Thanks all for your concerns and help. It was indeed a broken piston
and a resulting scored liner.
The engine is now in bits and I have to decide whether simply to replace
the
one piston and liner and put it all back together or whether to do all the pistons and liners, valves, guides and seals and other stuff (doing the clutch goes without saying). The garage are looking for spares forme but do you know of a good source? Alternatively should I consider finding a replacement engine, perhaps off a Renault 30? It's quite nice to have the whole thing out. There are loads of broken studs, missing bits and worn pulleys which would never have been spotted otherwise. The turbo system had to come off as one unit asall the bolts are rusted or welded solid, and the oil feed pipe was close to death. That would have been very messy! And the chassis is easy to inspect, too. There is a little rust which I shall attend to whilst I have the chance, using the recommended blend of Hammerites. (Is there a Pantone reference for grey?) My treasured Owners Club duster, having saved the day, is
in soak in detergent and slowly turning from black to muddy yellow.
Perhaps I should invest in a new one. Or perhaps I should save every penny
for the expensive engine restoration.
As an aside to the task of putting out the fire, I met someone
yesterday who had actually pissed on his engine (a Citroen I believe) to put it
out after his oil cap blew off. (Or maybe I got the story wrong and he
blew off after his engine pissed on him.) I shall definitely invest in a
fire extinguisher when I get the car back on the road..
Tony
Southampton
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