I've started the process of freshening up the engine.  Got it stripped down, then re-indexed the oil pump so setting the timing will be easier.












I have discovered the engine went through a fairly recent rebuild.  Everything seems cleaned and polished, but when I drove it before the Willys was torn apart, it felt under powered.  It had timing issues and huge tires, so I convinced myself that this was the reason for low power.  That said, I wanted to know for sure.  I did a leak down test. On all 4 cylinders, air was leaking from the compression chamber, to the oil galley.  It was substantial.  60 to 80% loss on all cylinders.  I pulled the head.  It came off with ease.  Literally 10 minutes.







With help from others, I found the piston rings are wrong, the ring end gap is wrong, and the cylinders were not cross hatch honed.  I'm currently doing some cylinder and piston measuring to see if there was damage done to the cylinder walls.  Hopefully they are okay.  This engine is already bored to .060 over.   I understand this to be the limit for the L-134.  So far, cylinder and piston #4 are fine. 





I am hopeful that new rings and some light honing will have this up and running with all the vigor an L-134 can offer. 

Any thoughts are always welcome.

Tim

Ryan, I wish I had that option.  The PO bought this Willys from a daughter that had a power of attorney for her institutionalized father.  The PO bought this about a year before I bought it.  He parked it in his yard and did nothing to it.  He intended to pull the engine and put it in the '46 2A I got from him also. 

His CR add said this engine ran, but when I made him start it, he looked surprised when it actually did start.

Unfortunately, this puzzle is missing some pieces.

Take a look at this.  On the left, is the unbroken top ring I took off the #2 piston.  I put it in the #2 cylinder to check the gap.  The gap should be .00955", not 5/8".  No wonder I had leaking compression chambers...

I am in the process of measuring.  All cylinders look fairly new.  They are all marked   .060 ---->    On top.

I've cleaned, then measured #1,2 and 3 pistons.  So far, they are measuring out to be 3.181" .to 3.182 at the bottom skirt. My caliper is supposedly accurate to + / - .005. 

I am waiting for a bore gauge to arrive, but I did rig up a rudimentary measuring device.  I made a pin that will just fit the #4 bore, then measured it with my caliper.  Pin measures 3.184".  I then moved the pin up, down, turn, up, down, turn etc.  Toughest part is holding the pin level.  So far, there is only one area in the #3 bore that is a fraction wider than 3.184".

Don't crucify me!  This approach is just until I get my bore gauge.  I just had to do something besides stare down those holes!

In any event, things look to be within spec of .003", but again my caliper may be reading .005 + or -. 

Such is the life of a back yard mechanic with limited resources.

Tim

I disassembled the engine.  Most of the internals are in surprisingly good shape. 


The pistons have no rub marks...





The main and rod bearings look new too...





I cleaned up the block and cross hatch honed the cylinders.





The head cleaned up nice...






The crankshaft looks good too.  They measured out at .01 under standard...

Randy, it's a horrible place for the drain, but this is where I keep finding them on my other engines too.  When I drain the block, I stick a 1/4" hose in the end of the drain thingy so it won't poor all over the generator and then down the block.

Where is yours located?

Tim

Hey Tim,

About time we saw some pictures - I thought that you may have gone into hibernation

The progress is really looking good - I can't wait to see the final assembly - Keep up the good work

You never know what can turn up when you get into the tear down process but it looks as though you pinpointed your initial problem.

Regards,

George

Hey Tim

My drain is in the same place as yours. My engine number is 3J 14753.

George