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Electra engine rebuild

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Rebuilding my Electra nad have a couple of questions:

Does anyone know the size and thread pitch for the sludge trap plug? Mine was in there solid and I had to drill it out and peel out the edge. Looks like it's aWhitworth and my guage says 19g? Not quite sure.

Does anyone sell these plugs or do I have to make one myself?

Also, will the gasket set for a Navigator work for the Electra?

Ian

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Hello there,

The plugs are available on the club website , or they were last time I looked. The crankshaft is the same as the Navigator.

I can't remember the thread but I think it was a bit odd.

Patrick

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Hello there again,

It's probably best to speak to Neil Shoosmith- Spares Admin- about the gasket set to get up to date info.. All gasket sets are reproduction now and there was a problem a while back with reproduction Navigator head gaskets. Unless someone knows better.

Navigator bore is 63mm and the Electra is 66mm.Jubilee head gasket (60mm bore) is totally different as it uses two separate gaskets -, Navigator and Electra have one piece head gasket.

Patrick

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Previously Ian Easton wrote:

Rebuilding my Electra nad have a couple of questions:

Does anyone know the size and thread pitch for the sludge trap plug? Mine was in there solid and I had to drill it out and peel out the edge. Looks like it's aWhitworth and my guage says 19g? Not quite sure.

Does anyone sell these plugs or do I have to make one myself?

Also, will the gasket set for a Navigator work for the Electra?

Ian

Hi Ian

I am just restoring my electra hope to be on the road by april with regard to gaskets the head and base gaskets together with the rocker, pionts cover and oil cover gaskets are available from the club but all other casings gaskets will need to be made which I am now doing but think I may also use silicone let me know how you get on

trevor

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Thanks for the help guys. I found the crankshaft plug in the spares section - I didn't find it on the first look that's why I asked the initial question

Took the conrods off today. One shell has a bad score in it so it looks like I'll be needing those too..

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Hello there,

That's a useful site Dan. I know you have both Jubilee and Navigator engines and it is possible that the Jubilee has a different sludge trap plug to the Navigator/Electra - NOC shop lists the Jubilee part number as 21137 and the Navigator as 23493.

Park Engineering at Malton in Yorkshire (top class engineers) reground the crank on my first Jubilee and did exactly what Ian has done - i.e drill out the plug. They couldn't find a tap the right size to clean out the thread despite the fact that they had a full set of CEI, Whit,Metric etc. In the end we made the plugs but I think from memory that the thread was a very strange one - BSF fine I think it was.

Patrick

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Hi guys,

I did write an article in Roadholder about rebuilding lightweight engines so they wouldn't leak. I guess it was quite a while ago now. Repeating the advice on head gaskets for Electra.

The Electra has a 66 mm bore but liner is not spigoted into the cylinder head. Jubilee has cylinder liner spigoted into head gasket. All Jubilee head gaskets will fit the Electra because the liner outside diameter on Jubilee is near enough 66mm.

When saying all Jubilee head gaskets will fit the Electra,I advise great caution with the pattern head gaskets that are around because the stud hole positions in the gaskets are anything but correct. Force it on, you wrinkle the gasket and may even find the reinforcing ring around the bore seal is hanging in the bore. Judicious use of needle file recommended at fitting stage.

You may in the future findJub gaskets beneficialto the original fit Electra head gasket because you can lift just one head and replace it's gasket without disturbing the other.

Of the gasket sets around, a Navigator gasket set plus two separately bought Jub head gaskets gives you most that you need. You will only be short the chaincase gasket. Navigator gasket sets don't include a head gasket (unless you have aVERY old gasket set). If you do have a composite, one piece Navigator ghead gasket, it will fit Electra.

OnPreviously patrick_mullen wrote:

Hello there again,

It's probably best to speak to Neil Shoosmith- Spares Admin- about the gasket set to get up to date info.. All gasket sets are reproduction now and there was a problem a while back with reproduction Navigator head gaskets. Unless someone knows better.

Navigator bore is 63mm and the Electra is 66mm.Jubilee head gasket (60mm bore) is totally different as it uses two separate gaskets -, Navigator and Electra have one piece head gasket.

Patrick

Permalink

Previously peter_holland1 wrote:

Hi guys,

I did write an article in Roadholder about rebuilding lightweight engines so they wouldn't leak. I guess it was quite a while ago now. Repeating the advice on head gaskets for Electra.

The Electra has a 66 mm bore but liner is not spigoted into the cylinder head. Jubilee has cylinder liner spigoted into head gasket. All Jubilee head gaskets will fit the Electra because the liner outside diameter on Jubilee is near enough 66mm.

When saying all Jubilee head gaskets will fit the Electra,I advise great caution with the pattern head gaskets that are around because the stud hole positions in the gaskets are anything but correct. Force it on, you wrinkle the gasket and may even find the reinforcing ring around the bore seal is hanging in the bore. Judicious use of needle file recommended at fitting stage.

You may in the future findJub gaskets beneficialto the original fit Electra head gasket because you can lift just one head and replace it's gasket without disturbing the other.

Of the gasket sets around, a Navigator gasket set plus two separately bought Jub head gaskets gives you most that you need. You will only be short the chaincase gasket. Navigator gasket sets don't include a head gasket (unless you have aVERY old gasket set). If you do have a composite, one piece Navigator ghead gasket, it will fit Electra.

OnPreviously patrick_mullen wrote:

Hello there again,

It's probably best to speak to Neil Shoosmith- Spares Admin- about the gasket set to get up to date info.. All gasket sets are reproduction now and there was a problem a while back with reproduction Navigator head gaskets. Unless someone knows better.

Navigator bore is 63mm and the Electra is 66mm.Jubilee head gasket (60mm bore) is totally different as it uses two separate gaskets -, Navigator and Electra have one piece head gasket.

Patrick

Hello Peter, do you still have that article you wrote for Roadholder, I am a new member with a Navigator currently working on and I would like to read your article..
Andrew
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Andrew,

If you go to the NOC homepage and log on, you will see a link to ROADHOLDER. This takes you to past issues of our monthly magazine.

Go to 2011, December, Issue RH290. Pages 37,38,42,44,45 cover the article you are looking for.

In the intervening years experience has made me check the left and right soldered joints on the rocker oil feed manifold too. These soldered banjo joints can crack and the resultant oil leak dribble all over the top of the engine. Difficult then to determine the source of the leak. Old age and vibration hardens the copper tube and previous owners allow the banjos to twist while tightening the oil feed bolts.

Best fix is to anneal the copper tubes of the manifold and re-solder. If the banjo turns when you tighten the oil feed bolt, the newly softened copper tube bends and stretches, rather than cracking the solder.

Good luck,

Peter H

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Previously peter_holland1 wrote:

Andrew,

If you go to the NOC homepage and log on, you will see a link to ROADHOLDER. This takes you to past issues of our monthly magazine.

Go to 2011, December, Issue RH290. Pages 37,38,42,44,45 cover the article you are looking for.

In the intervening years experience has made me check the left and right soldered joints on the rocker oil feed manifold too. These soldered banjo joints can crack and the resultant oil leak dribble all over the top of the engine. Difficult then to determine the source of the leak. Old age and vibration hardens the copper tube and previous owners allow the banjos to twist while tightening the oil feed bolts.

Best fix is to anneal the copper tubes of the manifold and re-solder. If the banjo turns when you tighten the oil feed bolt, the newly softened copper tube bends and stretches, rather than cracking the solder.

Good luck,

Peter H

Thanks Peter, found it. Thanks also for the good luck - feeling like it might matter...

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The solder joints were loose on my Electra's oil lines. It only took a few minutes to clean them up and resolder them.

 


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