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Michael Jansberg
Yet to post message
Username: mikemjp

Post Number: 1
Registered: 05-2021
Posted on Saturday, 05 June, 2021 - 21:06:   Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IP

Of course, first post and I chose the wrong forum, should've been about Shadows, well since the engine is the same I guess it doesn't matter too much.

Michael - no need to apologise, easy problem for me to fix. Have transferred this thread to the Silver Shadow Topic.

BTW - Excellent job and thank you for taking the time to post this thread for the benefit of our members. David


Me and the misses 75 Shadow project probably have all the faults that 20 years of storage and a couple of restoring attempts along the way by former owners can cause.
On the positive side, the low mileage engine had hardly any wear on bearings, pistons etc.

Stupidest thing I found was somebody along the way had refitted the gear selector arm, without fitting the oil seal!
No wonder that the guy we bought it from couldn't make it move.
At least a TH400 renovation kit from Summit was cheap and the box as other US boxes is easy to work on.

I pulled the engine mainly because of a leaking tell tale hole behind the accumulators.

Heating the block after soaking it with penetrating oil and using Kelly's super puller, I got the liners out without the bottom O rings causing trouble, but with more force needed than expected.


Lots of scale as expected, but sadly there were cracks on both sides of cyl. 6 (pic is of another cyl.)


I hand milled U shaped grooves down as close to the bottom O ring groove as I dared.
In retrospect I would have milled a bit deeper, since the O ring grooves were easier to restore than expected.




TIG welded it with a 5% magnesium alloyed wire starting at 130 amps AC, block preheated with the kerosene burner to about 100-120 deg Cels.
The clean milled metal in the groove welded nice and correctly together with the TIG wire.

The RR block is looking like a high silicon alloy, so a similar TIG wire should also work fine, but the 5%Mg is stronger and I expect it to able to stop the rest of the crack to develop further, also used some penetrating Loctite on the remaining cracks.



Groove etc. restored.


I set all the O rings in gasket silicone since the grooves even after thorough cleaning still had signs of corrosion.



Then ordinary bearing grease on the liners and over the O rings.





At last, the liners are back in again.



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Alan Dibley
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Username: alsdibley

Post Number: 292
Registered: 10-2009
Posted on Saturday, 05 June, 2021 - 23:11:   Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IP

Michael, you are a hero.

Alan D.
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Geoff Wootton
Grand Master
Username: dounraey

Post Number: 2258
Registered: 05-2012
Posted on Sunday, 06 June, 2021 - 05:06:   Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IP

Superb work.

How did you pull the engine - through the hood aperture with the radiator removed or did you lift the car body and remove the engine, transmission and subframe as a unit from below, as per the workshop manual.
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David Gore
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Username: david_gore

Post Number: 3942
Registered: 04-2003
Posted on Sunday, 06 June, 2021 - 09:27:   Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IP

Michael,

I also used the Summit T400 overhaul kit when I overhauled the transmission on DRH14434 - did it include the wave plate for the 1st gear clutch pack? This was a RR modification to give a smooth take up from rest.

I had to purchase this from an after-market transmission parts supplier as it was not included in the Summit kit I purchased in the late 1990's.
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Kelly Opfar
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Username: kelly_opfar

Post Number: 261
Registered: 07-2004
Posted on Sunday, 06 June, 2021 - 15:58:   Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IP

Michael, that is very good information and very resourceful. Let us know if this solves the weepy weep hole problems.

BritishToolWorks.com
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Michael Jansberg
New User
Username: mikemjp

Post Number: 2
Registered: 05-2021
Posted on Sunday, 06 June, 2021 - 16:55:   Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IP

Alan. Hero, it certainly sounds a lot better than the more correct: ignorant first time RR buyer

Geoff. We removed the transmission first and then lifted the engine out as recommended on page E5 in the manual, but it certainly is a tight fit and doing it by lifting the car of the subframe sounds like a good idea.

David. No it didn't contain the wave plate, when I did the transmission, I wasn't even aware of its existance.
Much worse, because of the lacking fluid, the forward clutch was so burned, I had to cut it in a lathe and put an extra metal plate in.

A few more pics.
The crank plug O rings were completely flattened, could've caused some oil leakage.


Engine lifted out.
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Jeff Young
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Username: jeyjey

Post Number: 438
Registered: 10-2010
Posted on Sunday, 06 June, 2021 - 20:50:   Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IP

Bravo!
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Mark Aldridge
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Username: mark_aldridge

Post Number: 733
Registered: 10-2008
Posted on Sunday, 06 June, 2021 - 22:03:   Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IP

Excellent work, I admire your courage. Removing the engine complete with exhaust manifolds is a bonus. They would be easier to remove with the engine out, than in the car.
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Omar M. Shams
Grand Master
Username: omar

Post Number: 2132
Registered: 04-2009
Posted on Monday, 07 June, 2021 - 01:48:   Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IP

Well done Michael.
Great stuff and a useful piece of history for us to refer to in the future.
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Geoff Wootton
Grand Master
Username: dounraey

Post Number: 2259
Registered: 05-2012
Posted on Monday, 07 June, 2021 - 04:28:   Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IP

Thanks for sharing this Michael.

Did you have any difficulty removing the cylinder heads? I have read the studs can corrode, practically "welding" the heads in place.
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Graham Phillips
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Username: playtime

Post Number: 407
Registered: 03-2019
Posted on Monday, 07 June, 2021 - 11:25:   Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IP

G'day everyone,.....


Well thats one way to get to plugs B3-B4 when you need to change them,... ;)

Nice work though.


Graham.
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Michael Jansberg
New User
Username: mikemjp

Post Number: 3
Registered: 05-2021
Posted on Monday, 07 June, 2021 - 14:07:   Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IP

Geoff. Only very little corrosion on two studs like the picture shows, so removing the heads were fairly easy, but if these studs are heavily corroded I can imagine that the heads will seem allmost like welded on.
On this engine most of the stud holes in the head were filled with old tar black motoroil that had seeped past the nuts.




The tell tale hole leak.

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Geoff Wootton
Grand Master
Username: dounraey

Post Number: 2260
Registered: 05-2012
Posted on Monday, 07 June, 2021 - 14:16:   Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IP

The studs look in very good condition. Thanks for all the info - I'm hoping I never need to remove the engine from my car but this information is really useful, just in case I have to at some time.
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Jeff Young
Frequent User
Username: jeyjey

Post Number: 439
Registered: 10-2010
Posted on Monday, 07 June, 2021 - 19:48:   Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IP

He he... almost makes you want to fill the stud holes with old engine oil on purpose. ;)
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Michael Jansberg
New User
Username: mikemjp

Post Number: 4
Registered: 05-2021
Posted on Monday, 07 June, 2021 - 20:22:   Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IP

I think coating the studs and inside the holes in the head with grease would be a good idea, oil could easily run in between gasket and surfaces before the nuts are torqued down.

Began cleaning the heads yesterday, found out why the sparkplugs weren't properly seated on most cylinders, somebody must have run it with too short plugs for long enough time to cause so much carbon build up on bottom threads, that a tap was needed to clean the threads.
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ross kowalski
Prolific User
Username: cdfpw

Post Number: 1536
Registered: 11-2015
Posted on Monday, 14 June, 2021 - 12:32:   Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IP

Michael,

Excellent work. Can't wait to see how this develops!
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richard george yeaman
Prolific User
Username: richyrich

Post Number: 1163
Registered: 04-2012
Posted on Wednesday, 16 June, 2021 - 20:39:   Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IP

Michael,
I cant imagine myself having the courage to take on such a Mammoth task, I will watch with interest.
Richard.
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Jeff Martin
Frequent User
Username: jeff_r_1

Post Number: 240
Registered: 07-2018
Posted on Wednesday, 16 June, 2021 - 21:33:   Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IP

What a way to manufacture an engine !

Typical Rolls Royce true to form, making it needlessly complicated and difficult to work on and repair.
If the block was solid cast iron, none of this would be a concern.

There is no real advantage of making an engine this way.
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David Gore
Moderator
Username: david_gore

Post Number: 3944
Registered: 04-2003
Posted on Thursday, 17 June, 2021 - 09:25:   Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IP

Jeff,

Don't forget the R-R/B V8 engine was designed in the 1950's using technology and design features inherited from the WW2 Merlin V12 engine.

The long production life for this engine is a testimony to its suitability and subsequent modification to meet the needs of later vehicles.

The use of an aluminium block was essential for aircraft engines to keep dead weight to a minimum and subsequent experience in automotive applications revealed light-weight engines were very effective from a handling and performance perspective.

The ratio of aluminium to cast iron engine blocks today is a testament to Rolls-Royce's foresight in preparing for the future IMHO.

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