I know this subject has just been covered and I’m not asking for advice you have been more than helpful with the previous thread on the subject. My 1600 Vitesse has got a noisy engine,
On Tuesday I took it to the local TSSC meet where various members gave their opinion on the noise. The final verdict was that the little ends are worn. So this weekend I am planning to remove the engine and strip it down. I have a limited knowledge of a vitesse engine removal,
So I am going to take step by step photos and post them on the forum to show that even a ham fisted idiot like me can do it.

Ps on the way to the club meet my wipers packed in and my clutch went soft, when I checked the master cylinder it looked like the previous owner had filled it with engine oil. My car is long over due a good strip down and rebuild.  

birchy,
May I offer you my engiine out sequence pictures?

The books say that you cannot take the engine and gearbox out together, unless you take off the bonnet, but it's not true, and makes the whole thing less effort.    A device known as a 'load leveller' (http://www.machinemart.co.uk/s.....cranes-engine-stands) is invaluable.

The radiator must come out.
Lift the engine up and angle it nose upwarsd to clear the gearbox from the bulkhead.
Turn the engine to transverse acros the engine bay and level it.
Lift it as high as you can, and move the car forwards so that it lies across the windscreen (Or move your crane back!).  There need be no weight on the glass, but a ground sheet is reassuring.
You can now close the bonnet and run the car backwards, or the crane forwards.

See pic.

John

Hi John
Thanks for the pics. I see from the photo's you are using a vertical hoist i will be using a portable engine hoist that lifts at angle so it may be a little more difficult for me to do it that way on my own. I admit it is going to be difficult to remove to bonnet on my own, but I will cross that bridge at the weekend

Thanks Paul

Quoted from birchy

...I admit it is going to be difficult to remove to bonnet on my own, but I will cross that bridge at the weekend....

Paul, not to worry. It can be muscled off by one moderately strong person. At worst, though, one person on each wheel arch is usually more than enough to lift off a bonnet.

Beyond that, though, I wonder if a bit more investigation might be in order before pulling and completely stripping down the engine for a rebuild. When you/they refer to "little ends" I have to assume it's what most people call "big ends" -- i.e., the connecting rod bearings. (My apologies if the prevailing opinion is that the gudgeon or wrist pins or their bushings in the connecting rods -- what I'd call the "little ends" -- ARE what they meant.)

If all else is reasonable, such as compression figures, and you're not burning copious quantities of oil due to bad rings or valve guides, I'd check to see if maybe just the con-rod bearings might be replaced...and that can be done without pulling the engine, so long as the crank journals are not damaged. It's a somewhat tedious job working from underneath, but it's a good afternoon or weekend at most, rather than all the time and money and effort for a total rebuild that might not be needed or at least might be put off for some time?

Just a thought....

Don't forget you can't use a wheeled engine hoist from the side to lift engine & gearbox in one unit as you can't move the car backwards & forwards as the front wheel sits between the forks, and you can't remove the wheel either as you can't then wheel the car backwards & forwards - catch 22. You might be able to lift the engine from the side without the gearbox attached but I haven't tried that one.

This is me on a learning curve Little ends (conrod to piston) bigends (conrod to crank). The car runs well burns a little oil but not to much, its just the more I look at the car the more faults I find. So what the hell take the engine out clean up the engine bay strip the engine Cry at the parts bill rebuild for spring.
ps what colour is the engine supposed to be ?

Black I think

I used to work on a lot of these engines a few (well, more than a few) years ago, when they were more common-place. I don't recall ever having had problems with little ends i.e.con-rod to piston / gudgeon pin joints. The most common cause of tapping (as opposed to knocking) was caused by wear in the camshaft and in particular cam followers. This was made worse by the fact that spin-on conversions were almost unheard of then and so there was always those few seconds after startup when they ran without oil.

If you don't need the car over winter then I can't argue with the suggestion of a strip and rebuild, preventative maintenance is always cheaper than sorting it after the event, and also gives great peace of mind, not to mention a great sense of satisfaction. For me there is still nothing quite like the feeling you get when an engine you've rebuilt springs to life at the first turn of the key, and I'm lucky enough to be at the stage when most I work on do now (the last 9 have been first time starters)

Good luck, whereabouts are you, if not too far I'd be happy to look it over once out and stripped if you wanted a second opinion or get stuck.

Thanks for the offer of help which at some stage I will probably need. Taking things apart and putting them back together is not a problem for me it’s the bit in between I struggle with. Knowing whether a component is serviceable or us
  

I am based in Warrington

I started on the engine removal last night

Don't forget the engine earth strap, speedo cable and reverse light wire when you take the engine out - the car will come a fair distance off the ground when you lift the engine out before they snap.

Quoted from Dicky Blighter

Don't forget the engine earth strap, speedo cable and reverse light wire when you take the engine out - the car will come a fair distance off the ground when you lift the engine out before they snap.

The engine earth strap fell off!!! Tonight I will starting on the gear box and tomorrow I will be hopefuly removing the engine

As the starter of the other engine removal thread, I'll be watching this one closely. Your pictures could be very helpful, Birchy!

Tonight I removed the manifolds disconnected the starter gear stick speedo cable prop shaft and loosened the gearbox and engine mounts ready for tomorrow’s big lift.



Just had a thought if someone with more experience than me could put a not to forget list together i.e. speedo cable, engine earth strap. Then we could make a word doc like a tick list. So when you have to remove an engine you can print off a tick list and when every item has a tick against it, you know you are ready to lift the engine out.  

Hmm think  the workshop manual is the best list with all the need to know specifications
the bottom end of the 1600 is pretty indestructable and not stressed,
think i would have concentrated on the tappet setting method, and the state of the rocker shaft and rockers for wear then go cam and followers  before starting at the heavy end of the job
little end noise normally has a peak creshendo coming off throtle on the brow of a hill

our 1600 had a lump of the block casting fouling the oil pump shaft( for 40 yrs)  which did stuff the 2 centre main shells,  we changed the crank with engine still in the car,,  a bit heavy need 3 shredded wheat .  pete