Mark and others:
I probably should have added some emoticon onto my "great Japanese car"
spiel but there was a certain amount of sarcasm there.
Concerning the broken TR7 crank- A Triumph breaking something just sounds
like business as usual to me. Seriously, two possible causes could be:
You mentioned that the head was warped among other problems. The block may
have moved, too. When you put in the new crank, follow the torque sequence
and recommendations in the manual carefully. When I was young, I rebuilt a
Jeep (Buick) V-6. I put the crank in and tightened the bolts. Lo and
behold, the crank wouldn't spin. After asking for advice, I did it again
following the proper procedure. The crank spun like a top. If your crank
doesn't spin freely when it is installed and you followed proper procedure,
you may want to get the block align bored. A quality machine shop or speed
shop should be able to do this.
A second possible cause could be a "mix and match" of parts. If I
understood you correctly, you used the crank from one engine in another
one. I don't know about TR7's. but many American engines change crank
balance from one year or model to the next. So if you use the wrong front
balancer or flywheel with the wrong crank, you could set up a harmonic
torsional vibration that would destroy the crank.
Next time, you may want to have the crank magnafluxed before you install
it. That way you will know that you aren't starting with the problem.
Finally, concerning antifreeze tasting parties. Yes the stuff is poisonous
but I have tasted many unidentifiable fluid drips / accumulations over the
years without any obvious ill effects (though my wife may have a different
opinion). Like many things, moderation is the key. If you are still
worried you can always let your cat do the tasting. They love antifreeze
so if kitty licks your windscreen like mad, you have a heater core leak.
Regards
Bill Eastman
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