Leroy the EK Ute

Post photos of your pride and joy, or updates on your rebuild!

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BS
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Re: Leroy the EK Ute

Post by BS »

Good progress since I last check in. Keep the updates coming


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thebrotherj
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Re: Leroy the EK Ute

Post by thebrotherj »

BS wrote: Sun Jan 07, 2018 8:11 pm Good progress since I last check in. Keep the updates coming
Thank you! I'm a sweaty mess after today and it's back to work tomorrow :crying: but I'll update soon :thumbsup:
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thebrotherj
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Re: Leroy the EK Ute

Post by thebrotherj »

With engine and trans on the bench, first thing to suss out was the clutch fork issue. The thread for the pivot ball is stuffed. Some genius mechanic has slipped two very thick spring washers under it, trying to grab good thread. Alas, that left it with only a couple of threads anyway, and it has come loose. The act of doing that is what also threw my slave pushrod adjustment so far out.

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A quick look at the spare gearbox I have confirmed this, it runs one star washer only. Curiously, it has had metal relieved from the hole in the case, I can only guess why. Red motor clutch maybe? Mix n match parts from different eras? The clutch fork is different to Leroy’s also.

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Got the motor up on my flimsy old stand (bought on a first year apprentice wage maaaany years ago), and ran a quick check of valve seating using the kerosene-in-the-ports method as per Ardiesse (Rob)’s suggestion: not a single hiss or bubble to be heard under each compression stroke. It came as no surprise to discover a very recently overhauled cylinder head once the valve cover and then head cane off. New valve springs, valve tops & rocker tips hardly marked, decks in excellent shape and head gasket absolutely undamaged with no signs of compression, oil or coolant leakage.

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First indication that all may not be so great came when looking at No. 3 cylinder bore, it has some markings that aren’t fantastic, whereas the other 5 look relatively fine. There is absolutely no ridge at the top of any of the bores... but they don’t look recently machined/honed

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Balancer came off ok, but I finished off the already-mangled woodruff key trying to get that out. Crank slot is fine though. Discovered a brand new fibre cam gear and was pleased to see the oil squirter aimed correctly

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front plate had been off before, it had liberal amounts of sealant on it and the countersunk screws swaged. But it was the source of my leak up front, timing case seal was only minor by comparison.
With that off and motor flipped, I had to fight the sump a little... and when it came free, I was greeted with this muck

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lots of silicone sealant and a few bits of fibre cam gear teeth in the sludge. So I’m getting the idea that the old girl had a bunch of top-end attention recently, with the motor in the car.

Time to lift the caps where my suspicions that this motor had the bottom end rebuilt a long time ago... were confirmed. The conrod shells are in excellent condition, ACL .010 undersize items marked 14 JU 1989.

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Main bearing shells however, are all worn down to the dark grey material, also .010 from mid 1989. You can see the difference in wear between big end and main bearings side by side, below.

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And my favourite discovery was just how much of the rear main seal was actually left: not very much!!

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Best news though, is that the crank journals are ALL absolutely unmarked. Not a single ridge or valley to be seen or felt.

Pulled the pistons out and yeah, they all have scuff marks on the skirts, but mostly it looks acceptable... except for one slightly gnarly bit on No. 3 Piston:

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I grabbed the top ring off No. 3 and measured the end gap with it in the bore and wasn’t surprised to see it was out past .050” - way too large. I am yet to clean up the pistons and inspect them all thoroughly, I also need to grab some measuring tools to check the bore tapers and piston diameters.
Dropping a steel rule across the bores, I’m actually pretty convinced they’re still factory 3.125”, so I wonder that back in 1989, it only copped a set of rings, if that?

Anyways, more investigation to follow. There’s a part of me that’s still hopeful I can slap this back together with a hone of the bores and new bearing shells.

But first, a cold shower and a goddamn beer

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More news soon!



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Errol62
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Re: Leroy the EK Ute

Post by Errol62 »

Busy boy


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getting my FB ute on the road
EK van on rotisserie
ardiesse
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Re: Leroy the EK Ute

Post by ardiesse »

Joe,

Your motor's been overbored 1/16", to 3-1/8" (144 cubes). Don't be fooled if the piston crowns have STD stamped on them either. The carboned-up bit on #3 piston skirt will clean up fine with wet'n'dry.
The clutch fork in the other gearbox is FX-FJ. Holden went from a beautiful forging to a cheap pressed sheet metal part from FE onwards. I'm guessing that the relief work on the clutch fork hole was so that "genius" mechanic could spring the clutch fork off the pivot ball and replace the pivot ball without having to drop the gearbox out. Or maybe the clutch slave cylinder pushrod he was working with is a lot shorter than the original one. Beats me really.

Rob
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thebrotherj
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Re: Leroy the EK Ute

Post by thebrotherj »

Errol62 wrote: Mon Jan 08, 2018 7:44 am Busy boy
Can't stop, won't stop!

Also I gotta go back in for surgery to remove screws from my stupid finger next week so trying to get motor stripped and parts sent off for machining etc before I'm out of action again :thumbsdown:
ardiesse
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Re: Leroy the EK Ute

Post by ardiesse »

Bloody hell. The distributor terminal of the low-tension ignition lead found its way into your sump somehow . . .
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thebrotherj
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Re: Leroy the EK Ute

Post by thebrotherj »

ardiesse wrote: Mon Jan 08, 2018 10:18 am Bloody hell. The distributor terminal of the low-tension ignition lead found its way into your sump somehow . . .
if you're looking at the little P shaped bit of material on the pickup strainer, that was actually silicone sealant. I had the same thought when I first saw it though!
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thebrotherj
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Re: Leroy the EK Ute

Post by thebrotherj »

ardiesse wrote: Mon Jan 08, 2018 10:15 am Joe,

Your motor's been overbored 1/16", to 3-1/8" (144 cubes). Don't be fooled if the piston crowns have STD stamped on them either. The carboned-up bit on #3 piston skirt will clean up fine with wet'n'dry.
The clutch fork in the other gearbox is FX-FJ. Holden went from a beautiful forging to a cheap pressed sheet metal part from FE onwards. I'm guessing that the relief work on the clutch fork hole was so that "genius" mechanic could spring the clutch fork off the pivot ball and replace the pivot ball without having to drop the gearbox out. Or maybe the clutch slave cylinder pushrod he was working with is a lot shorter than the original one. Beats me really.

Rob
Just getting my head around this: a 138 engine ran 3-1/16" (3.0625) bore standard?
If what you're saying is correct, that means I'm seeking piston rings to suit 138 bored .040" - yes? As I say, I'll measure it all to make sure...
My pistons have no markings on top, but inside the skirt underneath, they're marked "ACL/REPCO" and a number (I forget what that was) so I'm figuring that points to the motor having been bored & oversized slugs fitted when it was rebuilt.

When I get around to picking the best gearbox to freshen up, it's likely I will end up running the one with the early type clutch fork. It certainly does look more impressive :)
ardiesse
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Re: Leroy the EK Ute

Post by ardiesse »

Joe,

Correct. A 138 is three-and-a-sixteenth bore. But you'll need to get rings for 3-1/8" bore (i.e. 3.125"). 3-1/16" + 0.040" is 3.1025", which is too small.

If you're going to use the early clutch fork, just make certain that moment arm on the pushrod side is the same as the pressed steel one. The locating holes for the pullback spring may not be in the same place, though.

Rob
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thebrotherj
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Re: Leroy the EK Ute

Post by thebrotherj »

ardiesse wrote: Mon Jan 08, 2018 11:57 am Joe,

Correct. A 138 is three-and-a-sixteenth bore. But you'll need to get rings for 3-1/8" bore (i.e. 3.125"). 3-1/16" + 0.040" is 3.1025", which is too small.

If you're going to use the early clutch fork, just make certain that moment arm on the pushrod side is the same as the pressed steel one. The locating holes for the pullback spring may not be in the same place, though.

Rob
yeah that was the maths I was looking at here just now and wondered that 040 over was wrong. Thanks for confirming.

I used Mahle rings on dad's 307 Chev way back when and that motor is just a dream. I see they do Grey motor rings in this size, I'm inclined to go that way again unless there's you have any better ideas from experience?

As for the clutch fork spring, I guess you're referring to the one that was missing from both EK's I've owned?? :lol:
I see old mate on Ebay 'easybits' is selling them for $25... reckon I might pay a visit to my local parts/hardware store first.
In the Shed
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Re: Leroy the EK Ute

Post by In the Shed »

Hey Joe,

Looks like plenty of shed time there. Very impressed with the vinyl paint, I initially thought you had new door cards. They came up a treat.

You did well to get the harmonic balance off with that puller, they can be a bit stubborn sometimes. Having the engine out would have given you more room. Motor should be good once it gets a clean up.

Regards
Stephen
A day in the shed beats a day at work!
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thebrotherj
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Re: Leroy the EK Ute

Post by thebrotherj »

In the Shed wrote: Mon Jan 08, 2018 11:13 pm Looks like plenty of shed time there. Very impressed with the vinyl paint, I initially thought you had new door cards. They came up a treat.

You did well to get the harmonic balance off with that puller, they can be a bit stubborn sometimes. Having the engine out would have given you more room. Motor should be good once it gets a clean up.
Honestly, it's bloody awesome. I want to paint every vinyl thing I own with the stuff.

And thank you. I think I might some kind of mystical alignment with the Gods of interference fit: That cheap, poorly made puller hasn't let me down, on countless applications over the years. Don't be fooled by that short (albeit handsome) Stahl Willie spanner though, I had to jump on it with a breaker bar to get things moving...
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thebrotherj
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Re: Leroy the EK Ute

Post by thebrotherj »

So I’m deep in the engine rebuild zone at the moment. Was hoping I could get this car running without major attention but the waist high gum boots are on and the river’s still rising.

Determined that it is bored .040” over.

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Concern that the marks in my No.3 cylinder wall and cleaner-than-the-rest-piston crown is due to coolant seeping through a porous cylinder wall, have lead me to send the block to the machine shop for checking and correcting. Likely it will cop a sleeve in that bore, deck the block & hone all. I’m hoping to retain 40 though bores & existing pistons and simply re-ring it and get it back together. We’ll see what Jack at KC’s finds.

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Head is looking good, though one water jacket has corroded a bit close to the compression sealing ring at No.2 I think.

I had the cam gear pressed off in my old stomping ground in Artarmon while I was dropping the motor off at KCs, then ran it down to Camtech on the way back this arvo. They ran some quick comparisons to a Stage 3 spec cam they had on hand and found mine to be similar... a bit more lift on the inlet even. I’m asking them to re-grind (if there’s enough on the base lobe) for a calmer, low rpm torque/power band specification, as I’ll be trundling round Sydney in stop start traffic mainly.

I also picked up my flywheel from the machinist and the clutch I decided to take a punt on: Clutch Industries ‘upgrade’ for crashbox Greys, with 220mm diameter plate. It’s a nice looking unit, will measure it on the weekend and see if it’s outer extremities are greater than the one it replaces. Hoping it doesn’t require any material removal from the bellhousing.

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Got the spigot bush out tonight with axle grease, a hammer & and a taped up bolt, currently making extensions out of thick plate steel for my gear puller so I can get the crank gear off (pics to explain will follow) ready for the new metal JP timing gear set that has arrived also.

Speaking of pulling metal, the screws in my finger now schedule for removal next week sometime. I’ll linish the crank and clean up the pistons & engine covers etc on the weekend before I’m laid up again.

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It’s all happening. Image



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In the Shed
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Re: Leroy the EK Ute

Post by In the Shed »

Hey Joe,
No stopping you now, keen to see this motor come back together. How long do they reckon you'll be out of action for?

Regards
Stephen
A day in the shed beats a day at work!
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