Forum Replies Created
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Bruce,
Do you mean the pedal, which I think is cast bronze, or the rubbers for them? A pedal or maybe a pair were advertiserd on ebay a few months ago, at a daftly expensive start price, so I doubt they sold. Someone did make the rubbers many years ago (1980s), not aware of a supplier today.
Colin,
I think the SkyHi jack is a postwar Lagonda item. Perhaps they did make them for 2 Litres!Laurence
Hi,
I bought a rear crankshaft seal from the Club Spares many years ago,
which was fitted as part of the professional engine rebuild; so I can’t offer fitting advice. The V12 spares offered by the Club today include GSKV05 “Crankshaft oil seal, V12”, but doesn’t state if it’s front or rear.
Removing the “pan” will get you nowhere, despite the length of time taken to undo and remove the vast number of nuts and bolts! All you will see is more aluminium casting.
The V12 engine has no bellhousing, as the gearbox is separately mounted. It follows therefore that it MAY be possible to change this seal with the engine in situ. You would need to remove the cardan shaft (absolutely essential to replace all the nuts, bolts and washes in their original locations), clutch assembly and flywheel.
Welcome to the world of V12 ownership, but bear in mind rule number one. No small or apparently easy job is possible on the V12 without having to do at least one otherwise unnecessary major job first.
Before doing anything at all, you need these essential publications:
Original factory handbook; fortunately almost a workshop manual. You will need to establish if your engine is Sanction 1, or 2, as firing order and camshaft settings differ.
Motor Trader Supplement for the V12. Published in 1939, this fills in the spaces left by the handbook. as with the handbook, the Club can supply a reprint, but do note the photographs in the original are much clearer.
The Club’s own Revised Owners Manual for the V12; this includes the combined knowledge of many members, with much hands-on information.
Donald Bastows book on W O Bentley is highly informative, with copy blueprints, photos etc … but it is highly technical!
LaurenceAnother oil to consider might be a synthetic gearbox oil, which is certainly available in 90 grade. I’ve used this in the transmission of my 205 CTi since I bought it in 2003, and indeed the previous owner also used it. This I would think more suitable for a gearbox intended to run on gear oil. I say this because the later G10 is designed to use engine oil, so take care that your engine oil advice was not intended for those later gearboxes. The synthetic oil, whilst being the correct grade, is substantially lighter in consistency, so will lubricate more thoroughly and offer far less drag.
LaurenceMight be different for earlier P100s, but I’m pretty sure my spare pair are unaltered from the prewar set up, which is not as Rich thinks, but one dipping and the other extinguishing. On these, the non-dipping one has the dipping reflector, indeed everything bar the dipping solenoid itself. So it may be that all you need is the solenoid assembly, which should come with the actuating pin. So worth opening the lamp concerned and seeing if the reflector is on pivots.
LaurenceYour first step should be to join the Lagonda Club, if you have not done so already. Then contact Arnold Davey, the Registrar, who will be able to tell you what previous history is on file regarding your particular V12. It is also possible to obtain a copy of the works history, which you will I believe have to pay for, from one of Maurice Leo’s sons.
On purchase, you should have received the original UK registration books, or at least the last one before your car left the UK. Sadly such paperwork often gets overlooked at time of sale, especially where, in the USA, it probably had no legal relevance.
LaurenceHi David,
I think the moly additive I tried was one of those supposed to stop leaks and effectively remetal the cylinders. Compression test before and after proved they were false claims.
The V12 was taken off the road in 1983 as I was concerned that continuing to drive it would cause damage. Since rebuilt, I have the old pistons etc and many rings are missing entirely, and others only partially there!
I recall there’s a school of thought in the VSCC just to use cheap oil, but change frequently. Bear in mind also that oil manufacturers claim that they have scientifically formulated their products, and have included all additives they feel necessary.I’m tempted to use a synthetic gear oil, which my Peugeot seems to thrive on!
Laurence
Hi David,
I did use some moly type additive in my V12 that did absolutely nothing. The problem I had was oil consumption, which eventually reached a staggering 100mpg yes per gallon. I used Redex oil treatment (completely different to the more usual petrol treatment), and that really did improve the oil consumption to a more manageable level.For a newly rebuilt engine, the filter should catch anything untoward. That said, flushing oil would do no harm, and indeed could be beneficial as an aid to initial running in. The one issue I can think of is, how much flushing oil will be left in your engine after draining? The more left, the more it will dilute your fresh oil. Certainly worth draining the filter, as a good pint or more would otherwise remain.
Laurence
I wondered if that was what you intended. The guiding factor would presumably be whether there is excessive wear otherwise occuring to the lower end of the pushrod and/or tappet. In service these areas are normally fairly flooded with oil. Drilling the upper pushrod cup could be detrimental: the cup would be an oil reservoir; drilling it would transform it into an oil drain, possibly to the detriment of the ball and cup bearing surfaces. More care, thought and science went into the design of engine components in period than we appreciate today. That doesn’t mean they always got it right, though!
My LG6 has an S4 engine; no pushrod trouble so far, but then I’ve rarely approached max. revs. Did once get it up to 105mph on the original 3.58 cwp, which must have been thereabouts. Doubtless the fastest the car had ever gone, given the wind resistance presented by its original saloon body. Higher revs in the lower gears appears to be pointless performancewise, the complete opposite to driving the V12.
Laurence
Hi,
Why oil into the pushrod tube? The lower end should already be well lubricated. Also, oil in the tube would add weight, not ideal.Regarding the tube construction, good point, but if the later pushrods are reliable in service, perhaps simply evidence of ongoing improvement/development of the Meadows engine. Sometimes “improvements” are however cost-related, to the detriment of reliability!
LaurenceHi John,
Hope it wasn’t the “professional vintage engineers” who “rebuilt” my LG6 for the previous owner so appallingly. What a daft thing to do, hope you can replace the rogue studs without too much difficulty.
LaurenceHi John,
We had also planned a short “holiday” to follow, but the hotel charging an unexpected extra ?66 for breakfasts (since refunded) and the overlooked cost of petrol to get home left us with no money to pay for it, whilst we still wait for money from our investments to be released, Don’t invest with LMEP / AG2R!Still find your nut loosening odd. Usual problem is totally the opposite, brass nuts appear to age-shrink onto their studs in this application. Not come across a Nord-Lock washer. Locking (or at least, spring) washers are unusual in this application, either because of corrosion or more likely, heat de-tempering the washer.
I think a far superior solution would be a suitable grade of Loctite. In fact, as that might prevent corrosion, could be a major benefit in that eventually undoing them in the future could actually be viable without stripping threads etc.
All this said, I think we are talking of addressing the symptom, not making the cure here. Firstly, I’d check that all your exhaust mountings are secure and effective. If that doesn’t reveal anything untoward, perhaps there is some resonance/vibration within the engine causing this. I suspect the 2 Litre engine will be solidly mounted, so engine mounting unlikely to be a culprit, but worth checking mounting bolts. An unlikely contender could be cracked chassis or loose rivets, but I suspected you’d have encountered other problems in that case.
One final thought, could there be a problem with the thread form on the Club-supplied nuts you are using? Unlikely, as surely others would have encountered the same problem. Possibly the stud threads are worn; if rusted as they often are, de-rusting may have removed enough metal to cause problems, especially if what is left of the threads has effectively been polished smooth.
Laurence
Hi John,
We got home safely also from Fougeres, although soaked to the skin in seconds due to the deluge encountered. Given the weather forecast, we got off more lightly than hoped!Surprised to hear your gasket is intact. If it was blowing one would at least expect a burn mark. You seem to have taken care that everything is true, so perhaps the gasket is faulty internally, ie the exhaust is passing through the gasket, between its outer mating surfaces? The only other possibility I can think of is, I hate to say it, a crack in the manifold.
Have you tried my Redex suggestion? You may need to blank off, partially at least, the tail pipe, but white smoke emerging will hopefully identify the culprit.
Laurence
If it had been me I would have improved that number plate and re-used it on the car. Yes it would need some work but it is hardly terrible! Far more individual and indeed original than the pretty standard plate doubtless now fitted. OK the other one of that pair might have been missing or beyond repair, but hey, you can’t see both plates at the same time.
Surely the drop arm would need to be longer to make the steering lighter? Also a shorter arm could limit the amount of available lock, depending on the steering box design a propos the lock stops on the kingpin housing.
All very odd. 12319 is an LG6 chassis number. 12318 has engine 457, so LG6/459/S4 is not only correct, but undoubtedly original to this chassis. It seems though, definitely no connection to the vehicle photographed/advertised!