Thread: V8 Engine Identification

Originally Posted by peter51

Have you got a picture of the step at the bottom of the block?


It must have broken through the machined step. If you have it please display it - can piston friction brake the the step way?

The general consensus is that the liners were not pushed all the way home when the engine was built. Subsequent machining of the block deck took the liner down level with the block surface.

Overheating then allows the block to expand away from the liner and for the liner to be able to move.

When I bought my second-hand P38A, I could hear ticking from the engine when it warmed up but we didn't know the cause. This was before the slipped liner problem became known so we didn't know to look for it when we stripped it down to look for a blown head gasket (the engine would suddenly boil and spew out the coolant).

We now surmise the ticking was from the liner moving in the block.

Originally Posted by peter51

Have both liners moved down or only the aft one in the picture. The aft one looks like it is down at least 10-15mm?
Are they the middle 2 cylinders?

The picture clearly shows the liner nearest to the camera has dropped around 1mm, the rear one is in place and you can see the liner above the ring contact area. I've seen a few like that. The liners aren't clamped by the head gasket so can move quite a bit once loose. Anyone who's heard a loose liner in a RV8 would never mistake it for anything else, it makes quite a noise.

As you can see the engine number it's clearly the cylinder behind the dip stick, number 5.