wdb's little yellow journey

[Vinman1]

I had to make a throttle cable bracket and a vibration brace for the carbs. Had vacuum leaks at the carb with the soft mount kit. used regular washers with the rubber gaskets, carbs finally leak free and able to be balanced. I managed to get the exact same oil pan you have from a club member. I had to modify the holes on the non carb side to make fit, but has worked out awesome! I used Permatex Ultra black and the front / rear main seals are great stuff I got from Ivey Engines. Although it works, next time I will use Permatex Tack to hold the Ivey gaskets to the block, they overpowered the Ultra, so it two of us to keep them in place when putting the pan on. 

[Vinman1]

Better pic of Ivey gasket on pan I removed due to ground clearance issue. Twice as thick as the ones that came with stock gasket kit

[Vinman1]

What trans do you have?

[wdb]

2 hours ago, Vinman1 said:

What trans do you have?

MkII Cortina 4 speed. 
 

I went for a short drive today. No nose, no hood. It was fun looking out and seeing the engine. Transmission looks dry, woohoo! Sump has seepage though. And for some reason the dipstick tube seems to be drawing oil up and out. Perhaps too much tube inside the engine? But I made it the same length as the old one. Scratching my head on that. 

[wdb]

2 hours ago, Vinman1 said:

Better pic of Ivey gasket on pan I removed due to ground clearance issue. Twice as thick as the ones that came with stock gasket kit

I couldn’t use anything like that with my sump. No room for it. I ended up sourcing square section material from McMaster for the curved bits and used gasket maker goo for the rest. 

[IamScotticus]

22 minutes ago, wdb said:

 for some reason the dipstick tube seems to be drawing oil up and out.

is the case vented?

[MV8]

How is the crankcase vented on this engine? Valve cover and side of the block? Was this a rebuild or bore rehone (raising crankcase pressure until the rings seat)?

 

Dip stick tube extension into the pan is not an issue. Many engines have cable/wire rope dipsticks with a gauge strip crimped to the pan end. These require longer tubes to ensure the flexible rope can't touch the rotating assembly.

Edited May 24, 2023 by MV8

[wdb]

There's a largish black tube exiting the cylinder head at the right rear, behind the carbs. A hose goes from there to a catch can. I made some 'improvements' to the catch can to prevent the cap from constantly coming loose, and thought I may have tightened things up enough to possibiy allow some crankcase pressure buildup. So I drilled a hole in the top of the catch can. I also tried capping off that hole and the dipstick tube with plugs and then running up the revs to see if they popped off. They did not.

 

I hesitate to ask because it sounds like a can of worms, but has anyone retrofitted PCV on these?

 

You can see the vent tube at the back of the cylinder head in this picture, if you squint. It has a red plug stuck in the end of it.

 

 

Edited May 24, 2023 by wdb

[Vinman1]

The crankcase vent is a hole right above your fuel pump block off plate. Looks like there is a plug in it. I connected mine and the valve cover vent to a cannister sourced from Burton and is working fine. I did not put the drain back line in, and am not getting any build up in tank as of yet. Drawing is from Burton tuning guides found at the bottom of their web page.

 

 

 

 

[wdb]

1 hour ago, Vinman1 said:

The crankcase vent is a hole right above your fuel pump block off plate. Looks like there is a plug in it. I connected mine and the valve cover vent to a cannister sourced from Burton and is working fine. I did not put the drain back line in, and am not getting any build up in tank as of yet. Drawing is from Burton tuning guides found at the bottom of their web page.

 

 

 

 

 

Oy. Thank you for that, I think. Your post prompted me to do some googling and I've gone from a can of worms (PCV) to a rabbit hole (twincam crankcase ventilation) which apparently are notoriously entertaining to ventilate. A lot of stories about excessive amounts of oil coming up through the block vent despite various attempts to avoid it. Sounds like it occurs during very spirited driving and/or racing. I hope your solution continues to work well.

 

I'm thinking about adding a 'Hart breather' outlet at the front of the cam cover, although it feels a tad sacrilegious.

 

https://www.tonythompsonracing.co.uk/parts/engine/hart-engine-breather/

 

Random googled image to give the idea:

 

 

 

[IamScotticus]

Your case breather was capped at some time for a dry sump.

This goes in the plugged hole above the fuel pump boss:

https://www.burtonpower.com/breather-elbow-23-5mm-ford-x-flow-691m-711m-ohv-kent-fp280a.html

 

this or a genuine OE Ford oil-air separator.

 

And if you're getting that from Burton,  might as well get a blanking plate with splash deflection

https://www.burtonpower.com/fuel-pump-blanking-plate-with-deflector-fp281.html

 

Although there's nothing wrong with the mechanical fuel pump.  Formula Ford run them hard and they're self pressure regulated. 

Edited May 24, 2023 by IamScotticus

[wdb]

I should have taken another picture but I *think* the hole above the fuel pump blocking plate is occupied by a rubber drain connecting to the oil separator in the twincam head. It's visible in this picture, if upside down.

 

 

[wdb]

I decided to 'fix' the dipstick oil messiness by removing the dipstick, pushing a piece of gas line over the the tube, and shoving the other end of the line into the hole I cut in the catch can. That at least gives it somewhere to go other than all over the underside of the car. Then I took the car for an extended drive yesterday, about two hours. It felt fantastic to be back behind the wheel. Quite a difference from the S65 AMG Coupe I had been driving the day before; we've decided to sell it and I was out making driving videos to use in the auction listing. I'm keeping the 7 and selling the AMG -- that shouid tell you something about what kind of cars I'm drawn to!

 

Unfortunately the minor leak at the front of the oil sump is sufficient to leave quite an 'oil slick'  after two hours of run time as it makes its way back over the rest of the pan, the starter, the bottom of the gearbox, and so on. I was hoping to just put up with it until cold weather returned but I don't think I can stand it that long. I'm going to have to come up with a way to either reduce/eliminate the leak or at least limit the mess it can make.

 

Oh - I also figured out 'the ghost in the machine'. I had the car parked in a sunny spot for a while and the horn started chirping. It's done it once or twice in the past as well.  The horn button was sticky in its operation due to some flashing leftover from molding the plastic parts. I filed that off and it was smoother, but the horn still tried to beep itself. Then I realized that the (hot, bare) wire connector on the back side of the assembly probably rested a millimeter or so away from the end of the steering shaft when things were assembled, and perhaps making contact when items warmed up a bit. A few layers of electrical tape fixed that. Strange little car. 

[MV8]

Before modifying the valve cover, I'd make a new fuel pump block off plate with a pocket and oil deflector plate, then add a 1/2 inch hose fitting to connect a hose to a remote breather tank, mounting the tank bottom higher on the engine or chassis than the fitting on the block off plate.

 

Sealing the oil filler tube creates that much more pressure against the oil pan and valve cover seals.

Edited May 30, 2023 by MV8

[wdb]

7 hours ago, MV8 said:

 

Sealing the oil filler tube creates that much more pressure against the oil pan and valve cover seals.

I didn't seal the dipstick tube. The other end of the hose is open to the air. Also did you note that the twincam head appears to make use of the factory crankcase breather hole as a return path for the built-in air/oil separator (perhaps it is called a 'breather box')? 

 

I may try to find another piece of tube for the built-in vent tube coming off the back of the head. At present the inner diameter is 3/8" and the outer diameter is 5/8" -- fuel line dimensions. I'd like to find something with a larger ID.

[MV8]

I misunderstood the dip stick hose temp fix.

I see the breather replaced with an oil return for the head but I don't see an opening in it or the valve cover to vent crankcase pressure in the pics.

You mentioned an existing vent on the back of the head?

[wdb]

Apologies @MV8 I must have missed your reply earlier. Yes, there is a rubber vent line at the back right-hand side of the cylinder head. It turns down 90 degrees. When I got the car it had a hose in it that went to a catch can. I retained that and added the dipstick line, which also goes to the same catch can. Last week I poked yet another hole in the top of that poor thing and put a breather vent filter in it. I also found and fixed another leak; the bolt that fixes the inner end of the alternator bracket goes straight through the aluminum timing chain cover and it had come loose. When I got the car that bolt was missing altogether! I think it vibrates loose. Will keep an eye on it. With all of that done the leaks are down to a few very small drips, which I can live with. Next I need to find the secret sauce for the speedo cable connection to the transmission which, now that oil is not streaming back from the engine, has shown itself to be pretty seepy.

 

I took a drive today to meet with some folks I met when owned an SVX. They have an annual gathering near me and it's fun to catch up. This year's turnout was pretty dismal, but there was a car show going on at the same location so it was still fun. And I was accosted by probably 10 different people asking about the 7! I didn't quite expect that. Probably should have.

 

 

[MV8]

I remember the svx. Interesting car. I remember solar cells in the roof to keep the inside cool when parked?

 

The bolt through the timing cover screws  into the block or is it only secured to the cover? If you take some pics of that I can probably come up with a solution.

 

The speedo cable end fitting or drive adapter may be missing a sealing washer and/or o ring.

[wdb]

I'm not aware of any solar options for the SVX. It's a Giugiaro design, very elegant. Most of the US cars have a wing-like thing on the back which IMO detracts from the lines. Big flat 6, automatic because Subie didn't have a manual that could handle the torque. Meant to be a halo car. Sold like molasses -- $30K luxury oddball in a showroom full of $10K econocars, plus the slushbox was not a popular choice. Very hard to find a clean one these days.

 

Timing cover bolt goes clear through. It's not leaking anymore. I honestly think I was building up crankcase pressure before I added the breather to the catch tank; it just seemed to keep finding new places to push oil out. Both hoses going into the tank had fairly snug fits, so it's possible that I was overwhelming it at high revs. I sourced another valve cover which I am going to modify with the breather pipe on the front, at which point I'll remove the goofy dipstick tube rig.

 

I replaced the O-ring on the speedo drive when I resealed the gearbox but I used a generic part from my local Ace Hardware. It measured nearly identical so I thought it would be okay, but it's a plumbing part and might not like being exposed to petroleum products. I still have the part that came out and will try that if I don't find any other clever fixes amongst the Elan/Cortina crowd.

 

 

[MV8]

I remember the solar interior vents from the Road and Track article. Maybe it was for the concept vehicle? I think I still have it. I can share if you'd like.