It's Finally Engine Time !

Those of you who have been following this blog may recall my March 2010 post where I discovered the thrust washer condition in Tillie's engine. The  thrust washer's job is to control the longitudinal movement of  the crankshaft, and since they are made out of a bronze alloy, they take the wear and tear saving the crank and block.  Once the TWs had dropped out of their places, the crankshaft and rear main bearing cap started beating each other up !

Rear main bearing caps should not have grooves on the side !

The rear of the crankshaft (behind the orange seal) also has grooves where it shouldn't !

 That discovery was the straw that pushed me into doing a frame off restoration. At that time, I pushed the engine off into the corner of my mind, and my shop, and focused on other things.  Well it's time to deal with engine, so I called Ted at TSI and setup an appointment to meet him at the machine shop that has done all his work for the last 40 years !

What would I have done without the engine hoist !

 All tied down and ready to go !

My engine will get disassembled, cleaned, magnafluxed to check for cracks, pressure tested for leaks, then measured to see how much wear & tear the various parts have endured.  I'll get a report back, and we'll decide how to proceed !  More to come.