A friend over in the UK is rebuilding an engine and has got to the stage of putting the gearbox and block back together. He put the engine (minus the head, of course) on the floor and turned it upside down, put on the gaskets and lowered the gearbox on to it. I've thrown a spanner into the works though, by asking him how he kept the little oil O ring in place. You know that little bugger that sits in the recess in the gearbox face. He is worried now and wants to know if anybody knows a method of checking that it's still in place - without taking the gearbox off again.

So, any thoughts or suggestions please.

_________________
Rod
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v607/Rodney/

I think i kept mine in place with a dob of vasoline.

He will know if its not there when he starts it up and has no oil pressure...

_________________

http://www.youtube.com/user/Hanras

All I can think of is loosen the bolts on that side a little , block all the oil passages in the top of the block etc , sprinkle talcum powder along the sump/block join and give a quick blast of low pressure compressed air in the oil pressure switch hole . If it puffs the powder between the block and sump then he forgot it , if it doesn't puff then he still might have forgotten it but it's the best I could come up with , sorry .

_________________

We have all done something similar - I have dropped the dizzy drive down into the box and had to start again. I suggest that he try Ian's (sports850) method and if he is not happy with that then turn the gearbox up the right way. Slacken off all those nuts and bolts - lift the engine a few mm and have a look.

Then give the gaskets a good coating of aviation gasket goo and bolt it all up again. You will find that without heat etc, that the gasket goo wont have gone off and the gaskets will still be supple.

Been there - done that

By the way - the way he did it - block on head surface face upside down is the best way to do it.

My friend in the UK has asked me to thank you for the replies, so "Thankyou for the help".

What he finished up doing was to take out all of the little bolts, then 'wangle' the gearbox and block apart by a milimetre or so, just enough to check that the O ring was where it should be. Sure enuf. it was right where it should be.

Hooroo

_________________
Rod
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v607/Rodney/