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Rebuilt T120V no oil pressure

8K views 38 replies 10 participants last post by  rambo 
#1 ·
About five months ago I was tossing up what to do with my 72' bonneville which was billowing smoke and already at +60.

I ended up re-sleeving and rebuilding. The shop who re-sleeved by barrels also assembled the bottom end. I reassembled the rest but once I started it up for the first time the oil pressure light came on and wouldn't go off!

I shut it down , cleaned oil filters, oil pump, pressure release valve and put a oil pressure gauge on it. Fired it up and the oil pressure was between 0 and 10psi between 1000 - 2500 rpm.

Oil pump isn't new but is within spec. The only thing I am unsure about is the crank oil seal I replaced the old with was from a T120 oil seal kit and I just assumed it was for the crank oil seal.

The oil return is working but almost seems to be returning more oil than it should (huge constants spurts).

The only other strange thing is when I had the timing side cover off (oil pump still on) and push the kick start there is a strong sound of air escaping coming from inside the cases ( I think).

Any ideas? I am about ready to give up on it for good after spending thousands and countless hours.
 
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#28 ·
Like Rambo, I hope it works out well for you Kiwi. I must admit that such a fundamental error would make me worry about what else they could have overlooked. Fitting the wrong size big end shells is unforgivable enough. When they reground the journals themselves, it ought to have been almost impossible, and certainly not something they let out of the shop. I hope they are compensating you for your wasted time, travel etc. In fact, I hope they are giving you a total refund.
 
#30 ·
Hi Kiwi, Good you're getting a resolve. I've done hundreds of engines on cars. It is really easy to make this type mistake. Especially if you have several motors apart at once. We had a strict policy of plasti gauging all bearings. That saved us more than a few times. It's not so easy to feel bearing play as it's assembled with assembly lube or even just oil. Thing is they are not thinking there's a problem, & feeling is a really bad way to check bearing clearance. What if you had only an extra .0015" clearance? That's not good, but I don't I could feel it. Not making excuses, just the way life is.

Interesting valve was kissing piston. I don't know what the clearance normally is, but the extra bearing play might cause that. If the head or block was skimmed at all I would use a .080 head gasket.

All should end well & you'll be back on the road in time for warm weather. Please keep us updated on how it all works out.
Don
 
#31 ·
Good Engineering Practice

Many years ago I removed the motor out of Wolseley 16/60 for reconditioning at a then well regarded machine shop in the City. Upon return of the engine and refitting, no oil pressure showing on the dash mounted gauge when cranked over without spark plugs in. Towed down the road with my Mate's Holden, still no oil pressure showing. Rang the machine shop, they sent out a machinist and he fumbled around doing whatever tests he could. 'You'll have to bring it back to the shop' says he. Out with the motor, off with the gearbox/bell housing, someone had forgot to replace the plug in the main oil gallery!
These things are sent to try us and will continue to occur until the Human Race becomes 'Inhuman'.
 
#32 ·
Wolesley 16/60 A friend had a Wolseley ( 6 cylinder OHC?) :grin2:
Pretty snarly beast in it's day, our flat footers had some.

Frederick Wolseley and his mate Herbert Austin came down under to try their luck about 1888.

They caused a bit of trouble with the shearers trying to flog them the mechanical shears.

Austin married my granny's sister & took her back to blighty.

My old man visited her & Austin after he was released from Fritz's POW camp in WW1. Austin gave him an Austin Car Company wallet with English cash in it, I've still got it.

Think dad pissed the cash up the wall though, just a few dead moths in it now :wink2:
 
#34 ·
The Kimberly was a very powerful little car IMHO.

We called it The Land Crab for some reason.

KiwiTriumph: When I said to check the bearing shell sizes I was running out of clues & grasping at straws :grin2:

But hey, that oil had to be going somewhere. :frown2:
 
#35 ·
1622cc was called the B series with a 3 main bearing crank and pushrod operation of valves.Later used at 1800cc in the MGB.Regarding what we called the 1800 front wheel drive cars,the term Land crab,came about when a few were used in rallying and the width made them a good cornering car.The 2.2, 6 cylinder used too much fuel for UK buyers,as did the even larger 3 litre bigger bodied version.
Not many survived to be around the classic car scene either.
That B series was a well used engine for BMC models and returned about 24-30 mpg in normal use.
 
#37 ·
Not always smart,but age gives more memories of the old classics.I spent a lot of time with BMC car engines in the 70s trying to make them faster.My little Morris mini Cooper was the money pit with a 998cc A series engine and 24 mpg.At least we could mend them without a computer though.
Not much i could repair on my Rocket 111 if the thing failed to fire up.Lucky it has been totally reliable in over 9 years ownership.
I would still try to fix it though.I would hate asking anyone to mend my bike as,so far,never had to.
 
#38 ·
Got the engine back Saturday. Got it in and going on Sunday afternoon, the good news is it's got perfect oil pressure and runs beautifully. It's making a small amount of tappet noise which I am not sure if that's just standard for these bikes. Also has a small backfire on deceleration but should be fixed by just sealing up the pipes in the head. Happy Days.
 
#39 ·
It will be noisier on tappets than any Jap engine for sure.The exhaust pop could also be a leak at the lower joint in the exhaust.Now run it in and do not keep the revs too low in higher gears.Let it rev fairly freely and give short bursts and decelerations.At about 500 miles,give it a belting for about a mile or two.Any oil burning should be low at 1000 miles.
Keep checking all nuts and bolts as this is the time parts start falling off.
Good to see its fixed up now.
 
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