998 Automatic #2 Rebuild

[jeff10049]

The last 998 auto I rebuilt was an A+, this one is a Pre A.....

Consequently I'm looking for a slot drive automatic oil pump so I can use this Evo1 camshaft, the current oil pump is a star drive and star drive cams are expensive and only available from one source that I can find, and have to be made to customer order.

So, if anyone has an old unused 998 or 1275 with an automatic that they're not going to use, I could use the oil pump. Automatic oil pumps are NLA in any configuration

Would this work?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Oil-Pump-Adapter-Star-Drive-to-Slot-Drive-MG-Midget-Austin-Healey-Sprite-1275-/162130859243

[MiniDave]

No, this is made to adapt a star drive cam to a slot drive pump, I have the opposite situation.

I suppose if you made a piece to insert into the slot in the adaptor and the back of the cam it could work, but that's a lot of  loose pieces moving around, I don't know how comfortable I would be with that. What you need is this star piece with a tab sticking out that would engage with the back of the cam

[MPlayle]

I know this one is pricey, but you could contact 7Ent and see if this one would work for an automatic application?

https://www.7ent.com/products/oil-pump-a-slot-drive-superflow-c-aeg412.html

[MiniDave]

Nope, that one's for a standard, the automatics are made completely differently. i already have it in the crate or I would take a few pics and show the difference.

The auto pumps have an external pipe coming out of the pump housing that feeds directly into the transmission from inside the drop gear housing. That and the housing and the gears themselves are considerably bigger....the auto runs at much higher pressure and volume than a standard.

Here's a pic....

[MPlayle]

I see what you mean now.  I had never seen the "insides" of an automatic Mini's engine/transmission before and could not picture the differences.

[cstudep]

Yeah I had no idea they were that different until Dave showed it to me yesterday. I knew they were different but the automatic one is basically completely different aside from the methods in which it attaches to the cam. Since you can't buy one it's not like you would run across a picture of one while browsing Mini Spares or anything either.

[MiniDave]

Transmission left yesterday evening for California. It was scheduled to ship Tues morning but he showed up just as I got home from the doctor's at 5 pm so I shuffled cars around and he loaded her up.

I'm waiting for the new pistons to come in so I can send the block, crank and head off to be machined. I'm not sure they'll get here before I go in for surgery in a week. They still haven't shipped yet....

After next Tuesday, everything goes on pause for a while.....

[cstudep]

Well it made it that far without falling part at least, now it's someone else's problem. 

[MiniDave]

The same driver called me just now and asked if I had something ready for pickup - I explained that he picked it up last night ahead of schedule......he laughed and said he thought that was probably it. Sheesh....give me back my regular driver!

Oh and I found a source for a star drive 266* cam, so that's on the way too. Now I just need to get the Mini Spares order with the pistons so I can get the stuff out to the machine shop. If I don't get it out by Monday - it will be a month or more before I can get it there, and at least a month in the machine shop....usually 2 months!

[cstudep]

Good find on the cam, getting that taken care of has to be a relief. Here's to hoping the parts show up before Monday.

If not I will let you know if I show up in town at some point, seems like my boy has a Dr appointment at children's mercy coming up some time soon, I could maybe pick it all up and drop it off for you if need be.

[MiniDave]

I appreciate the offer, the shop is in north KC, the one I told you about so it could be on your way home. We'll see what happens.

There was a kerfluffle with my credit card - the order exceeded my one day limit by $5 so my bank wouldn't process the order, I got that all straightened out Monday morning, but I still don't have a shipping notification from DHL.

I hope your son is OK.

[cstudep]

Who would have thought $5 could cause such a hassle lol.

Son is good, he had leukemia when he was a little tike, then a relapse at about 6. He just has one of his anual checkups coming up, just can't remember which one and when exactly. He's recently 18 now but they let them come to childrens until they are 21 or something if they want. Since he has been going there since he was 2 and has basically had the same 2 nurses doting on him since he was about 4 I imagine he plans to keep going there till they make him quit. I still can't believe those same 2 nurses still work there in the same place after all this time but they do, and they make sure to make a point to hunt him down when he is there.

[Willie_B]

I still can't believe those same 2 nurses still work there in the same place after all this time but they do, and they make sure to make a point to hunt him down when he is there.

What keeps them going is to know they do make a difference. Your son is special to lots of folks for that reason.

[MiniDave]

I have today and tomorrow to get everything ready to go to the machine shop, so I did a few more jobs today. I took the pistons off the rods - there are held on with circlips instead of having the pins pressed into the pistons.

I got them all marked up so the end caps won't get mixed up too.

[MiniDave]

Next up I had to do some work on the cylinder head - I have never seen one as rusted and crusted up as bad as this one is. the water jackets are completely blocked with rust and scale - I had to dig them all out with a small screwdriver, then I'll soak it in some rust getter outer and see how it turns out.

Before I could do that I also needed to remove two studs that simply would NOT come out using any of the usual methods - double nuts, vice grips etc. So I got out the acetylene torch and got them cherry red then took the vice grips to them again - it still took some persuasion, working the stud back and forth then out a little, then back and forth again till it finally wound out.

I'll run a tap in every threaded hole before I put it back together again. I also run a drill bit and a wire brush down thru the stud holes, the last thing you want is some grit coming out as you're putting the head on and getting between the head and the gasket.

[cstudep]

That was by far the crustiest head I have ever seen, sure made me feel a lot more confident in a couple that I have still being usable.

[MiniDave]

I can't even imagine how this engine was cooling. I think it will recover OK, just have to soak it for a few weeks in the rust melter stuff.

Before I do that tho I'll take the wire brush to it and clean out all the carbon in the combustion chambers and ports, then I'll decide whether and/or how much I'm going to machine out of the ports and chambers, then I'll have to CC the chambers again so I'll know how much to shave off the head to keep the compression ratio where I want it.

I'll send the block and crank and pistons up first as that machine shop is slower than anything and it will take them between a month and 6 weeks to get the work done. The cylinder head shop is much quicker, usually less than 2 weeks for them to do a head for me. I'll have them install new guides, hardened seats, do a good 3 angle valve job and shave it down for me.

I'll also have a few thou taken off the top of the block just to clean it up and make sure it's straight and flat.

[jeff10049]

wow, that head was plugged up pretty good. Is that a crack between the valve seats on number one?

[MiniDave]

I think it's just a scratch from me scraping carbon and rust off. Doesn't seem likely that it would crack given how much meat there is between the valves on these small block heads....but who knows how hot this engine got being plugged up like that! I'll check it very carefully when I clean it up further.....

I also don't know that it was run like this, the rust could be just because it sat with water in it for 10 years or something.

Good news is the cylinders and bearings/crank look good, tho I'll bet we have to turn the crank down 10 thou....just to clean it up nice.