The Triumph Dolomite Club - EzBoard Archive

Thanks Alun<br>
<br>
That's a good idea.<br>
<br>
But I'm not sure I can afford to spend the £900 plus VAT on the engine alone.<br>
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I think the wife is expecting a holiday at some point.<br>
<br>
Chris

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Ritchie<br>
<br>
<!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr> Wouldn't you prefer to do the engine change yourself, but with an experienced pair of hands next to you?<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br>
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I would love to get involved in the engine change, but I would really need some help.<br>
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Castleford is very close to me, so that would be handy.<br>
<br>
Chris

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I would definately not be able to do it before mid-november. We would need to hire an engine crane (i know a place near Colton not expensive), but if we plan on a saturday, we would have sunday as a "slip" day if there were any problems.<br>
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I've done a Sprint engine before, can't be that much different to do either an 1850 or a TR7 engine into an 1850.<br>
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The cost of my labour? We'll discuss it but I am very reasonable. <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :rollin --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/roll.gif ALT=":rollin"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <br>
<br>
I am visiting my Dad Saturday, I'll ask him face to face, much better than talking on the phone about it.

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Thanks Ritchie<br>
<br>
Your proposal sounds pretty good, although with the rate of water I'm loosing I may well need to find a solution to the problem before the middle of November. <br>
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I really hope that the leak can be fixed so that an engine replacement is not requred. That would appear to be cheapest fix.<br>
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Can someone confirm that the head bolts that are reccomended I try and tighten are the ones that run in line with the spark plugs. There are 5 of them right? Do I need to use a torque wrench or can I just try and snug them down a bit?<br>
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Many Thanks<br>
<br>
Chris

<p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p206.ezboard.com/bthetriumphdolo ... ckinson</A> at: 7/9/06 8:35 pm<br></i>

Torque them up to 55 ft/lb then move on to the bolts you can see beside the spark plugs, there 55ft/lb to.<br>
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You start on the middle stud and work out, imagine thats the head below with the spark plugs and the exhaust manifold labled. Do them in that order.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
5.............3............1...........2............4<br>
10 *plug* 8 *plug* 6 *plug* 7 *plug* 9<br>
*Exahust manifold*<br>
<br>
<br>
You do the studs first as 'cos there at an angle they effectivly do 2/3rds of the work of holding the head on.

<p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p206.ezboard.com/bthetriumphdolo ... 2F45T4U</A>  <IMG HEIGHT=10 WIDTH=10 SRC="http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5 ... bNW7hu4ZtQ" BORDER=0> at: 7/9/06 11:34 pm<br></i>

Thanks Adam<br>
<br>
I'll try that on Saturday. Looks like I'll need to buy a torque wrench. I like an excuse to buy tools.<br>
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If I do need to replace the engine or the head gasket, is there anyone who could lend a hand before Mid November (Thanks Dollysteve)? Id rather pay a TDC member than a garage to do the work for me.<br>
<br>
Chris

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I'd love to but your a bit (lot) out the way for me (poor student)

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do you need to pay 900 quid for an engine...<br>
You could buy a whole other car for less than that!<br>
In fact I'll soon have a nice blue R reg 1850 with o/d and a nice 50k mile gold seal engine for about 850...but thats another story and when Gary finishes some body jobs...I'd even take yours in part ex! Ready in about 3 weeks.<br>
<br>
You need a torque wrench. It must be a good one. I have a Norbar which is brilliant. You will also need a half inch drive socket and suitable extension.<br>
And the loss is all about the bubbles.....No bubbles and there is no big problem. The big problems begin with stud removal. If they come out your engine can easilly have a new gasket fitted. Lets not abandon this one, which ISTR a few days ago would do 35 mpg and go quite well...before we have to.<br>
Shame you're in Leeds...I'm in west london which is a bit far. David in Loughborough knows his stuff but there must be a more local chap who could help.<br>
<br>
<br>
Jonners

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Can't help agreeing with Jonners here. I am happy to help but it seems like a lot of aggro for you to have to come all the way down to Loughborough. Doing it at the restoration show sounds like a great idea though. Only a few weeks away too.<br>
<br>
David

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Can you change an engine or repace a head gasket at the show?!

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This has been done at the show before and won the club a prize. Lots of hands and tools will make light work of it.<br>
<br>
David

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if the head studs come undone...<br>
If they dont its time to change the engine.<br>
Jonners

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Hello All <br>
<br>
I took my Dolomite to my garage to see if the combination of all you advice and thier first-hand observations of my mechanic could shed any further light on my problems.<br>
<br>
The first thing he noticed was that I have been overfilling the overlow bottle. I was under the impression that with such a high rate of water loss, keeping some extra water in the oveflow might be a good idea. I figured that any extra would just blow out the overflow spout onto the road anyway. No big deal. Unfortunatly this extra water was not being drawn back into the water system. (not sure why. possible reoccuring airlock?)<br>
<br>
Anyway<br>
<br>
My mechanic tells me that if there is no where for the water to expand it over preausurises and you get a siphoning effect as it draws lots of water out of the system. So by adding extra water to the overflow I was actually ending up with less water in the system as a whole. Does this seem possible to any of you, or is it just a bizarre and unhelpful diagnosis.<br>
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It gets even more wierd...<br>
<br>
Next, he wheels out a machine to sniff out any exhaust fumes in the cooling system. A hose was held over the water in the expansion bottle. Apparently this gadget can determine if the head gasket is blown. It showed 006 as a max reading. Apparently this is a low reading indicating the head gasket is okay.<br>
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Obviously I was very pleased with this conclusion, and decided not to bother buying a torque wrench on the way home, to tighten the head bolts as was suggested as a possible fix to my water loss..<br>
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Then he checked the radiator cap. He said that he didn't think it was sealing properly. But with all the preasure I have had in my system, I never saw any water leaking from the cap, only lots of water trying to get out when I took the cap off. Regardless, he put a new cap on the car. For free I might add. In fact none of this cost me anything.<br>
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So I drove away feeling very stupid that I have considered that not only was my head gasket blown, but that the engine would likely need to be replaced, presuimg that I could not be lucky enough to have an easily removable head. Jumping to conclusions is pretty typical for me. I felt really guilty about this long and pointless thread, and dragging all of you into this.<br>
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When I got home (15 miles), I noticed that the water level in the overflow had not changed, but that the see through bottle was a bit cloudier than I remember. When I opened it a big puff of what I can only describe as smelling like exhaust fumes came out the overflow.<br>
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What's that all about? I have never seen this before. Does this mean that that engine sniffing gadget was wrong and that my head gasket is blow? Possibly my previous radiator cap was not retaining the fumes? <br>
<br>
If you have made it through this vary long email, do you have any suggestions?<br>
<br>
Thanks<br>
<br>
Chris<br>
<br>
PS. I saw a TDC member's very nice yellow Sprint at my garage as well. I don't think Keith reads this forum, and he has not been able to bring the Sprint to the Horsefoth Club meet. So its the first I have seen of it. It's the shinniest and nicest Dolomite I have ever seen, and it makes my blue lump look a bit crusty in comparison. Anyway, well done Kieth!

<p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p206.ezboard.com/bthetriumphdolo ... ckinson</A> at: 9/9/06 10:56 am<br></i>

and you will see all that the mechanic has diagnosed is hidden in there.<br>
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No worries though Chris, this is how we all learn from each other. I suspect that it smells of exhaust according to your nose only...and is in fact steam. The cloudiness prooves that the water is circulating properly. You new cap is doing the job.<br>
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Keep an eye on it and have the bottle about a third full so it covers the inlet hose when cold and all will be well..<br>
<br>
Jonners

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Thanks Jonners<br>
<br>
I'm finding that the water level in my expansion bottle has gone from one third at cold to full at cold. The water is not being drawn back into the system<br>
<br>
I set off on a 2 hour drive with the water in the thermostat full and the water in the overflow at the cold 1/3 line. <br>
<br>
When I got home the expansion tank was full of hot water. Next morning its still full and squeezing the hoses only displaces a small amount of water. I can only assume that my cooling system is now down on water by the amount that it pushed into my overflow and what ever else got blown onto the road. <br>
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Now what should I do. Do I need to drain the water out of the bottom of expansion bottle and to the water up on the thermostat inlet every couple of days.<br>
<br>
What should i do<br>
<br>
Chris<br>


<p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p206.ezboard.com/bthetriumphdolo ... ckinson</A> at: 12/9/06 7:29 am<br></i>