Stripping the Engine

The Engine for my 1978 MGB had been pulled from the car and was in my friends shop. With the help of my friends brother and Dad, both heavy duty mechanics, we systematically took the motor apart. I had a great book, Haynes, MGB, to follow and the four of us spent the evening and next Saturday going through the strip.

The head and manifolds had been removed so we just needed to dissemble the block. The engine was taken apart in the following order;

• Removal of the flywheel. The flywheel bolts have a tab washer that has to be bent back prior to removing the bolts. This was done with a flathead screwdriver and a hammer. The starter ring was in pretty good shape and the clutch surface showed little signs of wear.
• Removal of the oil seal retaining plate. The oil seal retaining plate had tab washers as well that had to be pushed back prior to removing the retaining plate.
  
• Removal of the engine back plate. Once the back plate was removed the oil seal could come out. Replacement of the oil seal is cheap and should be done regardless of what it looks like.
• Removal of the distributer housing. The distributor housing is held in with a plate; after removal of the plate the housing comes right out with a slight twist.
• Removal of the tappet covers and tappets. Each of the two tappet covers come off with a single bolt. Once the tappet covers are off the tappets can be removed by sticking a finger into the tappet and pulling it out. The tappets were worn and corroded, an indication of what the cam was going to look like!
  
• Removal of the water pump. The water pump pulley was removed and then the water pump bolts could be accessed. The water pump didn't want to come off and had to be gently tapped with a rubber mallet to come loose. The water pump was slightly corroded but turned well.
  

We turned the engine over so we could access the oil pan.

• Removal of the oil pan. All of the oil pan bolts were removed and the pan given a tap with a rubber mallet to break the seal.
• Removal of the oil pump. The oil pump was unbolted from the block and removed.
• Removal of the timing chain cover. The front crank bolt had a tab washer on it that had to be pushed back before removal. When trying to loosen the front crank bolt the crank just turned, a good sign!, so we stuck a 2X4 in the crank to prevent the crank from turning while we loosened the bolt. Once the bolt was removed the pulley could be removed. Next the timing chain cover was unbolted and tapped with a rubber mallet to remove it.
• Removal of the timing chain. The timing chain tensioner was removed, it showed considerable wear. Another tab washer on the large gear was pushed back and the gear was removed. The gears and chain were pulled off in one piece. Keys in the cam and crank were taken off and stored with the gears.
• Removal of the cam. The camshaft had a retaining plate that was removed. Then the cam could be eased out. The cam was in very poor shape. The lobes were almost round and deeply scored. It would have to go to the machinist to see if it could be repaired.
• Removal of the front plate. Now that the timing chain was off the front plate could be removed.

We turned the engine on its side so the pistons could be eased out.

• Removal of the pistons. The end caps were loosened and removed, it should be noted that the nuts were 12 point nuts. Once the caps were off the pistons were pushed out through the top of the motor. The sleeves had a bit of a ridge but no major scores.

We turned the motor upside down so the crank could be removed.

• Removal of the main bearing caps. The bolts on the bearing caps were removed and a puller was fitted to the caps. The puller did the trick as the caps were tight. We stamped the caps to make sure they would be put back in the right place. The bearings had little wear, as did the crank and the thrust bearings.
  
• Removal of the crank. The crank was lifted out and placed aside. It was in great shape and showed no signs of wear.
  

We made sure to label the parts and keep them together. All the small parts were put in the varsol tank for a good soak. We loaded up the block and took it to the local car wash to wash it out. It worked well, just turned the car wash to engine cleaner and it came out sparkling!

Once the parts came out of the tank they were coated with oil. We did an inventory of parts, figured out what we required, and made a trip to the local British car shop to place the order. Then all we had to do was wait for the phone call that would tell us the parts had arrived.