merlinart
Just got it firing!
Greetings all!
I've just joined today!
I've got an old round barreled engine in a Morgan style trike, and 850cc model. The engine and gearbox were both rebuilt by a UK Guzzi specialist, Motori di Marino. I've had the engine/gearbox 3 years in my workshop and put it into a trike an on the road for the first time in December 2011. It has covered about 60 miles, no more.
last week I noticed an oil leak coming from the bell housing/centre of engine/gearbox joint, and dead centre. I took it out to investigate. As the casings are blasted clean and new oil, it was easy to see. having taken the clutch out and the flywheel off, nticing no oil on either the clutch or flywheel. I noticed oil at the top of the main bearing cap, and around the bottom of the camshaft plug and in the 2 adjacent recesses in the casting of the clutch/flywheel housing.
I have now replaced ( in a belt and braces fashion) the main bearing cap gasket, the crank oil seal, the crankcase pressure pipe gasket, the side down pipe that returns to the sump (this pipe showed some damage) plus the various crush washers etc.
I replaced the engine and ran it up for about 30 minutes on Friday evening. No leak. I then ran it yesterday and after about 30 minutes it started leaking again.
Today, I took the engine out. No leaks from main bearing seal and gasket, and none from the pressure pipes ( I had also run PTFE tape around the bottom bolts of the main bearing cap as well.
The oil seems to coming from the rear camshaft cap, so I wiped this clean, but it leaks through/weeps through even with the engine on a bench and of course cold. This seems to be the source of the leak, and I've read on various forums etc that this can leak, and some people have advocated additional sealing with epoxy, presumably such as Araldite etc.
The engine breather system on this engine uses the small black box type, but this has been cut into at some time, for some reason, and welded back up, which makes me suspicious. In addition to this I have placed the conventional ball valve in the main breather pipe, and I've used jubilee clips all round on both breather pipes. I noticed that when I shook the black breather box there was a sound as if the valve had shaken loose. I don't know the internals of this box, has it a similar ball valve?
Maybe, the engine has built up too much pressure, but it seems odd that the first thing to show leakage is the small end of camshaft plug.
I have an empty damaged engine case, so I knocked out the camshaft plug to take a look at it, to understand how it fits. I surmised that if pressure had blown this slightly thus causing a leak, might tapping it gently cause it to spread out and perhaps cure what must be a tiny breach of seal, hence the weeping of oil? I have now gently tapped it, and the dome area seems to have flattened slightly, so I hope that in doing so, it might have spread tighter?
Anyway, apologies for such a long first post, but I'll be much obliged for any comments. I've got Pete Roper's engine build up in Gambalunga magazine, Guzziology and just about every known Guzzi book, but none seem to mention this camshaft plug.
I guess, that replacing this plug is a question of tapping out the old via a removal of the cam anyway, and that this would have to happen from internally. Anyone done this before, and apart from gently tapping in a new one, assuming one is available, is it necessarry to glue it in as well?
I've just joined today!
I've got an old round barreled engine in a Morgan style trike, and 850cc model. The engine and gearbox were both rebuilt by a UK Guzzi specialist, Motori di Marino. I've had the engine/gearbox 3 years in my workshop and put it into a trike an on the road for the first time in December 2011. It has covered about 60 miles, no more.
last week I noticed an oil leak coming from the bell housing/centre of engine/gearbox joint, and dead centre. I took it out to investigate. As the casings are blasted clean and new oil, it was easy to see. having taken the clutch out and the flywheel off, nticing no oil on either the clutch or flywheel. I noticed oil at the top of the main bearing cap, and around the bottom of the camshaft plug and in the 2 adjacent recesses in the casting of the clutch/flywheel housing.
I have now replaced ( in a belt and braces fashion) the main bearing cap gasket, the crank oil seal, the crankcase pressure pipe gasket, the side down pipe that returns to the sump (this pipe showed some damage) plus the various crush washers etc.
I replaced the engine and ran it up for about 30 minutes on Friday evening. No leak. I then ran it yesterday and after about 30 minutes it started leaking again.
Today, I took the engine out. No leaks from main bearing seal and gasket, and none from the pressure pipes ( I had also run PTFE tape around the bottom bolts of the main bearing cap as well.
The oil seems to coming from the rear camshaft cap, so I wiped this clean, but it leaks through/weeps through even with the engine on a bench and of course cold. This seems to be the source of the leak, and I've read on various forums etc that this can leak, and some people have advocated additional sealing with epoxy, presumably such as Araldite etc.
The engine breather system on this engine uses the small black box type, but this has been cut into at some time, for some reason, and welded back up, which makes me suspicious. In addition to this I have placed the conventional ball valve in the main breather pipe, and I've used jubilee clips all round on both breather pipes. I noticed that when I shook the black breather box there was a sound as if the valve had shaken loose. I don't know the internals of this box, has it a similar ball valve?
Maybe, the engine has built up too much pressure, but it seems odd that the first thing to show leakage is the small end of camshaft plug.
I have an empty damaged engine case, so I knocked out the camshaft plug to take a look at it, to understand how it fits. I surmised that if pressure had blown this slightly thus causing a leak, might tapping it gently cause it to spread out and perhaps cure what must be a tiny breach of seal, hence the weeping of oil? I have now gently tapped it, and the dome area seems to have flattened slightly, so I hope that in doing so, it might have spread tighter?
Anyway, apologies for such a long first post, but I'll be much obliged for any comments. I've got Pete Roper's engine build up in Gambalunga magazine, Guzziology and just about every known Guzzi book, but none seem to mention this camshaft plug.
I guess, that replacing this plug is a question of tapping out the old via a removal of the cam anyway, and that this would have to happen from internally. Anyone done this before, and apart from gently tapping in a new one, assuming one is available, is it necessarry to glue it in as well?
