Commissioning new engine

[mike90045]

The new METRO crankcases innards, are painted with rust red glop, which camouflages rusty spots well.   The drop of oil on the end of the dipstick when I pulled it, at 45F, was very thick. I poked around, found nothing too nasty other than some casting stuff too rough for the red glop to cover up. I added magnets, 4 quarts, half way up the dipper, and closed it up. No play was felt in the idler gear.

Next, I just started to crank it over and heard 3 clicks (maybe would have been 4, but I had the decompress engaged, I guess from the camshaft, but never got a squeak from the injector.  I tried checking the prime past the fuel filter, to the inlet of the fuel pump, but got nothing out of the fuel pump, even with the HP line disconnected.  I'm believing from the cheesey booklet that came with it (an applies to all engine sumps except my layout) that when the fuel lever is lifted, it is shut off ?  ( a red rope to a pulley goes on that one ).  I suspect it must have run at the factory and again when Sam mounted it on the genset frame.

[veggie]

Good idea with the magnets.
I stuck one on the end of my oil pump inlet screen also.
Regarding the noises, I think 4 clicks is about right.
Oil pump, tappets (probably a bit loose), injector, etc....

veggie

[WGB]

Mike when I got mine from Sam I looked for about an hour.
I just about gave up when I found sand above the cam oil hole on the opposite side oh the fuel pump.

[WGB]

Inside:

[WGB]

I did a complete tear down, I'm glad I did.

[BruceM]

Pull your connecting rod bearings, check for sand scratches now and after some running. Check their fit and clearance with plastiguage while you're at it.  I had no sand in sump, but eventually found casting sand imbedded in black gunk under the crown of the piston. It was slowly be released as the engine ran. It was depressing watching the damage to my crank and multiple bearings, until I removed the connecting rod from the piston, and found the hidden source of casting sand.

I can't imagine a Rajkot product that is suitable for running without a complete tear down and inspection.  Could happen, but seems unlikely in this world/dimension/time.

[veggie]

Yep, I second what Bruce said.
My engine was very clean on the outside.
Inside the crankcase was also very clean. But when I removed the bearing shells, I found dirt and damaged bearings.
I don't know why they test their engines with dirty oil used over and over again. But they do it !

Best to remove the shells, check the clearances, and replace the shells if necessary.

veggie

[WGB]

My bearings were scratched but crank was beautiful.
I'm glad I never run my engine at all.

[veggie]

WGB,

You make a very good point there.
DO NOT run a new engine until you look at the bearing shells.
The shell only cost around $20, but if you run the engine and score the crank journal, it could cost a lot more.
(At least a lot more time).

veggie

[Ronmar]

I would say don't run one untill you pull the piston and inspect the wrist pin area noted above, as well as give a through cleaning up inside the piston.   As mentioned, any sand up there will continue to rain down and contaminate the rod big end untill the source is removed or exhausted.  That was the main reason I went with a "kit" engine.  It never got pre-damaged/test-ran under those conditions.

To bad the roid producers havn't heard of the pressure washer...

[JohnF]

BIG Disclaimer - I ordered and brought plain bearings in.....

A lot of the long run guys have gone to a plain upper connecting rod bearing and a hollow dipper - theory being that if there are no holes in the upper bearing, no contaminated oil can drip down onto the crank. The hollow dipper forces oil up into the bearing with no problem.  An added advantage is that the "oil wedge" is not disrupted by the grooves and holes in the top shell at the most critical time - around TDC. I've got them in my engines and they work well.

Plain shells, combined with an offset idler, can go a long way to improving the longevity of an engine.  Add a better camshaft in the twins and I think we will be able to improve the engines tremendously.

[Crumpite]

JohnF

I'm got a hollow dipper in hand, but don't know where to source the plain upper bearing.
Do you know where I might find one ?

Thanks,
Daryl

[mike90045]

is it possible to pull the piston & reinstall from the access door?  Or does it have to come out the top?

[lowspeedlife]

Sorry Mike, it's got to come out the top of the cylinder block, no way to pull it from the bottom of the cranck case.

  Scott R.

[mike90045]

What's the best way to get the rings back into the cylinder & reinstall the piston?
 
Compress each one by hand?
Hose clamp? 
Crowbar?