Rear main oil seal

[jansens]

I ordered and received a new rear main oil seal and cover plate. I've Speedi-sleeved the flywheel boss already for the seal to run on. 

The new rear cover plate doesn't have the half circle cut outs in it's flange like the original scroll type and it looks like the flange on the new one will block the drain hole in the crankcase.

Do I need to file a cutout into it? 

With that fitted I want to do a test run of the oil pump to check the jets are correctly pointed and that oil is getting to all the right places.

Simon

[Steve Hainsworth]

Hi Simon,
Good to see you have got stuck in since I last saw you. I would certainly arrange for the oil to get back to the sump from the oil seal housing if this is stopping it.
Can you retain the thrower as well as using the seal ? I would if possible
 Really good that you took my advice with the Speedy sleeve on the flywheel. this will make the seal last much longer and work better.
I have purchased the Copper pipe for my filter assy and all the fittings from Twiggs in Seaview.
Cheers Steve Hainsworth.

[Ruairidh Dunford]

Like Steve, I can thouroughly teccomend speedi sleeves, I lubricate them with high temp grease on assembly.

I always fit the thrower behind the seal.

You will need to file the casting to expose the oil return aperture, I use a round file.

The oil troughs in Pheonix shafts are rarely symmetrical, in my experience, so lining the jets medially between both sides is necessary.

Good luck.

[jansens]

Thanks Steve and R, cutout filed and oil thrower in place. Flywheel not fitted yet. Steve, I was going to come to the VCC meeting last night but getting the seal sorted and aligning the jets took far longer than expected.

I used diesel to test with. Since I have modified the oil ways by blocking the rear passage and arranging for oil to go into the front of the crankcase (via a filter) I was able to attach a hose to the barb at the front with a funnel on it. I could fill the funnel while holding it below the jet level then lift it up to allow diesel to flow through the jets. Lowering the funnel would stop the flow to allow adjustments with a short length of bar with a hole drilled in the end fitted over the jets.

Absolutely necessary to do this as they definitely don't squirt where they seem to point! I also found that on the Phoenix crank the holes aren't symmetrical as you say R. I arranged the jets as you suggest so it evenly hit both sides of the crank. The jets hit the troughs but not the holes fully. I remembered too late that Ian had mentioned to me ages ago about grinding the holes to enlarge the entry but now everything is assembled I don't want to risk grinding dust inside the engine.

As a final test I installed the oil pump and ran that. I used a new key which needed a lot of filing down to fit. I then ran the pump via the nut with a socket on a cordless drill. I tried without the camshaft installed as I wanted to check that the cam bushes were getting lubricated. No worries there. It's impressive how much liquid gets pumped about. Diesel everywhere!

I was thinking when I installed the sleeve that I would need the flywheel boss machined but using the one R recommended in an old post (can't remember the number off the top of my head) I found the boss was the exact right size to fit once I had wire brushed the paint away. The sleeve was too long so I carefully trimmed it down and made sure the edge was smooth so the seal isn't damaged when the flywheel is fitted.

Simon

[Ruairidh Dunford]

Some modify the troughs as you describe but I have never done so and never suffered any issues as a result.

[Greig Smith]

I enlarged the holes in the Phoenix crank in our supercharged single seater special with a series of rotary burrs and a die grinder. After had enlarged the holes, I radiused them to maximize oil flow into the holes in the troughs. I have a small in-line pump that fits onto the end of my battery drill, it has a hose that fits onto the extended oil pick ups and another that goes into a large tin of paraffin.

As Simon notes the jets definitely don't squirt where they point. The flow test is the only way to be sure. As I also fitted the Mike Forrest double oiler conversion, we had to do this for both sets of jets. A large plastic tub under the crank case keeps your boots from filling up with paraffin.... That and the ability to vary the intensity of the flow via the battery drill

Aye
Greig

[jansens]

Just so it is noted here the sleeve I used was numbered 99187.

When I went to visit Steve the other week he showed me a crank he has (a Barlow I think?) and it had much nicer and more rounded troughs for the oil pickups. The Phoenix is rather square.

When testing with the cordless drill the drill actually died in a flash of light and a cloud of smoke, a little alarming when you are splashing fuel about everywhere! Diesel isn't exactly easy to ignite of course so no danger. Poor old drill had just had enough I guess. Brushes are probably worn out but I wont know until I do the autopsy.

Next job is bolt on flywheel and then fit the rods and pistons and the block temporarily to check how far up or down the pistons are in the bores at TDC. After wiping the diesel off everything first!

Simon

[Ian Williams]

Although unmodified Phoenix oil troughs will work well enough on a standard car I would question the wisdom of leaving them alone in a performance situation, you may get away with it but I have personally witnessed the consequences.

[jansens]

Although unmodified Phoenix oil troughs will work well enough on a standard car I would question the wisdom of leaving them alone in a performance situation, you may get away with it but I have personally witnessed the consequences.

Hi Ian, I think I will leave it alone for now just to get the car running and on the road. When I look at adding the blower I will revisit everything. Was really obvious though once I started squirting diesel at the crank and rotating it that the troughs don't catch as well as they could.

It's a bit of a trap for newbies like me where you buy new parts but they need to be modified to perform at their best. The crank and the missing cutout in the oil seal cover are good examples. They will work but unless someone tells you that you can improve them how does someone without experience know?

The books are handy but some things are a little out of date. Am glad we have the forum to ask question in!

You need to add some engine building classes to your old men bashing metal ones up there 

Simon

[Ruairidh Dunford]

Last year a friend phoned from Austria reporting high oil pressure following a stop and some furtive intervention to the jets by others on the trip - never let anyone touch your engine unless you know they are capable!!

I advised my friend to lance the jets which they eventually succeeded in doing with very thin fuse wire. They continued on their journey back to the U.K. but the oil pressure failed to drop and we were left scratching our heads.

Once home, with the help of some surgical pliers and a dentist’s mirror, I removed the end of a paper clip
That had snapped off inside the front jet. Oil pressure returned to normal immediately but they had travelled around 600 miles like this without ill effect. I shared the story with a forum member who said that he had always thought the mist in the crankcase played a significant role in lubricating the big ends over the jet aim.

We spend a long time setting up jet alignment in calm conditions, I have often wondered how much of that alignment remains at 3000rpm (and beyond) with just 3-5psi.

And then there are the number of people who simply exchanged their broken crank for a Pheonix without a thought for jet alignment, Austin crank troughs and holes are quite different in placement...