for 12 months/12,000m and will certainly stand by their work

I asked Sean what could possibly have gone wrong. He said he couldn't comment until the engine had been stripped

Thats good, a good sign of a garage that has confidence in their work.

Yes, but I've lost confidence in that engine :Suspiciou

Let's see what transpires in the next few days

Sean is a good man and Speedway Garage know their stuff. There is something not right about this, because if I had been asked, I would recommend Sean any day.

Give the guy a chance, he'll come through and we are all human at the end of it.

David APi

API Changed my head Gaskets and while they were there put in ACL bearings, Exeedy clutch ect, but be careful. I timed my visits badly and while filled to the brim with coffee/tea , never got to tuck into a bacon roll.

Cant really blame Dave for this, and my motor is still going strong on the back of the work carried out.

Thanks again API and as im only down the road I may come up and claim a roll sooner or later .

(Martin @ Ricardo)