Volvo EC15B mini - engine removal & injection pump overhaul - plus ......

[Stock]

All the yoke s I fix always have pocket bolts fitted...........

[Muz]

I always wondered why there are parts left over after a reassembly job,It's all become very clear now ...

To be fair .. I always owned up to it .... just not immediately

[Wazza]

.. I also used to throw an 'extra' bolt into some of my lads bolt pots when they wernt looking

I always wondered why there are parts left over after a reassembly job,It's all become very clear now ...

[Muz]

...and I thought you loved them:wub:.....and what about hurting poor Wee Jim's feelings - or is he used it by now...

I think the young lad would berate his product soon enough if it broke down on him 'again'

RE: Timing Camshaft alignment
Spoke with John@DD this morning and he said there should be a hole tapped perpendicular to the shaft that takes the bolt no.7 [the function of which is similar to that of a grub screw] that should grab the cam and hold the sprocket in place. There is no such hole/tap on either my old or new camshaft. So the rebuild is halted until I can clarify either from DD or Mitsubishi how the sprocket is designed not to shift along the shaft.

Ahh .. the plot thickens ... hmm wrong timing shaft ?

Ok, the other [read 'real'] reason the rebuild is halted is because I lost a big end cap nut.......Fearless EC15 Tech?.......nahhh!!.....Forgetful EC15 Tech more likely.....

Hehe .... well weve all done that .... I also used to throw an 'extra' bolt into some of my lads bolt pots when they wernt looking

[jackpreacher]

What .. you mean a ... a... JCB ? ..

...and I thought you loved them:wub:.....and what about hurting poor Wee Jim's feelings - or is he used it by now...

RE: Timing Camshaft alignment
Spoke with John@DD this morning and he said there should be a hole tapped perpendicular to the shaft that takes the bolt no.7 [the function of which is similar to that of a grub screw] that should grab the cam and hold the sprocket in place. There is no such hole/tap on either my old or new camshaft. So the rebuild is halted until I can clarify either from DD or Mitsubishi how the sprocket is designed not to shift along the shaft.








Ok, the other [read 'real'] reason the rebuild is halted is because I lost a big end cap nut.......Fearless EC15 Tech?.......nahhh!!.....Forgetful EC15 Tech more likely.....

[Muz]

Mind you, anyone following this thread is probably thinking.."why don't you just but a proper digger..."..

What .. you mean a ... a... JCB ? .......

Fear not fella .. your work is sterling service to those that appreciate a good, simple (and generally reliable tool) that the EC15 is

[jackpreacher]

Dry fitting the Injection Pump and shims

The IP and shims are shown here prior to assembly much later on in the rebuild. I'm showing them in case anyone following this thread has got confused over what the shims are etc. Mind you, anyone following this thread is probably thinking.."why don't you just but a proper digger..."..

dryfit IP 1.jpg
Engine block & IP


dryfit IP 2.jpg
First shim

dryfit IP 3.jpg
Another shim. These shims are in various sizes - more later on when I come to do the timing angles.

dryfit IP 4.jpg
The repaired IP showing the plungers in the correct orientation.
The faulty camshaft caused these to rotate....I think


dryfit IP 5.jpg
The IP in-situ

[jackpreacher]

Bottom Oil seal Flush with casting.jpg
The new oil seal has to be inserted flush with the timing cover casting, and not as deep as it can go. There is a recess which appears to receive the seal but this is misleading - if you put the seal in too far you'll expose the internal oil drain inside the engine. To be absolutely correct on this John from DD traipsed around a few L3E engines in their workshops to confirm the seals are flush.

[jackpreacher]

The gear would just spin on the shaft if the key was missing, so it must be there (or was) .. however if No 7 bolt was slack or missing, that would explain the drift... but doesent the guvernor bolt on to the pump shaft gear face, with something going into the timing shaft its self ?

so I dont even see where bolt 7 sits ?

You're right. There is no bolt no.7 as the governor just slides into the camshaft.

Anyway, on inspection, the old cam just wasn't fully seated. I pulled the sprocket off [with a puller] and checked if the key was there - it was- I reassembled the camshaft into the sprocket - it needs a machine press to do it properly but as it wasn't going back on I just whacked it with a lump hammer and block of wood - it took some doing.

Maybe it is just a tight tolerance fit after all? The new camshaft doesn't have the bolt no.7 either. There is no end bush/bearing/thrust washer assembly indicated on the parts list. John from Diamond Diesels https://www.diamonddiesels.co.uk/ was very helpful over the phone with regards to the timing camshaft so I'll ring him tomorrow and see what he says.

Anyway, I started the rebuild this afternoon....

oil pump stripdown 1.jpg
Removing the oil pump to check it's integrity and also to remove the bottom seal to make way for a new one. The oil pump is built into the timing cover. It's a gear pump.

oil pump stripdown 2.jpg
3 bolts and it's off..

oil pump stripdown 3.jpg
Check the teeth for wear. This oil pump seems fine although there was a strip of metallic debris lodged in there when I took it apart...

oil pump stripdown 4.jpg
..just where the screwdriver is pointing.....but it dropped out before I took the photo.

[Muz]

The only thing I can think that is missing is the key - item 10 below
[ATTACH=CONFIG]1268[/ATTACH]

I'm going back out to continue cleaning the parts so will strip the old timing camshaft down to see if the key has gone.
The screw and washer [7 & 8] should keep the camshaft in line do you think?

The gear would just spin on the shaft if the key was missing, so it must be there (or was) .. however if No 7 bolt was slack or missing, that would explain the drift... but doesent the guvernor bolt on to the pump shaft gear face, with something going into the timing shaft its self ?

so I dont even see where bolt 7 sits ?

[jackpreacher]

I think theres something missing ?.. like a spacer of some kind, at the end of the shaft. Theres a void there when the new shaft is in situ .. so through time it has been allowed to drift away from the gear into the engine case

The only thing I can think that is missing is the key - item 10 below
Timing Camshaft fromVolvo manual.jpg

I'm going back out to continue cleaning the parts so will strip the old timing camshaft down to see if the key has gone. The screw and washer [7 & 8] should keep the camshaft in line do you think?


I may not get it started today.....
Its brain is in a jar.jpg

[Muz]

A nights sleep is a wonderful thing .. I think theres something missing ?.. like a spacer of some kind, at the end of the shaft. Theres a void there when the new shaft is in situ .. so through time it has been allowed to drift away from the gear into the engine case, but it still deosnt explain the wear pattern on the plungers which you would expect to see damaged on the 'other' sides of the lobes

[jackpreacher]

Interesting .... I see the gap in your first picture .. it looks like the gear and nearest bearing has come adrift from the shaft on your original one ... but the wear is on the wrong side of the lobes if this is the case ? .. thats what makes it confusing .

That's it. The shaft is not seated fully into the gear wheel.

Or it may be that the shaft is mobile.. in the bearings,(which are relatively slack on the shaft) and travels back and forth but predominates to one side ...

The end bearings are tight and and are held by a spring clip. The inner bearing is designed to mate up to a machined groove in the engine block which gives it the alignment, so long as the camshaft is fully inserted in the gear wheel. Also the camshaft doubles as a Power take off - I wonder if there is another thrust bearing that should be installed to blank off the PTO ......nothing about it in the manual.......

Before you reasemble .. you must get a reference somehow of how far in the shaft has gone, in order to marry it with the plungers on the injection pump ..

yeah, I sort of did that and it was way off. Back in November I remember looking down the IP location (whilst retrieving the IP parts from the sump) and thinking that it didn't look aligned but just assumed it was once the IP was in-situ. Careless

[jackpreacher]

So has the cam been wrong from day one?

Probably, but I'll never know. When I bought the machine last July it started and ran ok for around 10 hours before the problems occurred.

[Muz]

Interesting .... I see the gap in your first picture .. it looks like the gear and nearest bearing has come adrift from the shaft on your original one ... but the wear is on the wrong side of the lobes if this is the case ? .. thats what makes it confusing .

Or it may be that the shaft is mobile.. in the bearings,(which are relatively slack on the shaft) and travels back and forth but predominates to one side ...

1. What connects the gear to the shaft .. is it a simple key way ? .. and in your engine .. why was it able to move ?
2. Whats at the 'other' end,.. to allow the drift .. I see the bearing but what stops it moving at this end ?


Before you reasemble .. you must get a reference somehow of how far in the shaft has gone, in order to marry it with the plungers on the injection pump ..