Club 80-90 Forums

A few months ago my van had a valve snap at the collet. Luckily it stayed in the guide and didn't do any other damage. A local garage fitted a new valve and since then I driven over a 1000 miles including a trip from Devon to the Lake District. The van didn't seem to have the poke it used to but it would still get to 70mph but often needed use of an extra gear on the hills. This lack of power got progressively worse until a couple of weeks ago when it wouldn't actually make it up a hill (1 in 3) on the way to its MOT.

Last week I changed the plugs, checked the fuel filter (new one fitted before the Lakes) and set up the timing but it made no difference. Today I decided to check the valve timing. After checking the Haynes, Bently and on-line I followed the instructions to the letter. I noticed as I adjusted the valves that none of them seemed to be set right? I set each pair to just touching plus one & a half turns, turned the engine 180' before setting the next pair. After I set them all I turned the engine over by hand a couple of times and it all seemed ok. When I turned the ignition key the engine wouldn't turn over? The starter spun but the engine wouldn't turn over?

Confused I retired to the house for a cup of tea and to check the manuals again. While I was sipping my tea I remembered a conversation I had with the garage I bought the van from a few years ago. They had fitted a new heat exchanger before I picked the van up and the mechanic said " I think your engine might be from a Bay because the heat exchanger we were going to fit had the wrong shaped port."

This got me thinking. If my engine is from a Bay, maybe it doesn't have hydraulic lifters? I went back out to the van and re-set all the valves to have a 0.15mm gap at TDC. Bingo. The van turned over, fired up and sounded sweet. So far I've only been for a spin around the block but the van seems to have it's mojo back and can climb hills again.

So finally my questions:-
Are there any external differences that would confirm my engine is out of a Bay?
Would hydraulic lifters & push-rods from a T25 be a straight swap for the solid lifters my van probably has?
Is it worth doing?

Just a thought....

but if it ain't broke don't fix it!!

Other than that, I have no idea!

What is the engine code on the block?

Em
x

The engine code is CU, with a number around 83000 I think. We've just driven out to Princetown on Dartmoor, had fish & chips and driven back. Everything still good.

CJ was a bay 2ltr engine, CU is a T25 2ltr engine but if it has been reconditioned any thing handy that fits could have been used. You have probably got bay heads and solid tappets with hopefully a bay cam on a T25 crankcase.

unless....the cu has been reconditioned bt the engine shop.....mine came back with solid lifters.

being the engine shop, it didn't last very long.


Em
xx

Agree with em on this one.

Mine was and engine shop recon

Although it was made larger it too has solid lifters. These however are'nt a straight swap,
by the look of my case it seems to have been machiened and sleeves inserted to accept the solid lifters.

There is a test you can do i believe, i once got told that if you remove the rocker cover and rockers puch down on the pushrod,
if there is a little give then you have hydraulic lifters if there is no give then you have solid lifters. (give will be minor).

Not saying this is a well known or given method but the mech who looked at mine before the strip down done this test and it proved right.

Chris.

jh engines used to refit cus with solid tappets as does laurie petit.

if its ok leave well alone!!

Message received and understood.