1969 XKE Engine Rebuild

All good for those in the US, a bit of a problem for all the other posters on herešŸ˜«

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Dropped my engine off at a new machine shop on Friday and they will do a re-bore and all other tasks that are needed. This shop was recommended by a local Classic Jaguar shop that use it when they do rebuilds so I have confidence it will be done correctly. They say they should be done in the next 2-4 weeks.
As many have said, itā€™s got to be done right, even if it costs a bit more. The peace of mind and end product will be worth it.

Jay

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Wise decision. It will be cheaper in the long run.

Greatā€¦and me with an '83 J6 engine in the Jeepā€¦:frowning:

I installed one of the aftermarket rear oil seals to replace the rope. Seems to work really well, but I recall you need to have your crank turned to the right diameter.

If you are going this route, I would recommend you make sure you can get a new seal down the road as you cannot go back to a rope seal without replacing the crank. I think Terrys kit uses a Big Block Ford two piece seal. There is another supplier that uses a special seal that is cut in two on one side and the other side is only cut on the metal. You install and then put the spring in place. Not sure which vehicle it comes from if one at all. Rubber seals wear out or get hard with age. A Properly installed rope seal will last the life of the engine. Just sayingā€¦

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I already decided to stick to the rope seal. The machine shop asked me about it and confirmed what Dick is saying also. I know itā€™s an option but not interested in changing from the original with something that cannot be reversed.

Jay

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Picked up my engine from the machine shop this week. Have started assembling and everything now looks within tolerance. I have updated thread in the XKE forum but have a couple of questions so thought I would post here also.

With everything tightened and dry rope seal (carbon impregnated type) I am able to turn the crank with a torque of 30 ft/lb constant and 33 ft/lb initial torque.

Another thread said that less than 25 ft/lb is ideal. So plan to lubricate the rope seal and retry. Should the rope seal be lubricated with engine oil, assembly lube or other ?

Also, need to order oversize thrust washers, as my crankshaft endplay is 0.008". They come in 0.004" oversize. Is that the total oversize measurement for the pair or each bearing ?

Thanks
Jay

Jay, the manual says it is permissible to fit a standard size thrust washer to one side of the main bearing cap and an oversize washer to the other.
So if you have 0.008ā€ of play you buy just one 0.004ā€ oversize and one standard, to bring the play down to 0.004ā€. The rest is in the other thread.

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Yes that makes sense for the thrust washers.
For lubricating the rope seal I saw you mentioned engine oil or grease. I was thinking as I have used assembly lube for everything else whether that would be better as it will be some time before I start the engine.
If everyone uses engine oil I will just use that but wanted to make sure beforehand.

Jay

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Donā€™t overthink it; use assembly lube then. I understand itā€™s a thick oil so somewhere in between. Keep in mind that it is only for a short while and you were confident that the graphite in itself provides enough lubrication. Any lubricant should be okay. The manual calls for colloidal graphite but it was asbestos then, it will be something inferior now. Oil is what it will see later and assembly lube might last a day longer.

Thanks David. First engine rebuild so I am a bit nervous that I will do something wrong. On the plus side, the next one will be easy.

Jay

I get you, I did my first engine (before just valve clearances disassemblies or head gaskets) over Christmas and had many sleepless nights. Some 500 miles in Iā€™ve gained some confidence.

I wonā€™t tell you what I was nervous about but I can tell you that I didnā€™t measure too much in places I didnā€™t want to be nervous about (had the rods checked, rings and the oil pump etc.) and it all works beautifully. I used engine oil, reused bearings that still looked fine and I didnā€™t measure the turning resistance.

I did fuss about cleanliness and cleaning parts took probably 90% of the time and a lot of compressed air. And take all the pictures you can, before and after, and before closing up, put paint marker on bolts you torqued. That gave me some peace. That and knowing that some mistakes will always happen, like not having the tiny oil drilling in the rods towards the thrust side at first, or the little nut on the spark plug that fell into the piston instead of on the ground where I thought it went and had looked for an eternity. Cleanliness is helpful. Endoscope, grease and cold sweat but I did get it out.

You will be very happy when it runs for the first time and it will stay that way for many years. I canā€™t wait for the next engine and I sure do enjoy talking about the one I rescued.

All good now after oiling the rope seal. Now I have initial torque of 15 ft/lbs and turning torque of 13 ft/lbs.

Jay

See. Thatā€™s nice.

David

Received and installed the 0.004" oversize thrust bearing and used the dial gauge to confirm I now have 0.004" end play. Fitted the new pistons and the timing gear with new chains.and guides.

Today I will fit the new oil pump so thought I would check if it needs to be primed somehow ?

Nearly made the mistake of fitting the distributor drive shaft bushing backwards. Thought the small.hole in the flat of the bushing was for the hex bolt to locate. But noticed the small bolt with copper washer was too short so investigated more. Found out it was 180Ā° off and should be oriented to the back of the block and aligned with the oil gallery. The small bolt with copper washer is for blanking the hole that is needed to drill the block to make the hole the the gallery.
Anyway, caught my mistake and crisis avoided.

Mental note to self - check and re-check. And then check a few more times just to be sure.

Jay

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That bushing took me a minute to make sure I had it right as well, and prime the oil pump with a little vaseline or grease, then it will get to work better.
I hope you have the oil tubes installed already, those were really really hard to push in.

Replacing the timing chain tensioner with a new one. The old one appears to have a fitting that limits the oil flow to the tensioner and fits in the base of the tensioner and mates to the hole on the block with the conical filter.
The new one does not have this so I am assuming it should be removed from the old and fitted to the new ?

I tried some light pressure with some grips but did not move.

Jay

Jay does the nose of the slipper pad roll over the leading edge of the steel or does it finish flush, can you post a side view?

Here is a side view.

Also, what is the Red plastic for? I thought it was something that was pulled to release the spring but looks like I have to remove the foot and rotate the base to release the spring before fitting in place.