AndyW

4 badly, 2 slightly, and 2 others found a hint out of straight when on the test machine. Turned out to be 4 inlets and 4 exhausts, so will be replacing half of the valves

Chris - I'm in the middle of cleaning everything up and waiting for parts. Found a set of AE inlet valves on ebay and waiting for them to come. Also discovered a local classic engine reconditioning company who checked all my valves for straightness and are getting me some exhaust valves at a reasonable price. Gaskets, camshaft oil seals and Loctite also on order from various places. Just waiting for it all to come together so I can get stuck in!

Huge thanks to Tractor for coming down this morning to assist. I learned an enormous amount watching and doing as we dismantled my dohc head and removed the valves. 6 valves are obviously bent so need to buy a set of replacements. A couple of pistons have very small marks so we think those will clean up. Everything else seems ok. Then I have to remember how to put it all back together again in the correct order!

Tractor - I'd very much like to take you up on your offer and to learn from someone more experienced. If you're free on Saturday and you're allowed of course! But don't bother if it's wet as I'm working outside on the drive. PM me nearer the time.

I've taken the cam covers off and had a look at all the valve tappets as the engine is rotated. #4 inlet valves and #2 & 3 exhaust valves sit too low and don't appear to close properly. When the cam lobe is rotated away there is a gap of 1-3 mm between the cam circular part and the tappet, and the tappets don't rise up to the same level as the others with respect to the surrounding casting. I presume that means at least 6 valves are bent stopping them seating in the head properly, and would account for the zero compression on those 3 cylinders. Do I need to replace all 16 valves or assume (hate doing that!) that the other 10 are ok? CMA - afraid I don't have an engine stand, hoist or even a garage that I can work in. Doing it all in the car on the driveway. (Actually I do have a small garage but it's filled with gardening stuff and storage).

Ken & CMA - many thanks for your encouragement. I do have the Haynes manual and also Rover's own T-series engine overhaul manual, which is good for clear step by step details. I guess I'll have to take the plunge and get the head off. I just wondered if there was anything else I could check before doing that.

I'm getting way out of my depth here, and could really do with some advice and/or help. I suffered a broken shock absorber in my Super Spec (see thread http://www.rhocar.org/index.php?showtopic=44368&hl=) and as a result the flying spring snapped the ancillary drive belt, crushed the lower timing cover, and also snapped the cam belt inside. All this gradually came to light as I worked my through fixing everything. Bit of a sorry story and unfortunate chain of events :-( The engine is virtually new - Rover t-series DOHC 2.0L non-turbo, and only done 3k miles in its 20 year life. I've now replaced the cam belt and aux belt, and have done a compression test. I get 250 psi on #1 and zero on the other three cylinders. Not a twitch on the gauge. Does this mean I've knackered the valves on these 3 cylinders or is something else wrong? Are there any other tests I should do to find the extent of the problem? This is my first time taking an engine apart, so my expertise is nil. Everything I've done so far is by following the manuals, so I could really do with some expert advice and help. Is there anyone in the Bedford area who'd be willing to assist?

Can anyone use my ticket for Kimbolton this coming Sunday? If so PM me and I'll forward the pdfs. As my cam belt snapped (long sorry saga!) and I've probably damaged valves, my Super Spec is now off the road. I'll still be coming to meet you all but will be in my tin top.

Been away for the weekend, so just catching up. Thanks all for the suggestions - looks like I need to get some steel tube to make proper spacers for the top shock mount, and check the bolt size. Fitted new cam belt and aux belt today today - gulp! Bit of a pig to get around the engine mount. Now time to do some compression tests to check for any piston/valve damage, and perhaps try starting it tomorrow. Seems the Rover t-series (M16) engine is an interference type. At least the presenter on the Rover 800 Series Service Insight video on YouTube refers to it as "unsafe" because the valves can hit the pistons if they lose their relationship.

Bob & 2b, 1. I've also been trying to discover if the rover t-series is a non interference design, but nothing from google so far. 2. I believe that is the design of the Super Spec top shock mounting, although the picture is deceptive. If you look at my outside photo in post #1 you can just see that the long bolt through the top shock bush actually goes through 3 flanges. 2 are the sides of the U channel, but there is a third flange on the other side of the rearmost top wishbone mounting. The shocker pivot point is about 1" behind the wishbones. If all that makes sense! 3. 2b thanks for the info on the cam belt. It's all new territory for me. I'd like to see photos of any other Super Specs to see how the front suspension and particularly the shocks are mounted. I think the original Zimmers had steel tubes to fill the gaps either side of the narrow bush in the U channel, but I'd like to see what others have done with Gaz shocks.

And just to rub salt into the wound, I've discovered that the cam belt has also snapped So that's one heck of a chain of events: broken shock absorber rod > flying spring and cap > snapped ancillary drive belt > snapped cam belt. Why?? What have I done to deserve this!!

Rob, yes I believe the mounting bolt is the correct size for the bush, but that's something I'll check. It was the one on the car with the previous Gaz shocks. The angle is due to the misalignment of the top & bottom bushes and it is compressing the rubber. They are not perpendicular (see the previous posts). Edit - actually Rob you might be right. The bushes on the shock are the same diameter top and bottom, but I now think that the top bolt IS thinner in diameter than the bottom one on the wishbone. But if it was a larger diameter then the shocker would definitely not align with the bottom mounting point. Whether the bolt is smaller by design / necessity I'm not sure!

Grim - they are the smaller 1.75" shocks with 1.9 springs. And they do touch the side of the mount so I'm going to have to put the spacer washer back in to centralise the bush.

Yes, I'll have to go touring the backstreets and see what I can find :-) Got a feeling I know where there are some small engineering firms. Yes, I understand what you mean. That'll be my fallback if I can't find a welding shop. I've managed to get the shocker back on, more as a temporary measure than anything as I need to move the car off my drive and into the back garden. I removed one packing washer from the top mount to give the top bush more play for getting the right angle to the bottom mount. Even so, this is a photo of what the top mount looks like from the inside of the chassis. Not perpendicular to the bolt axis at all. Methinks the mounts are way out of line :-( And it looks like the spring cap might foul the rear of the U channel. Have to go and have another look at that.

Yes that sounds like a plan. Now I just need to find someone locally who can weld it for me (I don't have the equipment or the skill).

Hi Al, yes I forgot to mention that the V plate with the bracket fits over the original lower wishbone mounting points for the Zimmers. The rubber bushings will take up a small amount of the offset but maybe I do need to get the U brackets taken off and welded more to the front of the plate (L of photo).

No. On the Super Spec the lower shock mount is a plate in the V of the lower wishbone with 4 bolts. When the new shocker is fitted on the top bolt, this is the misalignment I get at the lower bush - about 10mm. I don't think I can remove the packing shims on the top bush mount as the spring hat will then foul the chassis U channel. How do I get the top and bottom bushes to align without forcing the shock absorber to fit? That presumably is what stressed it to break in the first place - the weakest part being the end of the thread by the nut on the rod under the top bush.

cb750 - yes it's a definite possibility that the shock was damaged previously but not noticed, but could equally be due to the slight misalignment of the axes of the top and bottom bush mountings. Neither side of the car seems to line up properly which must be a "feature" of the design. I'll need to see if I can "ease" the holes in the top U shape cross member to make them align better. I did consider spherical joint ends rather than rubber bushes but was dissuaded by Dave at Dampertech.

Hi Pete, thanks very much for the offer, but just a tad too late. I ordered a new pair of Gaz 12" shockers from Dampertech earlier today.

I've also discovered that the aux drive belt on the engine has snapped at the same time (it never rains but it pours!!) I found the top spring cap inside the front chassis cross member so I suspect that it went flying as the shocker snapped and cut the belt. The remains of the belt are wrapped around the inside of the crankshaft aux pulley and a nightmare trying to get out. Going to have to remove the bottom pulley I think.

Grim - I suspect you may be right. Although I can move the top bush of the shocker by hand on its pivot bolt, so it's not that tight or binding. I think the top and bottom bush pivot points are very slightly misaligned. That side of the suspension was rebuilt with new wishbones after the previous owner bent it. Not sure how much I can realign the pivot points except by playing around with the penny washer spacers.

Well, could have been a nasty moment but fortunately happened at low speed. Pulled away from the lights and turned into a left curve and 'bang' followed by rattling and grinding!! Pulled over to find my left front suspension collapsed and the car grounded on the sump. The Gaz shock absorber shaft has snapped under the top mounting bush. Anyone had this before, or any thoughts on why it might have happened? Looking from the side of the car at the vertical alignment of the two broken ends of the shaft there is probably about 1cm front/back displacement between them. Also the lower spring hanger was wound up 16 turns (probably by previous owner to give more ride height). The spring was an 8" 350lb. When I replace should I go for the same size? I do need more ground clearance (see my previous posting on a sump guard for a Super Spec), so should I go for a 9" spring which won't need winding up as much? Any recommendations on a supplier?

BTW, like you I couldn't attach photos to my original posting and gave up in the end. Can anyone explain how to add photos to a forum post. I couldn't find anything in the Help files or other posts (and I'm a person who does read helpfiles!). I know I could create a Photobucket account and add links, but surely there is a way of directly pasting or uploading an attachment into a post?

Thanks for the pics Steve. Your sump looks even lower than mine, unless the photo angles are deceptive. Interesting to see how you've fixed it, gives me food for thought. I'd better start measuring up and order some steel plate.

Got about 4-5 cm between tyre and wing in the arches, although I wouldn't want to reduce that too much as it would cause difficulty changing the wheels. Also there's only about 5mm between the tread shoulder and wing brackets, so not much leeway on the inside. I guess I could change tyres (they need doing sometime soon anyway) from the current 205/50/15 to something like a 195/60/15. The extra 10 profile would add about 1.5cm to the rolling radius and hence ground clearance. And I think I've read that changing to narrower 195s gives a better ride for general driving. Can anyone advise on suitable 195/60/15R tyres? Are they still ok on the standard 6.5" JJ Aray rims? Steve, that sounds very like my situation. Your skid plate idea sounds good - can you explain in more detail how you fixed it. Which holes either side of lower front of engine do you mean? (Presume you also have the Rover t-series engine). A pic would be useful. Mmmm! Nice idea Al, but at this stage I don't think I want to get into fabricating a new sump and altering the dipstick and pickup. That's more work than I want to do and rather beyond my current capabilities! Cheers, Andy!