Chalky
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Posts posted by Chalky
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From the Governments own website re Cancer
Exposure from power lines. Although a study in 1979 pointed to a possible association between living near electric power lines and childhood leukemia (15), more recent studies have had mixed findings (16–24).
- A pooled analysis of nine studies reported a twofold increase in risk of childhood leukemia among children with exposures of 0.4 μT or higher. Less than 1 percent of the children in the studies experienced this level of exposure (25).
- A meta-analysis of 15 studies observed a 1.7-fold increase in childhood leukemia among children with exposures of 0.3 μT or higher. A little more than 3 percent of children in the studies experienced this level of exposure (26).
These studies have resulted in Schools, playgrounds etc not being built, or demolished, if they are in the vicinity of overhead power lines - alternatively the cables are buried (at enormous expense).
I played around with some high field strengths a few years ago as part of a research project and you can get some very "interesting" effects...
A colleague of mine had an MRI scan which used a 4 Tesla static field. He said that as he was moved into the field his perception was affected, which is hardly surprising since nerves are akin to cables and moving them through the field will induce currents.
If you really want to get anoracky about it google ICNIRP guidelines.
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On the MG forums the Americans talk about something called a speedy sleeve that you put over a worn shaft to get it to seal. I've never used one but they swear by them.
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Timing chain and tensioner are a quick and easy job once the cover is off. On my car I changed the sprockets as well. On the petrol (I don't know the diesel) there's a simplex and duplex chain depending on year, both are easily available. The kit for 2 sprockets, chain, tensioner, seal, gasket and lock washer cost about £40. If you do buy a car kit check that the timings are compatible - the key way positions do change for different engines. The tensioner is hydraulically operated and it requires setting when it's installed but auto adjusts after that. There have been mixed reports about the quality of some of the replacements. If the petrol and diesel parts are common check on the MG forums for where the better parts come from.
The crank shaft nut is 1 1/8". I loosen it by removing the king lead so it won't fire (petrol), putting the socket and a T bar on a chassis rail and cranking the engine. This loosens it! Diesel will require a different method to make sure that the engine doesn't run afterwards.
Fit the new seal into the cover and fit it on the front of the engine with the bolts loose. Lightly lubricate the seal then fit the pulley. This will centre the whole lot before you tighten the bolts up and reduce the chance of a leak.
A twin pulley version of the front pulley is available. It's used by MG owners in the US to add aircon to the car. there's also a ribbed belt version used to attach a super charger.
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The oil pressure relief valve sticking / not sealing and fluctuating gauge readings is a regular discussion topic of owners for the 1.8 petrol engine and is regularly discussed on the MG forums. Some of the engine is common between petrol and diesel, some isn't, however I'd assume that at least the problems will be generic. The link below should pull up lots of the recent discussion threads. If not then go to mgexp.com, select the MGB forum and type relief valve into the search box.
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Get hold of some citric acid (lemon juice) and soak the parts in it for a few hours. It's strong enough to dissolve the rust but not the iron / steel.
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I've repainted the roof 3 times. First time I used Rylard navy blue. Looked good and wore well however the cabin baked on sunny days. I repainted in cream / white. It kept the temperature down however it was always dirty and on sunny days the glare meant I couldn't see where we were going unless I wore sunglasses. I eventually repainted it using Leyland red oxide gloss. This is more of a silk than a gloss and has been great. It been easy to clean, cooler than the blue and can be repaired easily.
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The thing you're starting to discover is how inaccurate state of charge calculations are for lead acid batteries. The units work by counting the charge into and out of the battery and displaying the "level" of the battery as the charge. The problem is that batteries are not like buckets of water that you measure fluid into and out of. When you charge the battery not all of the power you put into the battery will go into charging it. The amount of charge the battery can take depends on lots of things including temperature and how old the battery is (Charge acceptance). The voltage the battery shows when its charging is an inaccurate measure of its condition. There's an effect called surface charge that can be thought of like the froth on a pint of beer - it shows far more available than's actually there. Leaving the battery for a while before measuring it gets a more accurate indication.
When discharging the battery the speed at which you pull power from it affects the capacity of the battery (pukert). Take the power slowly and you'll have more power available. Take it quickly and you'll have a lot less. Leave it a while and there'll be a bit more, but not as much as if you drew the power slowly. As the battery ages the amount of power available and how fast you can draw it changes (not in a good way).
This is a really complex subject - I've tried to describe it simply and add a few technical terms if you want to dig deeper. I've worked with a team who have spent years developing accurate charge estimation models for industrial battery applications. It can be done and very accurate results can be obtained but its a non trivial exercise.
I tend to use the battery monitor on my boat as an indication only. I rely on the volt meter and the ammeter to give me an indication of the battery condition along with an understanding of how I'd expect the system to perform - I'm an electronics engineer / roboticist by profession so I do this as the day job.
What you need to do is get used to the boat and get a feel for what's going on. Most boaters seem get through a set of batteries whilst they're working this out. You're doing the right thing by asking questions on the forum.
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Both the items you're after are on eBay listed as MGB parts. I'd also try searching the specialist car breakers - they're uncommon but not rare.
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Being round means that you'll get fewer out of a sheet of material. It could allow you to reuse an old tax disk holder which means they wouldn't need to be sticky. If they were square they could fit the cart licence holders...
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Why not put the name of the forum, logo and then have a QR code. You need to be close enough to scan it - but you'd have to be close to read the text anyway. Using a QR code would let you remove a lot of stuff away from the sticker and you could make the rest bigger so it could be seen from a distance (or closer, depending on current glasses!)
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Possibly relevant discussion on another forum about someone who has a leak in the same place. Caveat - it's the petrol version not diesel.
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I'b about to pull the engine out of my car (1.8 petrol B series) for the same problem. The petrol engine has a a number of common leak points and I assume that they're common with the diesel since the basic engine design is the same - with the exception of things like the pump. Most BMC petrol and diesel engines of this vintage were based round a common architecture and tend to have the same problems.
You've identified the tappet chests. On the petrol engine it's common to fit a rubber gasket to the rear cover and a cork one (off an MG A) to the front due to the different cover designs (crank case ventilation). Also you need to change the O-rings in the bolts that hold the covers on.
Other common leak points
Oil filter housing / bypass pipe - on some versions the bolt holding the filter housing works loose and causes a leak. If there's an external bypass pipe these can leak at the ends.
Crank shaft oil seal. Runs down engine back plate and can look like a leak at the sump. - very common. On the petrol variant the seal is in the back plate and there's a gasket to seal the two together. If the gasket has failed then this can also leak a lot of oil.
Timing chain cover and oil seal
If you remove the sump make sure its flat round the bolt holes. If not gently flatten the relevant area of the flange with a hammer and a hard surface. Be careful when removing the sump. The main bearing caps at the end of the block seal to the block using cork blocks. Make sure these are back in otherwise it will leak - lots.
There are a number of bolts (oil pressure relief valve) and plugs that seal oil ways however these usually don't leak.
If you google MGB oil leaks you'll find lots of details about how to identify and fix them.
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I used a teflon tape on the underside of the hatch, the whole lot sliding on the steel work. The tape is teflon on one side and a fibre glass matting on the other with the fibre glass having an adhesive backing. I's been there for about 4 years and worked well. I got it off a contact in the materials science dept at the university...
Thanks boat fan - DRI LUBE sounds interesting. Any info about a UK on line stockist? I tried a search in Amazon and found references to a load of things I never even knew needed lubricating!!!
There's a spray version of it that's commonly used in the automotive industry to stop annoying squeeks. Spray on and let the solvent evaporate and it leaves a teflon coating behind.
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Ignoring the long term reliability and availability of spares (likely to be poor) it's also got the potential to be horribly inefficient. If you generate electricity to power a motor to drive the prop its going to be a horribly inefficient compared to driving the prop off the engine/gearbox.
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If it's the 140A device they're very good. I've used them on a couple of vehicle split charge systems and also on also on a robot. Wired it up using 50mm CSA cable and used eyelets that fitted the cable and the studs.(they're available from automotive stockists). I also fitted a 150A megafuse in the cable. I had to modify the relay case to get the cable and terminal in. Make sure the ground wire has a good solid connection - a poor one will shift the switching point and it may not charge well.
The relay closes at about 13.2v and opens at 12.6v (from memory). If your batteries are in poor condition or the charging system is not working well the voltage at the first battery wont be high enough to switch the relay and charge the second battery.
I made the terminal connections using a hydraulic hex crimping tool. 140A is a lot at current and it doesn't require much resistance to generate a lot of heat.
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We've got our inverter screwed to the engine room wall. Not an attractive location but power electronics need lots of cool air.
I've worked with power electronics for a number of years and they need to be kept cool to be reliable and have a good life expectancy. Put it somewhere dry where it can get lots of cool air.
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Yes but what would a pro do to find it, that the OP can't?
I would suggest that the smell of the smoke would be highly indicative. Diesel fumes, hot fuel, coolant, oil vapour, hot electrics, scorched insulation, burned PCB, charred wood etc all have a different smell and can be highly indicative, if you know what they smell like.
In terms of probability oil spilled when filling the engine is the most likely cause. Exhaust damage is possible. Checking rubber hoses for witness marks caused by rubbing on things would help - if there's no mark than the hose is probably ok and not leaking. Checking hose couplings for leaks is also worth doing.
Also if you've got access to an IR thermometer then this can help, if you know how to use it and know what the readings are telling you.
Others may have a different opinion.
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Well that gives a flash point of around 250C and a self ignition temperature of 750C. so I do not see that as being, I quote, "Highly inflammable" .
On that score diesel is much more readily ignitable and I think few of us would consider that as highly inflammable.
Combustible I would agree with so I will let others decide the suitability of the highly inflammable tag.
The temperatures are in farenheit, not celcius
250 F = 121 C
750 F = 398C
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!!!!!! Source for that please. It decades since methanol based antifreezes were readily available for cooling systems.
It's not the methanol, its the ethylene / propylene glycol that ignites. Mixed with water it's not an issue until it gets hot enough to boil off the water. At that point the glycol ignites.
I've included a couple of references from a number of sources including a published conference paper.
http://www.croberts.com/coolant.htm
Conference paper - International Symposium on Fire Investigation Science and Technology 2008
http://www.reifire.net/text/ethylene.pdf
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If it smells sweet then it could be coolant. If it is keep an eye on it and fix it soon. There are various consequences from coolant leaks ranging from head gasket failure through to fire - the antifreeze is highly flamable.
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Other things to look for. Some engines have ventilated breather/ oil filler caps. Have a look and see if the vapour is coming from there. Also does the smoke have a smell to it? Does anything feel hot (be careful with this just in case). If its in the vicinity of the electrical cupboard are any of the cables rubbing on anything?
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Nice try!
Bix Beiderbecke, Jazz composer, pianist and cornet-player
Leon Bismark 'Bix' Beiderbeck. Born in Davenport Iowa. Died tragically young in 1931. His playing was describes as sounding like 'a girl saying yes'. Great music.
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There's a thread on MG experience about sealing the core plugs (actually there are several!)
http://www.mgexp.com/phorum/read.php?1,3054188,3054188#msg-3054188
http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/cooling/cool_105.htm
The engine discussed is the petrol version however the core plugs use the same techniques.
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Our boat is painted in Rylard Navy blue, which is darker than Oxford blue, but looks good. The colour lasts well and hasn't faded over about 10 years however it can get very hot in the sun. We changed the roof colour from blue to white which helped but the glare and it being difficult to keep clean means it's now painted in red, the rest of the boat's blue.
Reving up then cutting out
in BMC
Posted · Edited by Chalky
Is there any debris / foreign matter in the tank that could be blocking the pick up? As the pump starts drawing fuel it will create a gentle flow that could draw debris to the pick up. Once the engine is off it can float away and it could appear that there's nothing wrong - till the next time.
A colleague of mine had this on a brand new car about 20 years ago. It drove fine for a few hundred miles then would start cutting out. The dealers diagnosed fuel starvation, pulled the pump assembly out of the tank and found a large plastic bung. These were used to protect the tank from debris during assembly and someone had pushed it in instead of removing it. He rang up the appropriate cell manager on the Longbridge line to complain and was heard to utter the words "This bungs a stopper". We never heard the end of the call, the office had collapsed in fits of laughter.
Also how old / worn is the engine and how full is oil level - is it above / near the top of the dip stick?