Slippery Push Rods

Previously wrote:

>...I have the most insubordinate pushrods in my engine and they have defied me to remove the head. They are slippery, coz they are oily and trying to keep all four as far up into the head as possible whilst simultaneously trying to roll the head forward could only conceivably be managed by an octopus. Is there a pro or two out there who might impart some little gem of advice......

Flabbergasted Birkenhead<

Try raising the head and slipping a longish piece of wood betweenheadand barrels to holdthe headup.

Then loosely fit a cable-tie around one set of pushrods, lift them up as far as they'll go (carefully levering with the wood to keep them free) and gently tighten the cable-tie. repeat with the other set. Then the pushrods will be held in pairs and you have something to wrap your tentacles around, while you roll the head.

Dirty Fingernails in Devon

Who's a clever boy then Dirty Fingernails? Excellent - head is now off, 4 pushrods in great nick and not a single bend to be seen. Cylinders themselves are now removed, both in good nick, cross-hatching of a recent hone is evident though there is some browning past the piston rings.

Biggest problem I can see is that lobes 2 and 3 on the camshaft are severly stepped, the relative cam followers are severly pitted too, looks like a lack of lube at some point. There is a lot of endfloat on the camshaft too - perhaps one or more of the spacer shims has broken up. Could be 40 or 50 thou of float, I need a new camshaft and four followers - lookout e-bay, here I come.

TVM. Update to follow later.

Previously wrote:

I would avoid eBay and jumbles like the plague for highly stressed known problem area components like Commando cams and followers and would only buy from a trusted source. There is a lot to be said for more recent Andover Norton cams and followers.

There is a thrust washer on the Mk111 camshaft but they are not normally shimmed.

Thanks for those comments Richard, I will bear them in mind. Cheers.

Peter,

I agree with Richard when he warns you off eBay and autojumbles. It is a shame for the honest traders; but the scoundrels have mastered the art of talking a good game and even if you think you are smart enough to pick up on the "....found in my dad's shed"clichÃ?s, there are too many reasons not to buy there if you want good value. I have even been warned of consignments of warranty-returns, which have shown up recently.

I don't know where Andover Nortonget their cams from; but they certainly supply GPM pistons; so I would be careful there.

David Newman Camshafts of Farnborough Kent(Tel: 01689 857109) have been widely praised for their chilled iron Norton camshafts. They would also restore your original cam followers if the damage is within limits (around £9+ VAT per follower). That would be a far better course than some of the recently manufactureditems which have the stellite pads fall off (into your freshly rebuilt bottom end).

If you do choose a chilled iron cam, do remember to use the right torque settings, especially for the igntion rotor (I believe it is 9lbs ft). It is also worth having the rotor lapped to ensure there is no run-out. Norman White has been doing quite a lot of that apparently.

I bought two cams from David Newman recently. Total price,including VAT & delivery was £317.25.

Good luck.

Paul

I have been purchasing parts from Norvil in your neck of the woods, I am from the US. I am restoring a 1971 Commando fastback and have found after two years of sourcing parts that original equipment suppliers like Norvil are the best people to do business with. Ebay has some odds and ends but for what it is worth, when rebuilding a Norton engine the only way to go is OEM, IMHO. Craig