Engine and Transmission Tech

Many of you followed my ordeal with a 3.5 Liter block that has a newly discovered slipped cylinder liner on #1.
My question is: Can this block be repaired? IF so, what company can do the work and what would it cost?

I have sourced a replacement block for my car, but it seems a shame to toss the one with the slipped liner.

Thanks, Ken.

Ken and clan. 3.5's = dime-a-doz. Time to move on buddy. 4.0's pretty cheap to get into, check for "sleeve drop", carefully, or buy brand new block from Mahle. Flanged sleeves, the best way, but not cheap. Good deals on sleeves by checking around. Wild card is labor cost to "properly" install. Good Luck, roverman.

That sleeve pic says it all for me, Ken. Noise found!!

Roverman's advice is spot-on. Now that you've found a 4.2 its not worth mucking around with the 3.5 block. If the engine was in a car & you needed to keep running it as a stop-gap measure until a new one was ready, then I did sit a oil ring rail in the recess left by a dropped sleeve once. refitted head, noise gone & the engine did another 60,000 until I replaced it.

I'm sure everyone who's followed your dramas are looking forward to hearing what a success your new 4.2 engine is!

Cheers

John,

The engine I bought is not a 4.2, as was advertised. It is a 10.5:1 CR 3.5L , but professionally turned crank, new bearings all round, cylinders honed, new rings. It came with everything I need to install. I do have fresh rebuilt heads. Since I am replacing a 3.5L, it made sense to do it this way as I only need to re-assemble and
re-install the new long block. No modifications to perform. The best part is I got it for 400.00.

Cheers, Ken.

Nik hasn't been on here for awhile... (anybody heard anything from him?) but he "pinned" the liners in his big bore build up by drilling the block and installing screws from the outside of the block. Seemed like an effective fix and cheap insurance to me.

JB

$400.00 works for me:-)

I'd be inclined to attach your flywheel, clutch etc and invest in a full balance....Money well spent!!

There was a post somewhere showing Nik's pinned sleeves that Jim refers to, you might wish to have a play with the spare block some rainy day.

I've turned down the mains on Leyland p76 cranks so they fit in the 3.5 block. This combo gives 4.4 litres with 327 small journal rods.

Jim, Where is Nic, indeed ? Last we heard, He and family were heading Los Angelos for RandR. I suppose if your going to "pin" the liners, you might want 90 deg. to piston thrust ? This way skirts can't possibly interfear ? roverman.

He just ground the ends of the screws off slightly below flush.

I got a PM response from him, now has 2 adopted children, natural brother and sister and has been pretty busy! I'm sure we'll hear from him in due course.

JB

You can see 5 video episodes of the assembly and installation of a replacement rebuilt Rover 3.5 liter V8 in my 1966 MGB Roadster here: [vimeo.com]

Hey Ken, "good on ya mate" for doing up those videos. We need more of that sort of thing to keep our sport healthy.
The more information that we have out there regarding our hobby/sport/ passion/illness/reason for sleeping on the sofa, the better off we are.
If you're up to it I have some suggestions for you to consider for your productions.

Regarding the slipped liner. Just because the 3.5 doesn't share the romance of it's bigger brothers doesn't mean that it can't be a happy little motor.
As I see it you have several viable options. One is to repair the current liner. If you flip the block over you will find that all the liners except 1 and 8 register into a ledge in the main bearing webs. This is good. 1 and 8 register into a small tab cast into the bottom of the block. It's like trying to hold onto the liner with your fingernails. This is bad. It's no wonder that 1 and 8 tend to be the ones that move.
Option one. I would heat the block and press the liners out, clean everything up, reheat the block coat everything with loctite and press them back in. Once in place pin them like Nic did and your good to go. This could all be done in your living room with a Fisher Price carpentry set and a campfire.
Option two.If your tired of seeing your machinist with his "will work for food" sign then this option might be up your alley. This involves replacing the liners with new ones. At this point you might as well go big. The cost is the same no matter what size you choose and you need new pistons anyway. The trick with this one is to have the block step bored at the bottom to give the liners something to sit on. Your machinist should be very comfortable with this procedure as it's a common operation on an iron block.
It should also be the same price or cheaper. The aluminum is easier on his tools and it cuts faster. Cost up here in Vancouver is around $ 800.00 including liners and decking.
Option three. The ultimate solution as Art said, is a bottle of Jack Daniels... I mean tophat liners. But be carefull!!!!
Your machinist needs to know his stuff, he better because he can afford a holiday on this one. The register on the top of the block must have a chamfer. This is often not done and causes the "brim" to crack. The liner itself must be top quality, again because of the brim. Personal experience says don't use a steel shim gasket and don't get the engine overheated ever.
Cost ranges from "oh my god" to "are you $%###*< insane".
I prefer option two as liner sizes are myriad and it is more tolerant of heating episodes.
Anyway thats my take on it. If I've managed to muddy up the issue then my job here is done.
Cheers
Fred

Thank you "muddy waters"/Fred. Ken sounds like the 3.5, is a good way to go, for you. My take is, 4.0's and 4.6's are, not that hard to find and a stronger "base" to build on. Between ebay and Craigslist, there should be good deals around. I bought (24) ACL flanged sleeves from Wildcat,(NO ENDORSEMENT) ! Cheeper low-cost insurance is to resist buying the "pink" blocks.Unless one must have a 215/3.5L for class racing or a vintage/all correct resto, these blocks have little to offer per $. I'm buying 250 ml of Loctite 620. I could "sub-let". Good Luck to all. Let's keep it going, roverman.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/16/2010 09:39PM by roverman.

Great videos, ken! Thanks for taking the time & effort to put them together. I can tell you were "taught to be cautious" by the meticulous quality of your work:-)

I've used flanged ACL sleeves to take the 3.5 block to 5 litres using the 4.4 crank & 3.7 bore. ACL's manufacturing plants were/are based here in Australia & make quality product.
@ post1983 3.5 blocks with the extra ribs down near the sump flange are definitely the ones to use in max effort situations if class rules dictate their use as Art says.

I cant imagine Wildcat being competitive pricewise compared with buying them via a trade outlet here, though?

Fully agree Fred/Art, flanged sleeves & felpro gaskets are virtually bulletproof in the longevity department.

Cheers
John

John,

Thanks for your comments. After reading yours and others posts, I am not quite ready to toss the block with the slipped liner. At this time, I do have a Buick 215 Hi Compression block (I paid a 100.00 for it) at the machine shop getting a .020 over re-bore, new freeze and oil galley plugs and a new set of cam bearings. The Rover 3.5 I got cheap came with heads almost completely rebuilt. They are at the cylinder head re-builder for the finishing touches and assembly. Since the rotating hardware of the 3.5L is in great condition, I decided to put in a solid, basic Buick 215 block as a backup and possible install in my '53 TD. Sacrilege, no? I have just about completed the installation of the "new" 3.5 Rover in my car.

Hopefully, it will be running by Sunday!

Cheers,

Ken

Hey Ken,

how about a video of the finished article :-)

Cheers,

John

John,

I did get a GoPro video camera and shot some footage of me driving the car. I mounted it on the panel in front of the windshield . I also mounted it on the left front fender. Interesting footage, but I need to have some one run the camera as I drive by.

I did take the short drive to Infineon one day and took a few static shots.

Cheers,

Ken

Ken, Nice pic's at Infineon. Was that formerly Sears Point ? Home of my Huff GT-1 ? Sweet, roverman.