engine block lifespan/faults

[craig 12]

sorry everybody to post this on the wrong forum, its the only one i have till membership is live again, i was talking with my friend today as to engine blocks/problems/ as you know i purchased my car under the heading , burns a little oil could do with a rebore..

which got me thinking, how do you know if your block is good after 150,000 or so miles, i dont have old mot,s and the clock says 53,999, well asume its 153,999, i spoke to roger tonight and asked me if id done a compresion test since buying the car, which i havent, and wondered if a block had only so many miles in it before going down the reconditioned route

it has chucked a bit of greyish smoke out of the left exhaust, but ticks over quite niceley, when i changed the oil it was as thin as water and about half the sump quantity, (i dont know what damage was done by driving it with that level of oil), my friend says also that 3-5 years of being stood will have caused condensation in the block,

my car is in dock at the moment, also my friend says that theres somethiing on the market that will flush out the crap from the walls of the engine , although more than 1 oil change may be needed, anybody had any experience of this product?

so what im saying really is when is your 72 lump ready for changing, i only do about 50 miles a week , but if it needed a rebore thats a engine out job and maybe a recoditioned lump is similar price to sprucing up your old one.....

[Waylison]

To quote our esteemed Admin.....how long is a piece of string....and......how many knots have been put in it ?!

Just like all engines, modern or classic, it all depends on how they have been looked after. Assuming regular oil changes and that the engine hasn't over heated at some point ( which most Essex V6's have ) then you're looking at about 100k before a rebuild. For a basic rebuild you're talking about bearings, rings, honing the bores, cam shaft bearings, front one is a must, change the front timing gear, new oil pump and upgrade to a hardened pencil shaft, new oil seals throughout. Then the heads.....while they are off, hardened valve seats on exhaust outlet so you can run unleaded without worrying. Regrind all valve seats. Possible valve guides. Check the heads for warping and have them skimmed if needed. Block chemically cleaned. the list could go on. There was an engine on ebay, fully rebuilt ready to fit....£2,999.! I found the cheapest way to get a good engine is to buy a running Scimitar that's got history and you can drive, then swap engines and sell scimitar on again cheap because you have had the good bit ! After all, there are thousands of them out there and only a few Gilberns, so we come first

As to the oil additives that flush the 'sludge' out. They do work, but be careful that they don't soften or eat your oil seals that are 30 odd years old! Also the lovely quiet engine you have now is because of all that sludge acting as a noise damper, once removed you will notice all the rattles and clanks not heard before.

Any older mechanic working on an old engine will say ' a little bit of oil burning isn't a bad thing' but clouds of the stuff isn't good! Roger is right to say do a compression test, if the readings are good, and the engine runs cool, doesn't overheat, pulls well, runs smooth, starts well and has good oil pressure, leave it alone and enjoy it.

[Greybags]

Craig ..

HAve you checked the engine numbers to see if it is still the original engine

You can good results of clearing al the crap out of the oilways by putting a cheap oil in as it has fewer additives, run it for a couple of hundred miles, change oil and the filter again run for a couple hundred miles, then drain and change filter again and fill with good oil ..

This will usually clear out all the old crap without removing the bits that are actually helping the engine, by keeping it oil tight..

Overdosing the petrol with RedX or suchlike will help clean the petrol lines and will help free any gummed up piston rings, which may be causing some of the oil burning.

Also if you take the plugs out, and put some neat RedX in the bores, turn the engine over by hand a few times, and leave it there for a few hours, then turn the engine over on the starter to remove the old RedX, replace the plugs and start it up .. Lovely cloud of white smoke out the back, but that will help with any sticky rings.

All cheaper than a rebuild that may help revive an engine that has been standing, but not a cure if there is something broken ..

Do 3 compression test, a dry one, a wet one, compare the readings, and if you do the Redx Trick another dry one.


GRahame