Actual tools for a 1.8

[Puff Along]

Is there a list of must have/carry onboard tools required for every nut bolt on a 1.8.I need to shed weight from my over flowing tool box.

 

[David Schweizer]

11 hours ago, Puff Along said:

Is there a list of must have/carry onboard tools required for every nut bolt on a 1.8.I need to shed weight from my over flowing tool box.

 

 

From recollection all the threads on the BMC engines are UNF/UNC so, unless someone has fitted a metic nut and bolt on components like the alternator, the only spanners you will need is a decent set of AF open end, ring, and socket spanners.  I always found 3/8 " drive sockets more manageable on my BMC 1.5 as working space is often restricted.  A set of flathead and crosshead screwdrivers will also be useful.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 15, 2022 by David Schweizer

[john.k]

When we were kids,we had one spanner that would fit  just about every nut and bolt on our BSA 500c motorbike ......just one ...a Dowidat Flexi flat in 3/8 and 5/16 Whit maybe ?.....didnt even belong to us,belonged to the old guy across the road .........and it also kept his Hillman going .....that and a hammer and chisel.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

Plus any specific special tools that BMC supplied that were unique to the engine and general tools for engines that do a specific job well. To do things that are either impossible, or very difficult, risking damage, to do without it. Do you want to keep a cylinder bore honing tool in your tool box on board, for example? Or the specific BMC tool to remove and replace the camshaft bearing shells? A decision you need to make, how serious a problem do you want to be able to deal with using the tools you have on hand that a set of AF spanners and screwdrivers can't cope with.

[David Schweizer]

1 hour ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

Plus any specific special tools that BMC supplied that were unique to the engine and general tools for engines that do a specific job well. To do things that are either impossible, or very difficult, risking damage, to do without it. Do you want to keep a cylinder bore honing tool in your tool box on board, for example? Or the specific BMC tool to remove and replace the camshaft bearing shells? A decision you need to make, how serious a problem do you want to be able to deal with using the tools you have on hand that a set of AF spanners and screwdrivers can't cope with.

 

Very amusing, but not desperately helpful.  If the OP is capable of using the tools you mention, he would not have needed to ask the original question. For the OP's benefit, there are no specialist tools, that I am aware of, that are required for routine maintenace, apart from an extra long 11/64" (4.37mm) drill to clean out the heater plug holes, plus a couple of hammers and files etc.       

 

       

Edited August 15, 2022 by David Schweizer

[alan_fincher]

5 minutes ago, David Schweizer said:

For the OP's benefit, there are no specialist tools, that I am aware of, that are required for routine maintenance, apart from an extra long 11/64" (4.37mm) drill to clean out the heater plug holes, plus a couple of hammers and files etc.      

 

Plus the relevant crowsfoot spanner if the head is being taken off...

[David Schweizer]

Well yes, but that surely comes into the catagory of specialist tools rather than routine maintenance. How many times did you need to take the head off the BMC fitted in Chalice? I never had to take mine off in twenty years.

[Tracy D'arth]

11 minutes ago, David Schweizer said:

Well yes, but that surely comes into the catagory of specialist tools rather than routine maintenance. How many times did you need to take the head off the BMC fitted in Chalice? I never had to take mine off in twenty years.

The head nuts should be re-torqued and the tappets set periodically so an 11/16 " AF crowfoot  for your 1/2" drive socket set is required. And 15thou feeler gauge. 

 

A 3/16" Allan key for the timing chain adjuster would be handy one day. 

 

If you can find a 1/2" spanner that can be got onto the inside nut of the fuel injection pump mounting, I want two!

 

Always have a 10mm spanner, its the one size that you cannot do without.

[bizzard]

Sir Walter Raleigh got to 66!! before his head came off.

[David Schweizer]

23 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

The head nuts should be re-torqued and the tappets set periodically so an 11/16 " AF crowfoot  for your 1/2" drive socket set is required. And 15thou feeler gauge.

 Yes.  All the ancient cars I owned in the 60's had similar "requirements" in the workshop manual, which I diligently followed for several years, until I relalizsed that the torque and tappet gap was always the same, and I was wasting my time. I have never done it since with no adverse effects. Furthermore, all those "requirements were written for engines in vans being driven hard every day, not for an engine installed in a boat being worked gently at less than 1500 rpm with very little hard revving up.

[alan_fincher]

2 hours ago, David Schweizer said:

How many times did you need to take the head off the BMC fitted in Chalice? I never had to take mine off in twenty years.

 

Once.

I bet Johnno took the head off your 1.5 when he rebuilt it, even if you never did personally.

[David Schweizer]

2 hours ago, alan_fincher said:

 

Once.

I bet Johnno took the head off your 1.5 when he rebuilt it, even if you never did personally.

 

Still doesn't warrant taking up space in a crowded on-board toolbox unless you anticipate having to take the head off whilst cruising.

 

Yes, obviously, Jonathan did take the head off, but that was because the cylinders needed re-boring etc, not because the head torque or tappets needed adjusting. He checked it all after a few hundred hours, and then it was never done again,

 

 

 

Edited August 15, 2022 by David Schweizer

[BEngo]

Nobody has mentioned the most important tool.  Carry a decent hammer.  You probably won't use it directly on the engine (unless it is really really annoying you) but it will be needed to give your spanners a tap to get a stubborn nut moving,  to put the finishing torque on one being done up or just to loosen something up. Also handy for bashing a screwdriver through a spin on filter canister that wont come off otherwise.

 

 

Remember " Don't  force it lad.  Get a bigger hammer"

 

N

[David Schweizer]

33 minutes ago, BEngo said:

Nobody has mentioned the most important tool.  Carry a decent hammer.  You probably won't use it directly on the engine (unless it is really really annoying you) but it will be needed to give your spanners a tap to get a stubborn nut moving,  to put the finishing torque on one being done up or just to loosen something up. Also handy for bashing a screwdriver through a spin on filter canister that wont come off otherwise.

 

 

Remember " Don't  force it lad.  Get a bigger hammer"

 

N

 

See my second post  "......plus a couple of hammers and files etc."

 

[Slim]

5 hours ago, Tracy D'arth said:

The head nuts should be re-torqued and the tappets set periodically so an 11/16 " AF crowfoot  for your 1/2" drive socket set is required. And 15thou feeler gauge. 

 

A 3/16" Allan key for the timing chain adjuster would be handy one day. 

 

If you can find a 1/2" spanner that can be got onto the inside nut of the fuel injection pump mounting, I want two!

 

Always have a 10mm spanner, its the one size that you cannot do without.

I've got 2  1/2 spanners that fit. One's a flat with the cheeks ground down and the others a 12 ? Point ring ground down so that it's less than 1/4 " thick. I have replaced the nut in question with two half nuts. MUCH easier to get them on.

[springy]

Ensure you have a spanner which fits the bleed screws on the injector pump "Perfectly" (1/4" A/F if memory serves me correctly) - very easy to round the corners off with a spanner that's a bit sloppy, preferably a Hexagon ring as opposed to the more common Bi-Hex. 

 

springy

[David Schweizer]

What is all this emphasis on the injector pump about, do people have problems with it? In twenty years a spanner never got anywhere near the pump on my engine.

[Tracy D'arth]

Its a bleeding thing, some need it some don't.

 

The nut is between the pump and the block, not accessible by normal means.

If you have not had the pump serviced in 20 years congratulations.

[David Schweizer]

2 hours ago, Tracy D'arth said:

Its a bleeding thing, some need it some don't.

 

The nut is between the pump and the block, not accessible by normal means.

If you have not had the pump serviced in 20 years congratulations.

 

I was once told by someone that the injector pump on my engine was self bleeding, and they appeared to be correct. The instance happened one day whe I was on my mooring, I had done a service, changing filters etc, and for some reason I had turned the fuel tap on the tank off . When I started the engine, I forgot to turn the tap back on, and after a few minutes the engine died. The afore mentioned person advised that If I wound the engine on the starter the Injector pump would self bleed and re-fill. With some scepticism I wound the engine for several short periods over a number of minutes and suddenly the engine burst into life, and continued to run. Was that luck or was it really self bleeding?

 

As a matter of interest, I never had the injector pump serviced, although it was presumably done when the engine was re-built after more than nine years in my ownership, After the rebuild it went unserviced for the next ten years when I sold the boat.

 

 

Edited August 15, 2022 by David Schweizer

[Peugeot 106]

Time for a lesson. How would I go about retorquing head bolts if I needed to on a typical engine not necessarily BMC. Would I take them all out and start again or loosen each one (in order) and retighten. Would I take each one out and apply oil? Do people normally do this once in a while?

[john.k]

Retorquing headbolts on a modrn car engine is a no no.......the bolts are tightened to yield ,and should not be touched until the gasket starts to leak......which it will ,as no asbestos means poor gaskets..........the bolts should then be replaced with new ones when the head is refitted.

Edited August 16, 2022 by john.k

[MtB]

9 minutes ago, john.k said:

Retorquing headbolts on a modrn car engine is a no no.......the bolts are tightened to yield ,and should not be touched until the gasket starts to leak......which it will ,as no asbestos means poor gaskets..........the bolts should then be replaced with new ones when the head is refitted.

 

 

Fortunately, modern car engines rarely show up in narrowboats.

 

 

[Tony Brooks]

9 hours ago, Peugeot 106 said:

Time for a lesson. How would I go about retorquing head bolts if I needed to on a typical engine not necessarily BMC. Would I take them all out and start again or loosen each one (in order) and retighten. Would I take each one out and apply oil? Do people normally do this once in a while?

 

I was taught to slacken a bolt//nut maybe half a turn and then tighten to torque, but this should be done in the correct order as per the manual. Typically start with the nuts in the middle of the engine and then work outwards doing diagonally opposite nuts. However, even on a BMC I would not touch them after the torque check after the "running in" period. Be wary because of the modern tendency to use stretch bolts as mentioned above. RTFM.

[Peugeot 106]

58 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

I was taught to slacken a bolt//nut maybe half a turn and then tighten to torque, but this should be done in the correct order as per the manual. Typically start with the nuts in the middle of the engine and then work outwards doing diagonally opposite nuts. However, even on a BMC I would not touch them after the torque check after the "running in" period. Be wary because of the modern tendency to use stretch bolts as mentioned above. RTFM.

Thanks Tony. You’ll make a mechanic out of me yet! Just out of interest why wouldn’t you touch them after the running in period. Because it’s unnecessary or because it could lead to a broken bolt or something else. 

[Tony Brooks]

31 minutes ago, Peugeot 106 said:

Thanks Tony. You’ll make a mechanic out of me yet! Just out of interest why wouldn’t you touch them after the running in period. Because it’s unnecessary or because it could lead to a broken bolt or something else. 

 

Despite hat the manual may or may not say (I don't remember the 1.5 manual saying re-torque every XXXXX miles or hours) I have not found it necessary on an engine that has been built correctly. Also on the 1.5D and 1.8D getting at the middle row is not easy. As far as ordinary boaters are concerned my experience suggests that when they torque things up it is "let the wrench click plus a bit more" and that may strip threads or stretch the studs to their elastic limit so they no longer clamp with the force they should. This may be why modern practice is to torque to a low figure and then use a protractor to finally tighten xx degrees more.