CU Engine out! Various problems come to light

[gareth]

Well, I'm pleased to see I've prompted some excitement, confusion and debate over the crankshaft seal!

Managed to remove the fan housing and oil cooler today - very messy with all the old oil knocking around. However, the fan itself was almost completely clean, as was the immediate rear of the fan once removed! I'm wondering if the oil inside the housing and cooler is left over from an earlier problem which was repaired and the fan replaced or something... sounds like I'm clutching at straws but it just seems odd that there's oil everywhere but the fan. The oil filler tube has definitely been leaking so that could explain the recent oiliness in the engine bay.

Unfortunately discovered that the airflaps and thermostat were completely missing from the fan housing - another area where the cooling is less than perfect then...

CovKid - thanks for the further advice. With great trepidation I checked the endfloat and it's within spec! What you're saying makes sense though, and nothing's leaking oil too badly so perhaps I shouldn't worry about replacing all the seals right now. Basically, we want to get the van back on the road as soon as we can to try and enjoy the rest of the summer - MOT due in Sept and maybe tough decisions to make based on that... Have nowhere to work on it at present (taking advantage of the fine weather and doing it in the road) but would very much enjoy rebuilding it I think. When things go right I find my confidence building... I have the Muir book - I'm finding as I get more involved with the engine it's making more and more sense due to the similarities, and I've learnt a lot from it.

cheers

Gareth

[CovKid]

No end slop is encouraging Just reseal the obvious bits and if you're lucky you may find a reasonable s/h head from someone on here to get you going again.

Lack of flaps/thermostat means your engine will take longer to warm up in winter months and may not idle very well when cold but I still come across engines without the thermostat. General concensus is that its better to have them (most wear with engines is during startup/warmup period) but at least its not the opposite way round and letting your engine cook. Its not the end of the world anyway.

[cumbriankeith]

The flaps are very important as they direct the cooling air to where it's needed - if the stat isn't working the sytem fails safe and over cools ie is slower to warm up and this means more engine wear as has already been said.
But no flaps at all means the air is not pushed thro the oil cooler properly - not good!!

[gareth]

Thanks again for all the support over this - really helpful and very reassuring! Having a break over the weekend as we're going away (camping without the van, boo!) but through the boards have managed to find someone with most of a CU engine in bits in their shed - hopefully they'll have the cooler and the flaps, and the bits of tinwear i'm missing. Either way, the engine's not going back in until I get the cooler and flaps sorted out.

Am a little nervous about buying a cylinder head 2nd hand as I have no idea what to look for in a good one, and anxious to get the van moving again to enjoy the remains of the summer. am i being a wuss?

cheers

gareth