400SE Engine Gone t*ts up
Discussion
Nightmare, just completed the pre holiday work before the hoon to Italy, 4 weeks to go and engine has gone t*ts up. I just got home, car running lovely, nice oil pressure/temp but at home I park, leave for few mins then go to start and it just turns over, me thinks ah no worries electrical. Check fuel pump, runs, turns over to check spark and horrible noises from engine. Remove hose from AFM and find it is full of fuel, I realise an injector has been leaking and washed all oil away and suspect engine now toast. Did a quick test on fuel circuit and fuel comes out of the inlet chamber and system does not even make 20psi before falling away, tried turning with hand with all plugs removed but loads of resistance. So new engine, or secondhand, any pointers !! off to seach the web and see prices.
Still, worse things happen at sea so they say and part of me consoled by the fact to find it now than later, could have been bombing down a motorway and it could have siezed with dire consequences.
Now where's that credit card !!!
Still, worse things happen at sea so they say and part of me consoled by the fact to find it now than later, could have been bombing down a motorway and it could have siezed with dire consequences.
Now where's that credit card !!!
adam quantrill said:
Yeah Andy's right, fresh oil, and a teaspoon down each plug hole but don't replace the plugs, and you should start to get oil pressure after 20-30s cranking. Try that first.
Thanks everyone, I will give this ago but for peace of mind I will take the heads off and have a look at the bores.Once you have changed the oil and filter, you can prime the oil system without having to turn the engine over by removing the dizzy and buying or making a priming tool (basically a rod with a flat on one end to engage the oil pump drive) to fit in an electric drill.
Might save some bearing surfaces if they aren't already too shagged.
Might save some bearing surfaces if they aren't already too shagged.
Edited by B-Reight on Tuesday 30th June 19:14
B-Reight said:
Oh and if you do strip the engine down, it would be intresting to know what trick bits are actually in your engine. One suspects TVR might have been using pretty bog standard engines by the time of the 400se, perhaps even earlier (apart from press cars of course 
)
Afraid the engine is RIP, did the oil trick lunchtime letting it soak until evening and still very hard to turn with out plugs, got cracking and nearly ready to come out, just the drivers manifold, cables to starter, oil pipes and clutch pipe to remove. I have enquired about another 4 litre TVR engine from a Chim, vee belt, 50k miles, compression tested and a limited warranty, so will pop that in then rebuild the orignal unit. I did remove the heads last year for a top end overhaul and they are different from the standard units, polished and larger porting, double springs and larger valves. As for the rest well we shall see. )Sounds very strange ... but guess you are in a hurry with the holiday deadline.
If the hand cranking was with the plugs removed - it would still be difficult to turn because of the valve springs compressing ..
About the olny culprit from a leaking injector can be the piston in question will have worn it's bore and the rings broken.. but surely if it was that bad you would have noticed very bad fuel comsumption / poor power and not wanting to rev ?
If the hand cranking was with the plugs removed - it would still be difficult to turn because of the valve springs compressing ..
About the olny culprit from a leaking injector can be the piston in question will have worn it's bore and the rings broken.. but surely if it was that bad you would have noticed very bad fuel comsumption / poor power and not wanting to rev ?
rev-erend said:
Sounds very strange ... but guess you are in a hurry with the holiday deadline.
If the hand cranking was with the plugs removed - it would still be difficult to turn because of the valve springs compressing ..
About the olny culprit from a leaking injector can be the piston in question will have worn it's bore and the rings broken.. but surely if it was that bad you would have noticed very bad fuel comsumption / poor power and not wanting to rev ?
Yep it is strange I am usually an optimist so when things go wrong I tend to not fear the worst, however after taking the hose to the AFM off and saw the inside of the chamber awash with fuel I thought 'Oh Dear' to put it mildly. Unfortunately this was the first drive after a week off the road so I did not really pay too much attention to the fuel usage as it was a short run and everything seemed in order. As for the resistance it does turn and then the resistance increases significantly before easing, so yep a broken ring could be a cause. If the hand cranking was with the plugs removed - it would still be difficult to turn because of the valve springs compressing ..
About the olny culprit from a leaking injector can be the piston in question will have worn it's bore and the rings broken.. but surely if it was that bad you would have noticed very bad fuel comsumption / poor power and not wanting to rev ?
Anyhow, on the bright side I am glad it happened now and not in the middle of a blast down a motorway plus replacment engine will be delivered Monday, new injectors etc in transit.
Cheers
rev-erend said:
Well - we all know what you will be doing this coming weekend..
Good luck with the engine swap.
Is the replacement engine a serpentine ?
No early Chim although I was offered a 5 litre Griff engine which was tempting (Very), yep plan is to take the engine out Saturday, strip the change over parts, good clean and paint ready for Monday.Good luck with the engine swap.
Is the replacement engine a serpentine ?
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