Renault straight eight engine anyone..?

Sunroof said:
Speaking about sleeves. Apparently the Land Rover Discovery V8 petrol has sleeves that shift if the engine boils for a bit.
Click to expand...
The early 3.5L V8s weren't bad, but the bigger the engine's capacity got, the worse the problem became.
The Rover 4 cyl and V6 K series are notorious for wet liner and head gasket issues, (think early Kia Carnival). I read somewhere that 40% of all the Kias fitted with the Rover V6 had premature engine failure.😳
 
My :2cents:
The sensible solution for dry sleeves is to use a top flange so the flange is clamped at the top between the head and the block, by the gasket between and gives a good combustion seal too. Job done correctly :giggle:
With wet sleeves and an alloy block the design of the head clamping would be important as the differential expansion is a problem. Longer studs is the engineering answer. Make them longer, better quality, and possibly smaller diameter, torqued higher so they have more elasticity and stretch for expansion. Studs down to the main bearing boss sounds good. Air cooled engines use long studs like this. Hard to see torque to yield bolts working well in that situation. :oops:
jaahn
 
Re the Rover K series engine and head gasket issues, this was due to the bean counters, prototype engines had the heads located by steel dowels, the bean counters had these replaced by plastic dowels.
 
2CV David said:
Re the Rover K series engine and head gasket issues, this was due to the bean counters, prototype engines had the heads located by steel dowels, the bean counters had these replaced by plastic dowels.
Click to expand...
Early K series (1100 to 1400cc) had loose fitting metal dowels, later versions (1600 to 1800cc) had plastic and 2001 on had tight fitting metal. As with the Rover V8s the bigger the engine the bigger the problem. The larger K series head gasket problem never went away and the bonded liners sinking into the block generally made them scrap. Dowels are only meant to locate the gasket and head while you bolt them down, the engines had bigger issues than the dowels. The capacity enlargement from the original design meant the later block was not as structurally sound. The early IOE Rover engines didn't even have dowels, you screwed pins into two head bolt holes, fitted the gasket and head, lightly fitted the other bolts, removed the pins and replaced them with head bolts and torqued it down. Yet these dissimilar metal engines (alloy head, iron block) rarely had gasket failures.
 
Greenpeace said:
Early K series (1100 to 1400cc) had loose fitting metal dowels, later versions (1600 to 1800cc) had plastic and 2001 on had tight fitting metal. As with the Rover V8s the bigger the engine the bigger the problem. The larger K series head gasket problem never went away and the bonded liners sinking into the block generally made them scrap. Dowels are only meant to locate the gasket and head while you bolt them down, the engines had bigger issues than the dowels. The capacity enlargement from the original design meant the later block was not as structurally sound. The early IOE Rover engines didn't even have dowels, you screwed pins into two head bolt holes, fitted the gasket and head, lightly fitted the other bolts, removed the pins and replaced them with head bolts and torqued it down. Yet these dissimilar metal engines (alloy head, iron block) rarely had gasket failures.
Click to expand...
Bloody hell. Inept at every turn. When I think that I rebuilt my Renault R8 engine in 1988 and haven't touched it since except for oil changes and about 3-4 tappet adjustments..... And my Renault 4CV engine was built in 1970, although I have once replaced the wet sleeve base seals. This stuff isn't difficult and surely Kia et al. had all the knowledge that had accumulated????
 
JohnW said:
Bloody hell. Inept at every turn. When I think that I rebuilt my Renault R8 engine in 1988 and haven't touched it since except for oil changes and about 3-4 tappet adjustments..... And my Renault 4CV engine was built in 1970, although I have once replaced the wet sleeve base seals. This stuff isn't difficult and surely Kia et al. had all the knowledge that had accumulated????
Click to expand...
The Reliant alloy engine that was released in 1962 is a wet liner design. It was originally 600ccs and progressively enlarged to 850ccs. Head gasket/liner failure is almost unheard of.
The head and block castings are ridiculously lightweight. A complete engine with all the fruit, starter, generator, manifolds, carby, flywheel and clutch, weighs 138lbs. A long motor is 75lbs. For some sort of perspective a Harley Big Twin engine with no ancillaries weighs 165lbs.
I've been running 10lbs of boost through mine for several years with 10 to 1 static compression, and touch wood, no problems.

Makes you wonder how with the aid of computer design that some manufacturers can put such failure prone engines into production.🤷‍♂️

This is an 850 Reliant block.

images (72).jpeg
images (73).jpeg
images (74).jpeg
 
Hi :giggle:
Just for the sake of discussion I might say these points on aluminium engine blocks. I am no engine expert designer by the way. But obviously from the history some designers are not expert either, or were outvoted by bean counters :oops:

In the small engine field, where they do produce and have produced, many more engines than in cars they have aluminium blocks and combination block/crankase etc. Sometimes with cast iron sleeve{cast in usually}, or plated bores of various types, or plain as cast aluminium for the bore. If the casting is done in a suitable alloy the aluminium bore can be just as good as the others and long lasting too. But probably not as resistant to dirt IMHO so filtering is important.

B&S used the "cool bore" engines from long ago, prewar, and still do. They are good and cheap and easy to make and last. The important design feature is that the pistons must be a dissimilar material so are plated. This is the typical accepted design principal of not running two similar materials together for better life and reduced galling problems .

What is also a feature of alloy blocks is the main bearings in the basic engines are just machined into the alloy castings. The con rods are die cast alloy and the bearings both ends are also machined in the alloy. These cast alloy 'bearings' all last well and the life of the motors even with splash lubrication. Clean oil helps for long life of course. :headbanger" Motor bikes were running alloy rods with no slippers back after the war onwards so not just for lawn mower engines.
Cheers Jahhn
1664660641678.png
 
Greenpeace said:
The Reliant alloy engine that was released in 1962 is a wet liner design. It was originally 600ccs and progressively enlarged to 850ccs. Head gasket/liner failure is almost unheard of.
The head and block castings are ridiculously lightweight. A complete engine with all the fruit, starter, generator, manifolds, carby, flywheel and clutch, weighs 138lbs. A long motor is 75lbs. For some sort of perspective a Harley Big Twin engine with no ancillaries weighs 165lbs.
I've been running 10lbs of boost through mine for several years with 10 to 1 static compression, and touch wood, no problems.

Makes you wonder how with the aid of computer design that some manufacturers can put such failure prone engines into production.🤷‍♂️

This is an 850 Reliant block.

View attachment 210815View attachment 210816View attachment 210817
Click to expand...
Plain and simple! I didn't know any of that. Thanks. I'd always thought the R16 was the first pressure diecast engine.
 
I always gravitate to this video of the 5 cylinder 125cc Honda GP bike. The engine you hear at the beginning is the starter motor so be patient.
Tacho starts at 5000 rpm and old matey gives her a few 20,000 rpm blips towards the end.😎

 
@56 Fregate buy this, pull the motor, put your flathead 6 in it and sell the truck again.🤷‍♂️

Log in to Facebook

Log in to Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family and people you know.
www.facebook.com www.facebook.com
 
Not sure if you've seen the Pur Sang factory?
They make replica Bugattis in Argentina, right down to casting their own straiģht 8s.
Make sure you scroll right to the bottom, there are several photos that didn't get put into the article.

www.speedhunters.com

Pur Sang: Argentina's Classic Auto Artisans - Speedhunters

The first automotive memory goes back to when I was five and my dad gave me his collection of Matchbox cars. From there, the relationship just grew into cars becoming my true passion. I love all cars, European, Japanese, old and new. For me, each car has a connection to something else. At the...
www.speedhunters.com www.speedhunters.com
 
Oh I might just make my own V twin by grafting a crankshaft and a pair of barrels and heads onto where the single one usually sits.🤔
Doesn't look too hard.😳

 
From what I can glean from the mother country the aforementioned straight eight engine has a new home in Belgium, for what purpose is a mystery at this point. This engine has survived Hitlers furnaces and a 1930 factory fire, hopefully to be revived soon and installed in a suitable Renault. All rejoice :love:
56 Fregate said:

Lot No. 142

Estimate: €3,000 - €4,000 Selling costs
Engine untouched since the 1930s. The Reinastella's mission is to succeed the prestigious 40 hp. Presented in 1929, it is equipped with a magnificent eight-cylinder in-line engine with more than seven liters of displacement. Equipped with a two-barrel carburettor, the engine develops 130 hp. The Reinastella will be a very high-end Renault, produced at the time in dribs and drabs (a few dozen cars a year) for a wealthy, very demanding clientele. At the dawn of the 1930s, a wealthy Grenoble industrialist crashed his almost new Reinastella in Vizille. The repair was taken care of by the representative of the brand in the city, who dismantled the mechanics to entrust the chassis to the nearby bodybuilder for repair. Unfortunately the body shop fell victim to a fire and the chassis of the Reinastella destroyed. The majestic eight-cylinder as well as some parts of the car therefore slept in the reserves of a garage for almost a century. - The engine we are presenting has therefore been stored in a dry place and has remained untouched since the 1930s. It is sold as is, cylinder headed, without carburettor, with its distributor removed. It is a particularly rare and imposing piece. Exhibition: Monday, September 26 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. at 52 PLACE STALINGRAD 38220 VIZILLE with its igniter removed. It is a particularly rare and imposing piece. Exhibition: Monday, September 26 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. at 52 PLACE STALINGRAD 38220 VIZILLE with its igniter removed. It is a particularly rare and imposing piece. Exhibition: Monday, September 26 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. at 52 PLACE STALINGRAD 38220 VIZILLE

View attachment 210285 View attachment 210287View attachment 210288View attachment 210289
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top