Scott Fisher writes:
>So my question is for anyone who has dropped the pan on an MGB and
>removed one or more pistons without removing the block:
>
>How ugly a job is it? How far up do you have to get the car? What
>kind of jackstands did you use? What would you do differently if you
>had to do it again?
I dropped the oil pan on my '64 MGB about six months ago "for fun".
I had started out the afternoon simply wanting to change the oil
(original inverted filter canister) and ended up removing the oil
pan to simply take a look at what shape things were in.
Most of the bolts are easy, except for the front three that partially
hidden behind the font suspension cross member. After a fair bit of
thinking and some advice from the mechanic at O'Connor Classic, I
ended up jacking up the engine using a 2x6 under the oil pan to prevent
denting. One can even slack the engine mounts to give more clearance
for tools to reach those three remaining oil pan bolts, but I found
that I didn't have to do that. I set emergency jack stands under
the front sub frame just in case something were to happen to the
weight bearing floor jack.
The other problem you'll encounter is the short lip of the oil pan
itself; this lip hampers side attack of the difficult three bolts.
Various people recomended chiseling the lip away, but I managed
to remove and later replace the bolts without damaging the lip.
In retrospect, a closed spanner with a good offset would have made
the job of removing the 3 bolts much easier. Obligatory ascii art:
>------------------------------____ _______________
>------------------------------____----| |
----|_______________|
side view
The offset should be enough to get you behind the oil pan lip when
approaching the bolts from the side.
Once the oil pan was off, it was clear sailing. Upon removal of
the Big End bearings (& loosening of the spark plugs) the pistons
moved pretty easily in their bores. I never removed the pistons
(just replaced the Big End bearings), but with the head off I
imagine that replacing the pistons should be a snap.
While I was inside my engine I examined the oil pump. Good thing
too, as it was so worn that it is now on display in my office. I
spend the $80 and installed a oil pump, now I have lots of oil
pressure. I also replaced the Big End bearings, not because they
looked bad or appeared worn, but because "that is what one does".
I had a little bit of trouble reattaching the End Caps on two of
the four pistons because of the angles that the bolts wanted to
travel and accessibility for tools. I was perplexed at the time
since I had no trouble removing them, maybe I was a bit too tired.
Reattaching the oil pan was a pain, but really a straight forward
reversal of the removal procedure. Most of the effort on the
outside two of the famous three bolts, was done purely by touch.
There just was no line of sight past my hands that was helpful.
It was a remarkable feeling once the engine roared to life.
...robert "teaching graphics whiz kids about oil pumps"
|