Wow, Terry thank you so very much for all the typing and time you took to
respond to me much appreciated. As things turn out I happened to find a
second block locally, so waiting for the machine shop to give me the news!
Using top hats on my existing block is a viable option for “plan B” or is it
“C” ?
Pat
My top hat liners were installed with glue, I think, then block was surfaced. The liners visibly “shrank” or recessed into the block several thou after several months waiting on other things to fully assemble the motor not being assembled. I think the glue caused the liners to “hydraulic” lock before bottoming, then as the glue dried, pulled them down. I resurfaced and ran the motor. I pulled it down again due to distributor drive gear failure and found 2 liners had further recessed. I resurfaced the block again. The famous shop that put the liners in did not want to talk about how this happened
Greetings Douglass,
The shop either cut the step too deep, or did not fully press them home.
Would have thought they would do a test fit, then heat the block and cool the liners to assure they seat more easily.
Once I found out they needed a sealant, I would have questioned, WHY?!?
No one else reports this recession. Probably because they never look. Different ways to install liners, I suspect. Some use glue, some not. If the motor is assembled quickly, nothing to see unless head gasket leaks
Doug
I’ve just found the cracks between cylinders in my 3.8. I’m new to Jaguars but not to motor building or machine work. I would think removing the liners and doing a weld repair along with new liners would be the best repair. I’m in a small town in Oklahoma, USA so there isn’t any Jaguar specialist within hundreds of miles to me that I know of. I really wanted to keep the original engine in the car if possible and not replace it.
You can’t weld the cracks, as this is cast Iron,
Solution is to use top hat liners.
There are more forum tips about this.
There’s an excellent video series on YouTube about a 4.2 block with this same issue across all 6 cylinders. Worth a view of this and the follow on videos about how they dealt with it.
Unless it is an oddball grade of cast iron, it can be welded. I’m lucky that I have an expert welder friend that can do it. I need to find out what grade of aluminum the head is made of and what grade of steel the crank is made of. So far EN16 steel is what some sources say the crank is made of but, I need to be sure for my welder friend. Anyone Know? I’ve been searching the web all afternoon.