Volvo EC15B mini - engine removal & injection pump overhaul - plus ......

[jackpreacher]

Onwards...

Friday 11th Jan 2013

1. Refitted renovated injectors.
2. Removed IP to install shim - Lo and behold, the original shim was still there, so I hadn't chucked it after all
3. Two of the four bolts securing the IP to the engine sheared off on tightening. The service manual does not state the torque settings for these bolts, or, if it does I can't find them. I didn't do them that tight but maybe the fatigue of refitting/removing the IP has weakened them.

TBC

[ianoz]

Gees , Lucky you didn't wait till friday the 13th to do this .Who knows what havoc would have happened .

[jackpreacher]

Blue Smoke, No Power, No Patience

1. The injectors are in but the performance is as bad, or a little worse than before.
2. The engine starts fine and idles smoothly but on revving up there is a clatter - a bit like a dodgy valve or big end, but I am guessing.
3. There is hardly any power to move let alone operate. On application of any hydraulic service the engine tends towards stalling.

Any ideas?

For the moment I've started to remove the whole engine again and will strip it down to inspect and rebuild.

[Muz]

1. The injectors are in but the performance is as bad, or a little worse than before.
2. The engine starts fine and idles smoothly but on revving up there is a clatter - a bit like a dodgy valve or big end, but I am guessing.
3. There is hardly any power to move let alone operate. On application of any hydraulic service the engine tends towards stalling.

Any ideas?

For the moment I've started to remove the whole engine again and will strip it down to inspect and rebuild.

Hmm that doesnt sound too good .. Ive certainly had one that started making noise, with no power .. turned out the big end on cyl no one was gone .. I think you have seen that thread about it?

The problem seems that 'if' they go over .. the engine doent get shut off quick enough .. or they go over more than once, and eventually the crank gets starved of oil .. they seem to fall on the RHS mostly .. so its usually cyl No 1 that gets it

Just drop the sump pan off .. and you will see blueing on the crank and end cap which will suggest overheating and possible shell failure .. which in turn gives low compression, and power loss on that cylinder .. hope it isnt that though cos thats gonna cost £ a few bucks

[jackpreacher]

Thanks Muz, I'll look out for that
It took just over 2 hours to remove the engine and strip down the cooling system and remove the valve gear and cylinder head. Photos to follow.

[Muz]

Pic here



and thread here

http://www.plantandconstruction.co.u...t=ec15+big+end

I see I called it cyl no 3 here ? well .. its the end one

[jackpreacher]

http://www.plantandconstruction.co.u...t=ec15+big+end

...and the irony is that this is how I discovered your forum - ...can remember feeling sorry for you!!!

Do you think that the oil pump should be changed as a matter of course?

[Muz]

...and the irony is that this is how I discovered your forum - ...can remember feeling sorry for you!!!

Do you think that the oil pump should be changed as a matter of course?

I dont think Ive ever had one fail, but I dont suppose it would do any harm .. theres a swan neck suction tube that goes into the sump pan which is the collector, it doesent seem to be the best arrangement for a machine that could be working at queer angles at the best of times, but I suppose if the oil is at the right level, it would need to be at 45 degrees to fail to draw, but less angle if the oil is low. 45 degree is pretty impossible to work in a digger, but I must have approached it on some occasions usually when doing a controlled descent

[jackpreacher]

And so to the strip down

Today I stripped the Mitsubishi L3E engine down to component level.
After all the faults that have unearthed themselves previously I decided to do a total strip-down and rebuild with no preconceptions of what the faults may be.

Engine on the bench minus Cooling system and Hydraulic pump.jpg
Engine on bench with the cooling system and hydraulic pump removed.
I'm afraid I had already removed the valve cover, valve gear, pushrods and cylinder head before taking photos. Sorry.



removing the oil sump.jpg
The sump bolts are just 10mm.

prising off the sump.jpg
Prising the sump off. The gasket will be destroyed in this step.

Gouge marks on the crankshaft.jpg
The crankshaft is revealed with the sump off and straightaway I noticed a gouge mark. I turned the crank over slowly but couldn't see any binding that could have caused this so I assume it is a historical bit of stray metal that caused this.....but am open to any suggestions. No discolouring so [I presume] the engine bearings haven't been overheated.

Nasty Close up of the Gouge.jpg
A close up of the damage. I don't think it would cause the power loss.....

Removing the oil pickup and strainer.jpg
Removing the oil strainer. There was quite a lot of debris on the strainer bit but I had cleaned it off before taking the photo.

Removing the bottom shell bearings.jpg
Removing the bottom shell bearings [Little end?..Big end?...never remember what these are called]. It's the bearing that connects the piston rod to the crankshaft. The shell bearings underneath the caps are orientated a particular way, as shown by the screwdriver pointing to a little cut out to allow oil access.

Removing the flywheel cover.jpg
Next was to remove the flywheel housing - just a few bolts and off it comes.

More to follow.

[Muz]

Well there seems some discolouration on the photos .. maybe not neccesarily blueing though .. always hard to tell from a 2D picture and with all the oil still on the shaft but Ive ringed the areas of suspicion from what I blew up in photoshop.


variance.jpg

The marks on the balancer weights on No1 have come about because presumably the sump has been stoved in at some point

the weight opposite looks to have been scuffed too by the marks on it .. so its anybodys guess what happened after that ?


With these machines .. people often collect debris ontop of the dozer blade arms and ram ... usually the most destructive being demolition material .. then they slew round to move off from the work area and pull up the dozer blade as they do so and 'bang' .. crushed concrete straight into the sump

[jackpreacher]

Muz
I think the flash on the camera may have had more impact on the photo...I'll take another photo tomorrow - appreciate you taking the time to study them.

The engine is totally stripped now so I'll add those photos tomorrow as well.

Your theory on previous sump damage causing the gouge on the weight balance sounds good to me.

On another tack, do you think I should have the hydraulic pump tested whilst it's off...just in case it's causing too much resistance?

[Stock]

Jack 'tis simple enough to remember which is which,.....con rod has a big end and little one where the gudgeon pin is.............

the crankshaft bearings are usually referred to as journals.............

[jackpreacher]

Jack is simple enough

Enough said!


Thanks, that's actually a good way to remember

[jackpreacher]

the crankshaft bearings are usually referred to as journals.............

When the journals are becoming worn is it more of a rumble as opposed to knocking?

[Stock]

When the main bearings wear the oil pressure usually suffers ..................then there is a scream of metal on metal.........................