Hello,

I recently installed a new engine in my 122 and have been driving a bit with it. Not much, mind you, as everything is not 100% done. But a few trips around the block every now and again. In fact, the trip odometer is up to 3.1 miles now, and around 30-40 minutes of running time.

When I tried to check the oil level after one such trip, it was very watery in consistency. So I changed it. The oil that came out was also really black, as if I'd waited too long before changing it. Everything in the engine is new, so I imagine here's a bit of break-in wear with the rings, but is this color normal after so little use?

There is also oil leaking from what looks like between the tranny and OD unit, onto the cross member. Can I pray that the seal comes back to life, or do I need to think about replacing all the seals in both units? I bought them as a unit and never had them apart.

Also, just a little report: As soon as I can get an exhaust hung and get it licensed, I suspect this is going to be one fun car. Everything was lightened and balanced, and I removed the fan, opting for an electric jobber. Even a small tap on the throttle seems to make the engine roar!! It's hard to tell with no tach (yet) and no exhaust, but it seems like it revs easily and is actually pretty quiet, all things considered, and very smooth. After about 1000 miles of just tooling around, I plan to really see what it can do. And the real test will be at Thunderhill in April! I can't wait. It's crazy, though, because while I'm driving and for a good while afterwards, my heart just races! It's all so exciting and stressful and scary at the same time.

Thanks

Is it doing anything untoward, like blowing clouds of oil out of the exhaust?

Presumably this is the non start fuel injection engine. Not wanting to start is bound to have dumped a bit of fuel into the bores, the black stuff in the oil comes from the combustion process of the petrol, run one on LPG gas and the oil stays eerily clean. I wouldn't worry too much, change the oil and try to run the engine in with decent length runs rather than lots of stop start.

Whatever you do don't run the overdrive low on oil, it is something they are very intolerant of, does the planetary gear pins a power of no good. The gasket between the overdrive and the extension tube is fairly painless to change, the gasket between the extension tube and the gearbox is a pain, once you remove the extension piece the mainshaft can come back slightly, after which the box needs a strip down to put it back together again. Have a close look at where the oil is really coming from, that will indicate the level of work you are looking at, they tend not to be completely dry however.

Regards

Hi Peter,

You have a keen memory. It is, in fact, the unstartable B20. But it's started now, finally. There has been no undue smoke from the engine. It did smoke a bit at first, but that's all from the header coating burning off. The toxic fumes gave that away. As a side note, POR-15 says this is the "curing" process of their exhaust paint. Funny, but it's all flaking off!! Maybe I'll go the Jet-hot route in a year or so.

Anyway, I changed the oil yesterday before starting it up again, and checked it afterwards. It was a shorter drive, but the oil was not as watery in consistancy as it was at first. The oil that was drained out did look like it was made of two substances, but I did not look for the evaporation as Steve suggested. I should have. But I imagine that as the rings seat, the gas getting into the oil will be eliminated.

As for the tranny oil, It only leaks when the engine is running or shortly after. I don't know if this indicates any one symptom, though. I'm going to keep a very close eye on that, though. The words "Laycock de Normanville" are not proper english for inexpensive, that's for certain!!

Thanks again

By "new" engine, I guess that means new pistons and/or rings ? If so, take the car to the nearest long,(at least half a mile) fairly steep hill and give it full throttle all the way up, in top gear. Start at about 30 mph and increase to 50, let the car slow back to 30 and do it again. And again. And again. Keep an eye on the temp gauge - it'll probably get warmer than usual but don't worry unless it gets near the red. Use the brakes to moderate the car speed if necessary. You may need 4 or more runs up the hill to do any good. Black, runny oil in a new engine after so little use is almost certainly caused by the cylinder bores "glazing up" (a glass-like surface forms on the cylinders which the piston rings can't seal against) due to the new rings not bedding in properly. Bursts of full throttle, moderate revs driving creates high gas pressures in the cylinders, forcing the rings out against the cylinder walls. The resulting friction "beds" the working surface of the rings against the cylinders. I'd do it pretty soon and not use the car at all until you do. Its possible that glazing has already gone too far. If so, I'm afraid the only proper remedy is to pull the engine apart and re-hone the cylinders, using a glaze breaker or a ball hone (some people suggest feeding a fast idling engine a fine abrasive such as Brasso to roughen things up again. Tried that in desperation. Disasterous! Glaze still there, piston rings ruined.).

Re. the tranny leak, the only proper cure I've found is to replace the gaskets. You can make them yourself with oil-jointing paper if you're careful.Hope it all works out.

By new, I mean the block was dipped and fully machined and cylinders were bored 0.020". All of the bearings and shells are new, as are the pistons and rings. The bores had obvious cross hatching when I assembles the engine. I've been using 10W-40 oil in it.

I also should have noted that the oil was very runny after driving it, but of normal viscosity when I drained it. It was darker, though, than it was on the dipstick before.

Thanks for the reply.

The oil would seem runny because its diluted with petrol. Try standing an open pan of freshly drained oil in a breeze-free room and see if the surface of the oil seems to shimmer slightly. If it does, that's the fuel evaporating. Fuel dilution might also be indicated by the oil level in the sump apppearing to rise (called "making oil") but this might not necessarily be so if the engine is burning oil as well.

Penzoil (and I'm sure others, too) makes a good 'first fill' oil for new engines. 'First fills' are good in pressure applications (bearings etc.) but relatively poor under "shear" (sliding), so allowing easier ring bedding in while still adequately protecting bearing surfaces. Highly recommend their use.

Another possible cause of your problem might be that one or more of the compression rings have been fitted upside down. That's impossible to check without dismantling, so I'd try running the engine in properly first!

Cheers