In January I started a post intended to encourage people to get at least one project finished this year. To avoid falling on my own sword I have made a start on recommissioning my RGS lookalike which hasn't been used for about ten years. A few years ago I bought a spare reconditioned engine for it (ha! Ha!). It turns out the engine was not reconditioned at all. I checked the vertical play on the timing side of the crank to find 0.008" so I've just finished reconditioning the crankshaft and had a right old faff trying to get the sludge trap to fit properly; the problem? I hear you ask... pattern parts of course! The sludge tube wouldn't fit in the oil gallery because its 'bell end' was too big (nice problem to have under different circumstances). The nose of the plug wouldn't fit in the other end of the tube. To achieve a fit I had to skim the 'bell' end on the lathe, skim the hole of the tube at the other end so that it was round, and turn a point and shoulder on the plug with the nose so that it fitted in the small end of the tube. Fitting was then quite straight forward.....
1) slide tube into gallery so the centre hole lines up with flywheel bolt / sludge tube locating bolt, then push the tube in slightly further. n.b. the bell end is at the timing side bush end - this ensures the sludge is caught in the tube.
2) fit plug with nose to crank and screw in until it moves the centre hole back in alignment. Give tube a tap at the bell end to make sure it is properly located on the plug nose. Check with torch down bell end.
3) Fit flywheel bolt / alignment bolt. Check with torch down bell end
4) Make sure the bell end is not covering the oilway drilling from the timing side bush.
5) Fit the plain plug over the exposed end of the sludge tube. I usually insert a drill through the timing side oilway whilst I'm doing this just to make sure the plug isn't covering any part of the oilway. Peen the plugs to prevent loosening in use.
.... and job's a good 'un.
