Jack shaft

[Lemp1953]

Afternoon chaps,
i had a metallic noise coming from the engine and then a lower noise like something whirring and struggling to turn around and then it stopped. I was told it might be the jackshaft failing but there seem to be water still being pumped around when i took the brass nut off on top of the radiator. If it is the jack shaft does it mean an engine out job. ?
Cheers Mike

[ChrisD]

If I remember correctly Mike, when the Jackshaft was replaced in my car it was only the heads that needed to come off.

Regards

Chris

[NeilR]

If it's just the jackshaft that needs replacement (unlikely as there may other damage), there is no need to remove heads.
Just inlet manifold, water pump, distributor, timing cover and cam covers.

Of course if going that far, probably worth doing timing chains etc...

[Lingen]

Mike.
I think it is unlikely to be the jackshaft from your description, which by the way, can be removed without disturbing the cylinder heads. Clearly the noise needs investigating thoroughly to prevent further damage. Perhaps it was the alternator, or something caught in the fan. Almost invariably a jackshaft "Failure" means the water pump drive gears have failed, but you say your pump is working. If it does ever fail, there will be dangerous bits of metal everywhere in the engine, which would need very thorough internal cleaning to prevent further damage.
Hopefully it is something simple, and I expect there will be other suggestions here.
Mike.

[Lemp1953]

Thanks guys, my friendly mechanic mate is coming round later this week to do some investigative work. I've bought a combustion check kit as i have been losing water but not on the floor possibly through the exhaust. This might turn out to be more involved than I'm hoping for. Oh well such is life with a classic .

[StagJonno]

Might be worth checking the viscous coupling on your fan (if you've still got it fitted). These, I hear, can make some weird and wonderful noises.

Standard tes, with the engine off, is to flick the fan blades, which should stop within a couple of blade widths.

Wishing you well on your water loss detection. I had an inlet manifold gasket fail which allowed water to get into the back cylinders (6 & 8). Way I checked this was, after it had cooled down after a run, to pull all the plugs then lay kitchen roll over the plug holes then spin it over for a couple of seconds. Any water being expelled gives wet witness marks on the paper. Once I'd confirmed where it was happening, before starting, I used to whip these 2 plugs out, disconnect the coil, then spin over to clear it. Was concerned about a hydraulic lock-up and possibly a bent conrod.

[Lemp1953]

Yes I've have checked the viscous fan and all is well there but i did use about 1/2 a litre of water over about an 80 mile trip and the bottle was 3/4 full when i checked next morning . I emptied the bottle back into the radiator (about 1 litre ) that's when I discovered the extra loss of water. So as i mentioned before I'm going to check with a combustion test kit to see if the Blue fluid turns Yellow.
Mike