Parksy's v4

[Parksy]

Hi all

I've started another project, this one being a v4. There aren't any plans as I'm designing it on the fly as I did with my last engine.
So far I've drilled and bored the crankshaft/camshaft tunnels and cylinder bores. The cylinder bores will be sleeved with cast iron liners.
I've just (almost) completed the crankshaft which is one piece 4140. Usually I find eccentric turning on the lathe to be a stressful event(especially on the mini lathe) but this time round everything just worked smoothly.
I haven't made provisions for a bearing in the centre of the crankshaft, I plan on running two large ball bearings on the outside and the fact that it is a single piece of 4140 thought it would be plenty strong enough.
Anyway, here are some progress pics.







Cheers and thanks for viewing

Andy

 

[oldboy]

Love what you are doing. Will be following with interest the build progress.

Barry.

 

[Brian Rupnow]

Good luck Parksy. I will follow your build.--Brian

 

[stevehuckss396]

Me too!

Nice so far.

 

[Parksy]

Thanks all.

Not much to report on at the moment. The crankshaft journals are slightly oversized and I'll polish them later on.
I've milled some sections from inside the block to give clearance for the con rods. I need to work out how to minimise the size of the bigends while still making them removable. If anyone has tips or pictures, I'd appreciate this.
Was going to make bronze bearings for the big ends, what sort of thickness should I aim for? Previously I made them a whopping 1mm thick as size wasn't an issue.

 

[Parksy]

Cylinder liners are under way. Cast iron is the material used.

 

[michael-au]

Interesting build, good work

 

[Parksy]

All liners have been completed. I bought a new boring bar and the finish I'm achieving is excellent, so a light hone and I'm finished.
Also started on milling some cooling fins. Slow process.

 

[ZebDog]

Nice work add me to the list of followers

 

[Parksy]

Thanks Zebdog.
Cooling fins are completed. The 4mm end mill doesn't like to get loaded up too much so had to take many light passes to get the depth. But now it looks engine like...

 

[Parksy]

Made some covers to retain the crankshaft and camshaft bearings.

 

[Parksy]

The number of components is growing quickly.

 

[Parksy]

My intent is to make an oil sump and have the bottom end splash lubed. What sort of oil should I use and to what level should I aim for?
I've never pulled apart a splash lubed 4 stroke engine before so I'm not familiar with its design.

Cheers

 

[stevehuckss396]

My intent is to make an oil sump and have the bottom end splash lubed. What sort of oil should I use and to what level should I aim for?
I've never pulled apart a splash lubed 4 stroke engine before so I'm not familiar with its design.

Cheers

I use 10-W40 and just have the bottom 1/16 - 1/8 inch of the rod contact the oil. Thats what I do.

 

[Parksy]

Thanks Steve.

I'm assuming when the engine is running, the splash created is enough to reach the bores and small ends also?

 

[Brian Rupnow]

Thanks Steve.

I'm assuming when the engine is running, the splash created is enough to reach the bores and small ends also?

That's right, it does. If you have too much splash, it gets more oil on the cylinder walls than the rings can handle, and the engine will smoke bad from oil getting past the rings.---Brian

 

[Parksy]

Thanks Brian.

That would be almost entertaining to watch I think.

 

[Parksy]

Started on the sump. It is basically a cover which will be hollowed out as the crank sits higher on this engine compared to a standard v configured engine, so oil capacity will be adequate enough.

 

[Parksy]

Sump is attached. Next will be a frame to support the engine.

 

[Brian Rupnow]

Parksy--One of the things that I found difficult in engines with such a shallow oil sump, is how do you check the level of the oil? There is such a small difference between a full sump and a "not full" sump, that I never did come up with a good answer. You can't really tell with a dipstick, because the oil will "creep up" the stick and give a false reading. You can't see into the enclosed crankcase to tell how much oil is in there. The closest I got to an answer was to put a drain in the side of the crankcase with the bottom of the drain hole at the desired level of fluid. The filler cap was higher up on the block, and I would take the plug out of the drain and add oil from the top until it started to flow out of the drain. At that point I would know there was a sufficient level of oil and put the plug back into the drain and the filler cap and run the engine. I was never real happy with that, but couldn't come up with a better way.---Brian