Griff 500 Engine rebuild
Discussion
Had a knocking noise when cold so sent the car to Harrogate Horseless who took the engine apart and found out that the camshaft and lifters are finished and has left some minor scratches in 2 of the holes in the block for the lifters ! 
The car had an engine rebuild at 18k miles at TVR Power (don't know if they changed the camshaft though....think it was a cracked cylinder head...) and has done 18k more since then so cam could have done 36k. Just seems to me to be a bit short when all services have been done and oil changed (Mobil 1 4T 10/40) in between services sometimes as well....
Had a Mark Adams ECU upgrade together with an ACT carbon fibre trumpet base done in March, can this be the reason the engine gives up ?
Anybody had any trouble like this with the Rover V8 ?
Will I need to run the engine in again after changing camshaft and lifters and is it a feasible solution to remove the scratches in the holes for the lifters with some 250 sanding paper ?
Looking at £1700 in repairs here (without a new block !), can it be right after 36k miles ?
>>> Edited by kjefram on Monday 26th May 19:39
>>> Edited by kjefram on Monday 26th May 22:47
The car had an engine rebuild at 18k miles at TVR Power (don't know if they changed the camshaft though....think it was a cracked cylinder head...) and has done 18k more since then so cam could have done 36k. Just seems to me to be a bit short when all services have been done and oil changed (Mobil 1 4T 10/40) in between services sometimes as well....
Had a Mark Adams ECU upgrade together with an ACT carbon fibre trumpet base done in March, can this be the reason the engine gives up ?
Anybody had any trouble like this with the Rover V8 ?
Will I need to run the engine in again after changing camshaft and lifters and is it a feasible solution to remove the scratches in the holes for the lifters with some 250 sanding paper ?
Looking at £1700 in repairs here (without a new block !), can it be right after 36k miles ?
>>> Edited by kjefram on Monday 26th May 19:39
>>> Edited by kjefram on Monday 26th May 22:47
I don't think the engine mods will have made any difference. 36K is well into the cam wear mileage. Doesn't seem too rare for them to wear out well before that although there are also plenty of cars that seem to last much longer. I suspect fitting with the right preload, running the cam in properly and using the car regularly all contribute to a long cam life. I wouldn't try to sandpaper the cam follower guides if I were you, I suspect you need a polished surface in there!
Changed my camshaft a couple of months back - it was totally f
kered at 48k - I was running a V6 Griff!
I was told that anything from 24k to 60k was not unheard of, and of course some will last much longer. I was advised that I didn't need to run the engine in, just use mineral oil and change back to Magnatec after a thousand miles or so.
Since the change I've noticed fuel economy rocket. I used to scrape 200 miles to a tank on a motorway run, and this weekend got well over 330. I wasn't hanging about either...
£1700? Is that just the camshaft/lifters/sundries, or is there other work being carried out? I paid around £800 all in for mine, carried out by CastleSport (who are excellent) - this seems to be around the going rate.
>> Edited by julianhj on Monday 26th May 19:15
kered at 48k - I was running a V6 Griff! I was told that anything from 24k to 60k was not unheard of, and of course some will last much longer. I was advised that I didn't need to run the engine in, just use mineral oil and change back to Magnatec after a thousand miles or so.
Since the change I've noticed fuel economy rocket. I used to scrape 200 miles to a tank on a motorway run, and this weekend got well over 330. I wasn't hanging about either...
£1700? Is that just the camshaft/lifters/sundries, or is there other work being carried out? I paid around £800 all in for mine, carried out by CastleSport (who are excellent) - this seems to be around the going rate.
>> Edited by julianhj on Monday 26th May 19:15
GreenV8S said: I wouldn't try to sandpaper the cam follower guides if I were you, I suspect you need a polished surface in there!
This was the suggestion of the main dealer workshop, suppose they meant polishing the guides afterwards too...., what I'm worried about is if this will actually work or cause premature wear to the lifters if the block is not renewed ?
julianhj said: Changed my camshaft a couple of months back - it was totally f
I was told that anything from 24k to 60k was not unheard of, and of course some will last much longer. I was advised that I didn't need to run the engine in, just use mineral oil and change back to Magnatec after a thousand miles or so.
£1700? Is that just the camshaft/lifters/sundries, or is there other work being carried out? I paid around £800 all in for mine, carried out by CastleSport (who are excellent) - this seems to be around the going rate.
>> Edited by julianhj on Monday 26th May 19:15
V6 Griff ? Is that the first Griff TVR made ?
So it might NOT be a good idea to go on a track day at Croft on 7.June, I guess !
Basically the workshop have spend 8 hrs lifting the engine out and taking it apart and expect to spend another 10 hrs on putting it back together at £44 an hour + VAT. On top of this is the cam, lifters and sundries at app. £500 +VAT.It all adds up I guess.....
>> Edited by kjefram on Monday 26th May 20:04
>> Edited by kjefram on Monday 26th May 20:05
Kjefram, push rods should be straight so you can check them by rolling on a piece of glass. They should be the same length also and not damaged on the ends.
As for the lifter bores a small scratch or 2 shouldn't be a problem. I would smooth the bore with 800 or higher grit and radius the top if it's been nicked. The idea is to make sure the lifter can rotate freely.
The mods wouldn't have caused this problem, dirt could have though.
As for the lifter bores a small scratch or 2 shouldn't be a problem. I would smooth the bore with 800 or higher grit and radius the top if it's been nicked. The idea is to make sure the lifter can rotate freely.
The mods wouldn't have caused this problem, dirt could have though.
kevinday said: When your engine is back together I would suggest using a thicker oil. IMHO 10W40 is not really thick enough for the Rover V8s and may possibly contribute to early cam wear.
Ah, the never ending debate about oil !
Any suggestions, does Mobil do a thicker oil ?
I've also heard the Magnatec oil should be good ?
I don't understand why the factory recommends Mobil 1 if it's to thin ?
gerjo said:
kjefram said: Thought of changing the oil type anyway, so Mobil 1 Motorsport 15W50 it is when I get the car back, seems to be the preferred oil in this forum....
or Castrol RS 10W60; my camshaft is like brand new after 40.000 miles
gerjo where do you get the RS 10W60, the Castrol homepage has no mention of it ??
Rovers seem to need volume so 20/50 is what I used to use. For synthetic I looked for Kendall or Amsoil. Failing that I went for any 20/50 with a decent API rating. In those days it was API SF, could be up to API SM by now? My engine never liked the thin oils despite having turbo's.
For those into the lubes this would be a very interesting site to explore. The LS1 guys are almost fanatical about being correctly lubed
http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php
For those into the lubes this would be a very interesting site to explore. The LS1 guys are almost fanatical about being correctly lubed
http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php
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