1400Kss Vernier Pulleys & Alternator Removal - UPDATE-Road Tested

[Brucey]

Further to my last thread, I have checked my std pulleys tonight following the excellent Dave Andrew's guide (also with a bit of help from Myles web pages)as I was sceptical if the verniers would make a difference.

The results are as follows: Inlet lift reading: 0.54mm (should be 1.45mm)

Exhaust lift reading: 1.54mm (should be 1.08mm)

 

This seems to be a significant difference from the recommended figures, so I guess I'll be fitting the verniers then!

It will be interesting how this relates to performance once the verniers are fitted.

 

I have been suffering with a 'squeak' after the engine has been running for a short while. This has now turned into a whine at higher revs (and SWMBO wasn't even in the car at the time 😬)

I think the rear alternator bearing is on its way out as there is axil movement in the pulley. Having removed the alternator from its mountings, how do you get it out? or do I have to get a key hole surgen to repair it where it is!

As I have my wonderful 4 onto 1, back into 2 internal, rear exit exhaust system which will be a nightmare to remove, is there another way to extract the alternator from the engine bay? It's a bit like one of those ivory carved eggs inside another ivory carved egg!

It may just squeeze past the front cover when I remove the cam belt (I've already removed the redundant Rover engine mount bracket) but even that looks tight.

 

Bruce.

 

Edited by - brucey on 21 Apr 2006 08:09:21

 

24/04/06 - Updated on thread

24/04/06 - Added 'Road Test' to bottom of thread.

Edited by - brucey on 24 Apr 2006 13:31:54

 

Edited by - brucey on 26 Apr 2006 20:56:38

[Nick Pargiter]

Bruce

 

I managed to get my alternator out the front of the engine bay with the cam cover off. Its tight but it does go, you just need to twist and move it around to miss everything

 

Nick

[Brucey]

Cheers Nick,

 

I'll give it another go tonight after I've removed the bottom pulley and cam belt.

I'm assuming the normal proceedure is to remove the exhaust manifold at pull the alternator out from the top.

 

Bruce.

[Allen Payne]

Will it not drop down between the chassis and the engine block?

[John Howe]

... as Nick suggests, you can get it through to the front with a little juggling.

 

JH

Deliveries by Saffron, the yellow 230bhp Sausage delivery machine

[mav]

Definately out through the front. Did this the other week on Sumy to replace the dead alternator.

[Brucey]

Verniers now fitted and alternator checked

 

After removing the bottom cam belt cover and pulley, the alternator was easily extracted. After spending 2 hours stripping and checking, I couldn't find anything that would cause the whining at high revs. Both bearings looked fine, so I re-greased the rear bearing and put it back together again!

 

I checked the water pump and belt tensioner after removing the cam belt and found the tensioner bearing seemed to be 'dry'. as this is sealed, I replaced the tensioner assy (£30). Also on Dave's advise, I left the tension spring off and tensioned the belt by hand (mechanical tensioner).

 

Fitting the verniers isn't difficult as long as you are methodical. Dave's bracket design was spot on. The only change I made was to make them from 3mm ally plate and allow a bit more for the bends. The TDC bracket was fitted to No 1 cyld. The bracket would need to be slightly different to fit to No 4 cyld as per Myles web pages. I also made my probes from 3mm stainless rod and ran a 2.5 mm die down. This allowed me to use a lock nut where the probes fit into the DTI.

 

When I fitted the cam belt, I wasn't sure if the engine was still at 90 deg BTDC, so I refitted the bottom cam cover and pulley to confirm before fitting the belt.

 

When adjusting the pulley timing, I loosened the 4 cap hd screws on the pulley, put 2 allen keys in opposite bolts and used a lever bar to turn the cam. This seemed better than attacking the cams with molegrips!

 

I'm not sure if I did the right thing, but I always found TDC by turning the engine clockwise (running direction) then zero'd the cam gauge. On the inlet cam, I then had to turn the engine anticlockwise to measure the lift.

 

As can be seen from the first thread, the cam timing was significantly out compared to the figures Dave Andrews supplied. I started the engine (car still on axle stands) about 11pm last night with no valve hitting piston noises . After resetting the ECU, very first impressions (car still in the air!) is the the engine (1400Kss) picked up a lot quicker. I'll let you know if it was all worth while after the first test drive.

 

I would just like to say a special thanks to Dave Andrews and Myles for taking the time to produce clear enough instructions to enable a DIY mechanic like myself to do the job. I don't think I'd earn a living at it, but it is extremely satisfying to be able to carry out this sort of upgrade work on your own car.

 

Bruce.

 

Edited by - Brucey on 24 Apr 2006 15:10:02

[oilyhands]

Hi Bruce,

 

Well done..

 

Just a tip.. to check if the engine is still at 90BTDC, measure down plug holes 1 and 2 to the piston crowns with a bit of TIG wire or similar, these should be level or damned near level with each other.

 

Oily

[Brucey]

Took the car for a spin last night for the first time after fitting the verniers. This is the only change I've made to affect performance. I took it nice and slow for the first mile to make sure nothing fell off and to build up confidence in my mechanical abilities. After 3 miles, I thought 'sod it' and let rip!

 

My first impressions: Boy was it worth it!

O.k, it's only a 1400Kss, so it's not going to blow an R300 away, but fitting the verniers has made the car much nicer to drive.

 

It seems much more willing to go, rather than just make induction noises when you put your foot down below 3K rpm, it actually pulls significantly harder, then all hell breaks loose from 3.5K rpm upwards until the 'change gear' light comes on.

 

I was sceptical before fitting the verniers, but now I think it's the best £70 (second hand from e bay) I've spent to date.

 

Thanks again for everyone help.

 

I should be picking up my s/hand side exit exhaust tomorrow. Now I've just got to work out how to sneak it past the missus 😬

 

Bruce.

[John Howe]

Shout if you need any help cutting a hole in the side skin

 

JH

Deliveries by Saffron, the yellow 230bhp Sausage delivery machine

[Ben_SS]

Bruce, good to see a positive result. Being a fellow 1400SS driver I'm interested in making the little K run better/smoother.

 

Which verniers did you fit, how long did it take?

 

cheers

[Brucey]

John,

Many thanks for the offer (see my latest, new, thread!).

 

Ben,

I picked up a pair of blue Piper Vernier Pulleys (with 4 spokes/bolts) via an e bay seller. These are like hens teeth! Every time a pair came up for auction on e bay, they went for silly money, so I changed my strategy! I e mailed anyone selling K Series Head or Cam bits and asked if they had any Verniers. As far as I know, the same pulleys fit all engines. My third attempt proved successful and I bought them privately for £70. I don't know if this was just luck.

 

As far as time, it's a bit hard to say as I'm a bit of a 'if a jobs worth doing' kind of bloke.

The DTI brackets took 2 nights (6 hrs with the telly on in my shed!), but I will consider lending the timing kit out (please bear in mind there is over £100 worth of Dial Gauges alone) maybe for a small donation to NTL and postage costs.

 

Ignoring the alternator strip, check & rebuild, I would allow a full day to fit and time the verniers if it is your first time. I put my car on 4 axle stands (1/2 an hour on it's own with my rear silencer!) because I'm getting too old to bend down that far for that long!

 

As my pulley's were second hand, they were already marked up, but, I did have to check the marks and remove quite a few 'burrs' where some one hadn't been too careful when adjusting them previously.

Interestingly, the final timing was very close to the marks already on the pulleys and not a million miles from 'zero' on both vernier scales.

 

I also changed the cam belt, mechanical tensioner, alternator belt and cleaned everything as I went.

 

On Dave's advice, I fitted better Pulley retaining bolts and thicker washers (available from DVA) as the older K series cams have M8 bolts and the verniers have M10 holes.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Bruce.

[jono]

Interesting thread this. As a fellow 1.4ss owner I have been considering ways of making the 1.4K a bit more responsive and quicker. It goes well enough with 6 gears and 4-1 exhaust but we all want a bit more power 😬

 

I have been thinking about upgrading to to a 1.6 or even 1.8 but I am always drawn back to retaining the 1.4 for sake of originality and also becuase it's such a nice little engine which seems to suit the character and design intent of the seven so well.

 

Does anyone know what is required to make a bit more power from the 1.4, ideally up to 135-140bhp? I was thinking verniers, 52mm throttle body and ported head but would this combination require a new ECU or run on the existing Rover ss unit?

 

Be intersted to know if others have follwed this route and if so what the reusults were.

 

Any thought out there

 

 

[Ben_SS]

Cheers Bruce, thats very helpful.

[Allen Payne]

Jono

 

If your 1400SS has a forward facing throttle body then it's 55mm in diameter - don't swap is for a smaller one!

 

I upgraded my 1400ss to an 1800 by just swapping out the short engine and changing the injectors, Stu Forshaw(sp?) wrote a good guild on this upgrade. This upgrade makes a big difference, far different to adding veniers and a ported head.

[Brucey]

My personal feelings about upgrading my 7 is that I have gone about as far as I can go without affecting it's re-sale value too much. The only other thing I may fit would be a s/hand Apollo tank. I think fitting a bigger engine would make it less attractive to a lot of potential buyers as it becomes 'non standard' and therefore would decrease it's value.

 

Up to fitting the Verniers, I had only changed what I considered better parts that were available on the original car (wheels from 16" to 14", steel to ally rad, fixed to adjustable platforms, internal to side exhaust etc).

 

If I wanted a further significant increase in power (which I don't .......yet), I think I'd sell this car and buy one with a bigger engine as standard.

 

Bruce.

[jono]

Allen,

 

It has so I won't!, Cheers

 

I know my suggestion on upgrading the 1.4kss does not make a lot of sense at face value however I am drawn to this however illogical it may sound.

Still interested to know if anyone else has tuned their 1.4 rather than upgrading

[old captain slow]

My son has just upgraded from 1400SS to 1600SS but retaining the inlet plenum plus 55 mm TB and fitting the 1600 injectors. It achieved 148 bhp at 7200 and 119 lbft at 5100.

 

C7 CDW

[jono]

Flippin eck, otherwise standard head etc?

 

Sounds too good to resist 😳

[old captain slow]

Yup all standard and it hasn't even got the vernier pulleys yet. I think it's the good breathing through the 1400ss plenum compared to the plastic jobby. Redline components have some in stock I believe. Encouraged by this I fitted the VVC plenum to my 1600ss but it's a bit of a struggle as it isn't a straight fit under the bonnet, whereas the 1400 is.

 

Oh William's car has an Emerald fitted so the mapping is pretty much spot on for as much as you can get out of the engine.(the injectors were at 95% which is pretty much just flowing continuously)

 

C7 CDW

 

Edited by - David W on 28 Apr 2006 14:56:30

[jono]

 

Cheers for this David

 

I've got the forward facing metal plenum on my 1.4ss so I just need short 1.6 and injectors by the sound of it, plus Emerald on the wish list 🤔

[old captain slow]

Jono, hope I haven't led you up the garden path. He blew the 1400 at a track day so we replaced the engine but retained the good bits. It's a 1600 now - was a 1400.

 

C7 CDW