Hey everyone,
it has been awhile (up until today I was driving the crap out of my 66).
good news is:
My oil pressure gauge is working today


bad news is:
dumps down to almost zero at idle........This weekend I noticed it running a little odd at idle...tiny little knocking when coming off the throttle.

Drained the oil today to find any pieces of anything...nothing.
Took it to the cat who does all the motor machining around here. (1 of a few).Been around for ever....
He hears it clearly & recommends a local mechanic....

we all listen to it & realize it is definitely something that has to be looked at.(read: dumping the pan.....all the way to probably yanking the motor.)

gosh darn it!!!!! less than 8000 on this rebuild & being babied all the time!
I would like to choke the guy who did it!
So many things it COULD be...now we have to figure it out.

aughghghgh.....phew, I just had to vent.
I am going to end up sinking more cash into this but I dont care.

I love driving my truck.............
Oh yeah....AND I turn 41 this Friday!!!!

I hope everyone is doing well with all their projects.

 

Hey everyone, send Triumph money for his b'day. Sounds like he's gonna need a few buck pretty soon.

Sorry about your trouble.

If you need a job done right you gotta ..... Oh never mind.

 

Better to tear into it now than after wasting the crank, time to take a lookie into the bottom end bearings and pump.

Norton, BMW and Matchless lover.

.....=o&o>.....

 

Sorry to hear that! I just redid the entire drivetrain in my '66' I put in a 460/C-6 combo, and I haven't driven it enough yet to be entirely sure it is perfectly good. Your engine going up like that is a real setback, not fun at all. I hope it works out OK for you!

On a similar line for me, now I have vibration issues I need to track down and I hope it is wheels and nothing else. I can't afford a major problem at this point either!

By the way, as a request, would you please use only family friendly language? My wife and daughter like to look over my shoulder as I read, and I am sure there are others whose family members enjoy the trucks as a family thing.
I have stuck with FTE for a number of years now, in large part because the emphasis is on a clean family orientation. There are many of us like that here at FTE, not just me. I have left off visiting another site where I have many friends for this very reason, and neither I - nor others - want to have to abandon FTE as well.

Thanks ever so much for honoring this part of FTE's great tradition. I do sincerely appreciate it.

Oh yes - Happy Birthday! Sounds like you are as old as your truck. I just turned 50 myself. I remember seeing a '66 truck new when I was 10, and thinking how pretty it was. Passing fancy at the time, but now it is a 25 year old hobby.

 

Try to isolate and clearly identify the source of the noise! A loose piston will slap forever and not cause any problems. Valves can and do make a lot of noise and that will not cause any additional damage. Other sources are fuel pump, piston pin, anything driven by the crankshaft including clutch and clutch release bearing. I had a knock in the exhaust system once that I thought was the engine. I bought a Dodge with a badly knocking engine that turned out to be loose torque converter bolts. Made a good buy on that one! Determine exactly what the source of the knock is, then make your decision. Happy Birthday!

 

Yeah I am a former sailor & a general potty mouth...so sorry about that.



Torque converter bolts are one of the things we are going to investigate for sure as that had crossed my mind as soon as the noise started.
It seriously sounds like a crank bearing....most likely due to the oil pump.
We are also going to check the flow on the radiator to ensure this wasnt a cooling issue.

So after it goes back in it doesnt happen again.
I located a small exhaust leak on my crappy headers but that isnt the sound that troubled me.

The truck will sit until next Friday when I can get it in the shop for detailed diagnostics & a teardown.

Look at my gallery & you will see why I so heartbroken.....but determined to continue forward.

This has been a a great truck & I consider it to be quite finished. It has made some long distance trips & is great for town.

I am old tomorrow!!!!!!! (plus I have other projects pending that are motorcycle & scooter related that will keep me busy & my mind off this.)
Thanks for the kind words guys.

 

You have a beautiful truck. I hope mine looks that nice one day!

 

All it takes is time and money, I can never get the two together should I do the War Department seems to step in with projects.

.....=o&o>.....

 

Back again,
We are dropping the pan in between my other projects. (Triumph Thruxton suspension upgrades, Lambretta reviving, Vespa maintenance.


I am starting to suspect the Oil pump failed. We will see....


I am also considering the addition of an O.D to go with my C6 & Dana 60 3.55 geared rearend. While everything is in this state.

 

Got the motor out & found the culprit. (s)....

With the engine hot at idle & with a mechanical oil gauge we had 50 lbs @ idle! hmmmmm so my oil gauge was bad & that is not the issue........


Bad news (for me)..
Pulled the pan & started to see the problems, the flex plate bolts were 2 threads too long....hmmm Hitting the back cap.

Pulled the crank and all the bearings were worn extremely bad & oddly.
Measured the nose of the crank & it had a .001 in. taper!......A connecting rod was in backwards. The connecting rod big end bearings were slightly out of round & not machined properly.......a few more odd things, like the valve guides were not installed properly, etc.

All of this is chocked up to bad machining & poor assembly.


The Good News..(for me)....

All of the parts they used are top notch & can be saved. New rings will be installed upon assembly. Crank will be machined correctly, new valve guides...Pistons are excellent,Cam is excellent...Block is excellent...Oil pump is excellent...Heads are excellent.Come to find out that the last guy who rebuilt (DESTROYED IT!) gave me a very rare factory Aluminum manifold that everyone was drooling over.

Will balance the motor as well for a smooth running package.


Will also work on installing an AOD or Overdrive (most likely O.D.) to make this even more road friendly. (I have a C6 in it right now.)

Lessons learned,
Either have the best do your stuff or do it yourself!
I am excited to get it back on the road & am not too upset about the whole thing as the truck has never stranded me EVEN in the state the motor was in.

I did well over 7000 miles in it & will do many more.

What a indestructable lump the FE's are.

 

Back on the road.....Much smoother now & running great.

will put about 200 miles on it then drop the Dominator Jr. AOD tranny in.....
Note to everyone:
When doing your motors....details are the key to a long lasting motor.....
I might punch the last guy who did my FE when I see him.


The beast is happy again......

 

Will it do the ton?

 

I think you should send him a bill, including your labor!

 

Glad your back up and running.

 

hehehe....I am sure it will....



I am going to chalk this up to experience & be extremely careful in the future.
I have received so much excellent service from my mechanics in the past.
That I will consider this my one bad experience.