SKCC - Southern Kit Car Club. A Club for kit car owners across Southern England. Kent, Sussex, East Hants, Surrey, Berks, Middlesex, London

Very interesting, thanks

nelmo wrote:Did you need that breather valve? On my 2005 blacktop, I blocked off that breather on the block as well and just have a breather off the cam cover (that's what GBS told me to do).

I think if I was just running it naturally aspirated without many mods then perhaps I wouldn't bother. But with the turbo, I'm under the impression that the crankcase can be further pressurised due to the increased pressure in the cylinders (and therefore greater leaking of air passing by the piston rings and into the crank case).
There are a few reasons why I think high crankcase pressure would be bad...
- could actually restrict oil flowing back into the sump from the turbo. This can cause the oil return line to 'backup' and cause oil to be forced passed the turbo oils seals.
- could result in oil leaks passed gaskets in the crankcase.

Matth93 wrote:Well done Steve. While you’ve got the engine stripped that far is it not worth fitting new piston rings and crank shells and strip/clean/inspect the rest

Yes, I guess mate. I was hoping not to get that stuck into it - both in time and in money
I guess the rings and shells will set me back around £160?
I'd need to hones the bores so the new rings can bed in properly? Need a honing tool.
Then a tool to measure the journals so I can order correct size shells, order crank seals, etc. Hmm, to be honest it probably does make sense to do this all though. I'll have a think about it. Is there anything particularly 'difficult' about doing this?
I've already refurb'd the head - cleaned and lapped the valves and fitted new valve stem seals - pics to follow


Thanks for replies guys.
I'm learning a lot, although it is taking ages to do.
Wonder if it's worth dismantling the oil pump to give that a clean out?

On mine the bores looked good so I didn’t do anything to them just new rings, if glazed you can just get a glaze buster (I think is what they call them it’s like a flappy sand paper type thing) which you run up and down the bore on a drill. The old crank shells will be marked if they are oversize so as long as the crank looks good (no wear) you can just replace with the same as what was there. I have a piston ring compressor if you need to borrow one or am quite happy to give you a hand if you want it.

Just catching up with this thread, £100 for a blacktop - bargain!
Interesting breather set up, admire your bravery drilling into the bottom end. Why have you opted for breathers on both sides of the crank case?
Re the welding, it doesn't matter how it looks so long as it's strong
What are you doing about the sump, when I swapped silver for black I had to shorten the blacktop's sump (the steel bit) and chop a chunk off the aluminium bit to make space for the starter. Also kept the old flywheel (which turned out to be a re-drilled pinto)
And lastly spigot bearing (I'm sure you're on this)

I got one of those glaze buster but cheap enough.

Got a buster and ring compressor Steve, happy to swing by if needed.

Boosted Zetec without crank breath (decent crank breather) will blow the dipstick out and cover the engine in oil. Ask me how I know ...

We ran big crankcase breather and big cam breather into seperate lines/bottles and had a clip on the dipstick. Most of which was done by Dick.

Another interesting SKCC thread. Keep the updates/pictures coming. Did you end up with much in the catch tank on your old engine under normal operating conditions?

A little ( I assume this is directed to me) but once Dick had added a 2nd cam cover breather and we modded the crankcase breather with a splash guard very little oil came into the tanks.

jeffw wrote:A little ( I assume this is directed to me) but once Dick had added a 2nd cam cover breather and we modded the crankcase breather with a splash guard very little oil came into the tanks.

Thanks Jeff, was curious.