Work this month has remained focused on the overhaul of 31463, starting on the power unit, the engine block to cylinder head pipes have been removed and the engine block face cleaned, the middle of the engine block has received a second coat of paint, this time in grey. Around where the fuel pumps live have all been cleaned. The push rod tubes have been taken off, gaskets removed off the tubes and power unit faces and cleaned. The top cylinder liner landings on the power unit have been cleaned and film of oil put on to protect them pending liner fitment. An initial examination of the cam shaft cam lobes has been carried out with nothing of any concern found. The fuel pump cam followers have been removed, cleaned, examined and refitted. The cylinder head to block water elbows have started to be cleaned and gaskets removed. The exhaust stacks tops have been painted in primer. The pipes between top of cylinder head and the top water rail have had their flex pipes and gaskets removed. The fuel pumps and injectors have arrived back following overhaul.
The intermediate cylinder head covers and inlet manifolds have been given a second coat of paint, into grey gloss.
The 2 main air inlet pipes have been steam cleaned and painted in primer then to grey gloss.
6 rocker covers have been cleaned and painted in primer then grey gloss.
The boiler room and radiator area have been vacuumed.
The roof section that goes over the turbos has internally been wired wheeled to remove any rust and loose paint and has been painted in primer then top coat of grey.
The roof section that sits over the power unit has internally been wired wheeled to remove any rust and loose paint and has been painted in primer then top coat of grey. The eagle-eyed of you will notice some bits of this have been missed. This is deliberate and will be addressed once we turn the roof section upright. We will then be able to open the roof hatches to complete this task.
On the boiler roof section, yet another piece of steel has been welded in, we are just waiting delivery of one more piece of steel that we have had cut to size and profiled by a third party due to its size and this will be the last piece to weld in.
The bolts that hold the exhaust manifolds onto the cylinder heads have been cleaned up and then the threads cleaned. Doesnt sound like a lot of work, but they were absolutely caked in carbon.
The exhaust stacks tops have been painted in primer.
The first four cylinder heads have been dispatched to an external contractor for overhaul.
The English Electric Preservation group have kindly loaned us their parts washer, this has been relocated, cleaned out, and the pump serviced then filled and tested. This will certainly aid the cleaning of many nuts, bolts and parts as we start to reassemble the engine.
