Hey my PO did the head gaskets - any chance these nuts were tightened then -
I have 108K miles on a 2.1 and bought it with less than 90K. Also: if I have
an oil pressure gauge - exactly how is that going to help me? Is it just
going to save the cost of the core ($500) or will it do more???

>From: Stuart MacMillan <macmillan@home.com>
>
>Well, I disassembled the poor 2.1 engine I destroyed a week ago, and it
>turns out the rod failure was indeed caused by a rod bolt, but it did
>not break, the nut came off!  This could only happen from "bolt stretch"
>that allowed the nut to loosen and eventually come off.
>
>I'm with Bob Donalds on these bolts causing the vast majority of 2.1
>catastrophic failures.  The "torque to stretch" rod bolts used in the
>2.1 are USELESS, and even worse, a time bomb sitting in every stock 2.1
>engine just waiting to go off and cause total destruction.  I don't know
>if they offer any assembly efficiencies for the manufacturer or are just
>a "planned obsolescence" device.
>
>When one of the #1 rod nuts came off the bolt did too of course, and it
>was thrust up through the top of the case by the crank counterweights
>where it was embedded, hence I was able to recover the bolt and nut and
>know it did not break.  After that #4 got hit by some shrapnel from the
>rod and the cylinder fractured, taking out half the cam along with it as
>well as knocking two more holes in the top of the case.  The resulting
>oil/coolant emulsion was then sprayed all over the engine compartment.
>I took me all day Sunday just to clean things up in preparation for a
>new engine.
>
>So, I cannot stress this enough:  For those of you that have a factory
>2.1 with more than 100,000 miles on it (the consensus is these engines
>are good for between 125,000 and 150,000 miles) I strongly recommend
>that you do two things:
>
>1: Install an oil pressure gauge!!!  This will tell you more than
>anything else about the condition of the bearings in your engine, and
>can help you avoid catastrophic failure.  2: Start a savings plan for
>that rebuild BEFORE 150,000 miles, and make sure that the "stretch to
>torque" rod bolts are not used in the rebuild, substitute the
>conventional 1.9 engine rod bolts.
>
>Rebuildable 2.1 cores are getting scarce for this reason.  If you
>destroy yours it not only will be difficult to find another engine, but
>it will cost you the core charge as well, at least another $500.
>
>I have some interesting pictures of the remains of this engine,  I'll
>send them to anyone who would like post them on their web site if there
>is any interest.
>
>--
>Stuart MacMillan
>Seattle
>
>'84 Vanagon Westfalia
>'65 MGB (Driven since 1969)
>'74 MGB GT (Restoring)
>
>Assisting on Restoration:
>'72 MGB GT (Daughter's)
>'64 MGB (Son's)
>
>Parts cars:
>'68 & '73 MGB, '67 MGB GT

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