Backyard Butcher's Golden Rule - tighten until it strips, then back-off half a turn
(sorry, couldn't resist)

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1967 Cooper S - new front bearings to do.
1965 Cooper S shell - Slow progress. No time or money!
1966 Deluxe- next rustoration!
Mk 2 & XJ6 Jags. Less said the better.

Don't need full torque on dry run. Even on "dry run" you use grease. Always use grease, on the thread and on under the head. ARP says not to use loctite but to use grease.

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Lillee - 1969 Morris Mini K

ARP bolts come with a sachet of moly grease, but Castrol LMM is much the same stuff.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

Hi again, it's been a very busy week and we have not had a chance to continue the timing chain job until today. We are now ready to start the reassembly and while cleaning the surface of the block in preparation for reattaching the plate I noticed some shims on the crankshaft:



Is 4 too many? I didn't try to remove them past the keyway. Does the keyway come off and, if so, should I remove and/or re-shim in preparation for the new Duplex timing chain?

2nd question:
My manual says "Rotate the crankshaft until the two timing
marks are aligned." & "Position the crankshaft key at TDC and the
camshaft key at 2 o’clock" like so:



I did exactly as above and it looks the same as in the pic. So, am I good to go for reassembly? Is that all that is needed to ensure proper gear alignment?

Thanks much for the help so far, we would never have been able to do this with out the good peoples of ausmini.com!

Marty & Manda

The shims there are to align the 2 sprockets.
Put a steel rule or straightedge on front of both.
Add or remove shims as needed, usually 1 or 2 are sufficient.

re the timing it's not that simple if you want it done right. But you need to know the cam specs, at what degrees ATDC the inlet lobe reaches full lift.
Usually it's somewhere between 104* and 110* ATDC - it varies depending on the cam and who ground it..
Then you can either use offset keys to adjust the standard sprockets, or invest in a vernier sprocket set.

Offset keys are fine, they are still used in many race engines.

I'll find a link to KC's timing procedure...
<edit> here 'tis....
http://www.minimania.com/web/SCatagory/ ... ticleV.cfm

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

Okay - to answer the questions you asked.

1. The keyways are a just pressed into a groove machined into the crank (and cam) shaft. Tap the lightly with a small hammer and they will move and then you just lever then out with pliars and screw drivers. They are there to locate and stop the two pulleys from spinning in the shafts. Putting them back in is just a matter of putting them into the grooves and lightly tapping them home. The pulleys will further drive them into the grooves s thay are slide on. Brute force is not on the agenda here. Just light taps.

2. Timing - yes the diagram is right - line up the dots - it may need several goes before its exactly right - use a steel ruler between the centres of the crank and camshaft nuts that passes through the two dots to be sure. Timing modifed camshafts neds a slightly different technique. Once you have it right then nip it all up.

Dont forget the oil slinger and fitted so that the oil is slung back towards the engine. The timing cover oil seal is fitted so that the lip of the seal is facing the engine and that it would expand tightening on the shaft should pressure be exerted on it. That is; with the lip (labia) and the spring facing the engine.

You have done good.

Thanks much for the advice. I tried to get the keyway out of the crankshaft with no success. After putting on the new gears we found that the shims should stay, so getting the keyway out was not necessary.

I had a huge problem happen though. While tightening the timing chain cover, one of the 1/2 inch bolts broke off into the block. Heres a pic showing which one:



Is this a debilitating condition or can it be driven until the broken bolt can be fixed?

Thanks much,

Marty & Manda

Marty

You will find that the bolt will have no "locked in effect" - if you can grab it with needle nosed pliars or similar, it will turn easily. Failing that there is "ezy-outs" supercheap etc.

Try to remove it and replace it but it plays big part in the structeral integritary .

You can get away with out but the original design engineer felt it served a purpose.

How tight were you doing those suckers up? A bit more than 14 ft/lb I guess!

You may also be able to tap it gently anti clockwise with a pin punch if the pliers just can't quite get a decent purchase on the remaining bolt.

If you go get an ezy out, avoid the supercheap type, they will only cause sadness. They are so brittle they snap.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

Yeah I disaster with an ezy-out. Try whatever you can before doing that. I had the ezy-out seize in one my thermostat housing bolts. Needless to say the head had to come off and be drilled out on a bench, as drill bit I owned was harder than the ezy-out.

On the bright side, I got to repalce the cheapo head gasket with a Metro Turbo one, and I got to see what kind of pistons the rebuilders used (it asn't stated on the recipe very well).

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1964 Morris 850, 1330 Supercharged - 81.8hp atws.
1975 Leyland Mini S 1100S powered - Nice and reliable.
1977 Leyland Mini LS - Project LS-T

Hi again all!

Well, disaster averted, with the biggest thanks ever to Paul at Mini Tech Motors. He went above and beyond the call of duty by actually coming to our house (twice, infact) to straighten our mess out!

He removed the offending bolts (yes, there were two that were stuck, one broken and one stripped) and even brought us replacement bits, gaskets and bolts!

So, now we're back where we started a week ago. We will get it right this time, I can tell!

Thanks again for all the advice received.

Marty & Manda

For a sense of conclusion, I just wanted to post that the job is now complete as of yesterday afternoon!

There was much sweat (in the 40C heat), blood, and near-tears throughout the entire project. We were very careful not to strip any bolts this time, however one of the timing chain cover bolts was already stripped, so we had to buy a different bolt & nut to replace it. It worked like a charm.

I'd like to say everything went on (and off) without a hitch, but that would be too simple. The radiator didn't have any rubber grommits on the bottom shroud when we took it off, and putting some on during reassembly caused some issues with the fan hitting the shroud. A few taps and bends in the correct places has (almost) solved the problem, and she runs quietly now.

The timing chain doesn't rattle anymore, which is a big relief. The mini even seems to run smoother than it did before.

The little spanner that fell inside the clutch-housing came out, but not without more blood and sweat. The bolts are *almost* impossible to get to, except by those with small hands. When it finally came out, there was much joy and celebration.

We took the mini for a little spin down Anzac hwy last night, and I'm looking forward to giving her a clean-up inside and out, she's very dirty at the moment!

Very special thanks to Paul at Mini Tech Motors, and to all the help and advice from everyone here at AusMini!!



Marty & Manda

Hooray!

At least you can tackle almost anything now on the mini. This was one of the trickier jobs to do with the motor still in the car.

congratulations.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

Well done!

I wouldn't be suprised if it runs better - look at the play in the timing chain in the "before" pic

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Too many cars, and too little time.

Yeah the chain is pretty dam slack, well was.

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1964 Morris 850, 1330 Supercharged - 81.8hp atws.
1975 Leyland Mini S 1100S powered - Nice and reliable.
1977 Leyland Mini LS - Project LS-T