Thanks, man. I really appreciate that. More importantly, I appreciate you for your expert guidance and encouragement. Were it not for that, I would've grenaded this thing weeks ago.

Up early this morning to get some more work done. I'm afraid I'll have to switch back to the Rotella 15W40. I really like the T6 oil and the engine seems to like it too (for one thing it's not leaking as much), but the oil light is coming on even earlier than before and it shouldn't be doing that after the big cleanup I did on the top end. I think it just needs the thicker oil with the heat we've been having here lately, but we'll see...

Also replacing the oil switch to see if that makes any difference. Maybe it won't, but for $12 it's worth a try before having to drain the oil and pull the pan off again and mess with the bearings.

Oh, and that excess emissions fault code... Couldn't have anything to do with the exhaust leak, could it?... Duh! New gaskets, bolts and studs should be here any day, followed by the fun of removing the old rusted studs and pulling the downpipe. I've done some reading here on that, and I'll hit it with some penetrating oil for a few days, then warm up the engine prior to my attempt.

In any case, onward and forward. Thanks again!

 

I'll tell ya, other than the oil pump itself I really can't understand why. I never changed my pump, probably original and it's 190+k on it. No issues after cleaning things up. Of course I did it with about 110k on the motor......

The CEL that popped I don't think is the exhaust, I think it's related to trying to get it fired up.

 

I'll just have to see how it runs after doing the work this evening when it cools down a bit. If it's still an issue, I'll be looking at the crankshaft again and everything inside the timing cover including the pump.

In the last couple days I've been getting higher than normal revs right at the first startup in the morning, around 1500 RPMs. Not sure what's causing that. I had the throttle assembly off with the plenum cover last weekend, but I was careful to mark the position of the throttle cable and taped the kickdown cable in position before removing which is suggested in the RAVE. Also cleaned everything including the throttle assembly, MAF sensor, the trumpets and inside the plenum using throttle body/intake cleaner on a lint free cloth and MAF sensor cleaner. I've just been putting it in drive with my foot on the brake to bring the RPMs down to about 1000-1100. After a couple of minutes of driving it goes back down to normal idle. Don't know if it's something serious but thought I would mention it just in case.

On a happy note... when I got back from the parts store earlier today, my neighbor across the street brought this creeper over and gave it to me. He's a very nice elderly gentleman with back problems which prevents him from working on his own vehicles, and he spends a lot of time sitting out on his front porch... apparently watching me crawl under my truck like a damn monkey every weekend for the past several weeks. It was very thoughtful of him to do that. Made my day.

 

LOL. Maybe when I get old I'll be like him, for now I enjoy watching others struggle. Apparently you did a great job of cleaning because whether you know it or not when you initially start the engine it's supposed to idle high to warm everything up so it can switch from open loop to closed loop. What that means is it's like a choke, idles high to warm up and then settles at the normal idle speed for the remainder. 1.5k is a wee bit high, normal should be around 1k but if it's settling down to @700 then all is working correctly. I could explain in way more detail but you get the idea.

 

What's funny about this is that every time I'm in the parts store I think about picking up a creeper and then I think, Hmmm... what will that $30 buy that this tank is inevitably gonna need at some point... Nah, I'll just grind it out with my back on the driveway like the former grunt that I am...

So someone across the street (and possibly upstairs) must have picked up on the vibe that I was wanting one. Another case of mighty forces coming to my aid.

As far as the high revving, yeah it's normally right at 1000 and then drops to 700... but 1500... that spooked me a little. I guess I really cleaned hell out of it indeed. Another thing I've changed in the last few weeks is running only premium fuel, and I've added a bottle of Seafoam to every other tank since then. So there was another boo-boo on my part: only running cheap fuel for eight months. Luckily I discovered my mistake when I was reading up on the forums trying to diagnose the starting problem and wondering if it was fuel related... before I realized it was actually the starter! LOL

 

Still being cautiously optimistic but... switched back to the Rotella 15W40, new K&N filter and new oil pressure switch yesterday. Fired it up and idle was perfect at just over 1000 RPMs and drive idle after warmup was about 800 (still a bit higher than normal but not enough to worry). Did a round trip of about 18 miles with a couple of 10 minute stops during the day's high of 98* and did not get the flashing oil light. Restarted after bringing it home and RPMs were solidly in range and still did not get the flashing oil light. Turning the key shows that the new switch is working fine. Driving in these same conditions before yesterday would definitely have caused the oil light to come on at 700 RPMs after 10-15 minutes of driving. Apparently it just needed the thicker oil to deal with the heat. So my cleanup may have actually paid off.

Also had a detailed phone conversation with the PO and it was all good news. He had been dealing with the same oil pressure issue, and decided to replace the main and rod bearings and the oil pump as precautionary measures to see if that would restore pressure. He said the crankshaft and journals were fine and just replaced the bearings with the standard size and they fit fine. He said the oil pump was fine with no cracks or gulling, no scoring on the timing cover, and the timing chain and sprockets were in good condition as well. He said it didn't do much to restore pressure... because he didn't realize the problem was under the rocker covers. When I explained the work I had done to clean up the rocker assemblies and why, then he got it. But he did all the work about a year ago just prior to listing it for sale.

So far, so good. But again I'm only being cautiously optimistic because I found something else yesterday that might be another red flag. I'll post about it in my next reply shortly.

 

Well, here comes the cautious part. After doing the oil/filter/pressure switch change, I worked on something else that's been bothering me lately which goes back to my first post here.

After that post regarding the crankshaft pulley that came loose, I got the pulley back into position with the installer kit that I rented from AutoZone, but the kit wasn't the best fit for the recessed pulley on the Rover and getting it back in was a huge PITA--a big crescent wrench on the shaft nut which was recessed about 3" into the pulley. So a few weeks ago I ordered this ProForm kit suggested by Joemamma1954 so the timing cover job I was planning would be much easier... or if I ever had to remove/reinstall the pulley again.

I've been watching the pulley like a hawk ever since and so far it's stayed well in position with no forward movement or wobble... but one thing that was bothering me was that it looked like it still had another 1/16" to go before it was totally seated. I could tell by the clean line around it where it meets the front seal. Likewise the serpentine belt has been riding just a little bit forward on the tensioner pulley with a slight overhang of about 1/16th of an inch... and as you know the tensioner pulley is right above the crank pulley so that's where the slight misalignment is coming from.

So yesterday I decided to try out the new installer tool and see if I could get the pulley seated all the way. I absolutely love the tool because it uses the puller plate for installation so there is zero chance of misaligning the pulley, and the build quality is solid. Well worth the $80 + shipping.

In any case, with all my might I was not able to close that 1/16" gap and I'm in pretty good shape. I was scratching my head wondering what was stopping it. Then I took a closer look inside the pulley and found the same 1/16" gap where I assume it should be flush with the crank snout. The photo attached is what I also found: the keyway is sharp but I have arrowed what looks and feels like the woodruff key. Is that where it is supposed to be? I also inserted a tiny screwdriver tip into the keyway to check it and it stopped on solid metal about 1/4" of the way in. Afterwards I refitted the bolt and solid washer with some Loctite Blue on the bolt and torqued it to 200 lbs. The tiny gap is obviously still there as well as the slight overhang but the pulley is solid and there is no forward movement and maybe about 1/32" of wobble if that. So what am I looking at here?

Unfortunately, this whole time I have not been able to remove the pulley, #1 because the bolts in the rental kit from AZ that screw into the predrilled holes in the back of the pulley weren't long enough to reach because of the thickness of the puller plate, and #2 because the ProForm kit doesn't include those bolts at all (M8 x 1.25 x 80mm), so I'll have to order a pair in order to remove the pulley. When the pulley came loose the first time, I just eyeballed the crank snout and keyway and didn't notice the woodruff key and where it was sitting... due to my inexperience at the time.

 

Uh, yeah. Just so you know, these engines are internally balanced and don't rely on the crank pulley. That's a good thing. The bad thing, you have a situation which can crack the pulley. Pulley's are not easy to come by. The damage to the crank is done, still usable but I'd bet a buck the woodruff key slot is hobbed out and the key has rolled. Whenever these engines run erratic that is the first thing that gets hit and most don't even know it. It's like crack the whip.

 

Exactly what I was afraid of. Looks like the key has been mashed, at least the outside part where it's supposed to fit in the slot. Probably the damage that ensued when the pulley came loose. I found a used pulley on eBay for $90 obo so they're obtainable. The questions are... 1) I'm assuming it'll be hell to get the pulley off with the key mashed like that? and 2) can the key slot on the shaft be repaired and a new key obtained, or am I looking at a new crankshaft? If it's repairable, what steps do I need to take?

There is some slight fluctuation in the engine speed once it's warmed up, barely enough to register on the tach but I can hear a dip of maybe 40-50 RPMs about 20-30 seconds apart and lasting for a second but not consistently. I thought it was maybe the exhaust leak causing some back pressure loss, or is that the damage to the crank I'm hearing?

I may have spoken too soon regarding the oil pressure. Just got home from a 20 mile trip in 97* heat, and no oil light but the rockers were definitely tapping once I pulled it in the driveway. Another symptom of crank damage?

Note to self: Try to stay positive!

 

Yeah, stay positive, it aint over till the fat lady burps.

Once you get the bolts (which you can get at a hardware - make sure they're grade 8) you'll be fine but it's gonna take some grunt to pop it. Once you get it off we'll see how bad things are. I don't want to stress you out, not the point here. You pulled what, half the flex plate full of bent tabs straight I think your more than qualified to manage this little problem, the crank is not gonna get tossed, promise. Any damage can be managed. Like I said, we'll see how bad once the pulley is free and then proceed eh. Yes, the keyway on the crank and pulley can be massaged.

The pulley has no effect on the motor and how it's running, none.