Rickman Enfield Engine removal

I was worried that it might indent the soft babbit. 50 years ago I used it on poured babbit rods and it
left a nice divot. For all I know the Plastigauge might have been life expired and the temperature in
the garage cold as a well digger's ass. This time we made sure the iron bits were low 60s F. and the
Plastigauge new.

Response to Matchless: not sure about your stanchions but the later models are same as Commando
diameter. But they are different length I think . I had spares and put a Commando front end with disc on to the Series2. It makes riding it a completely new experience. Joyous indeed!

Have you found owt that could be causing your pressure and leakage issues yet ?

Nope. Right now nothing at all obvious. And the crank isnt out because I cannot get the cases split. My fault entirely as I used Permatex Ultra Gray. No it does not leak at all but
it is now glued together for the ages it seems. That stuff is good to 500F so there goes the
heating the cases routine. Same issue with my Trident and I got that apart with a puller but the total area of case interface is a lot smaller than an Interceptor.
Im not amused. Any suggestions?

I can’t help you mate. I also hate it when this happens and am interested in any pearls of wisdom that’s are offered up.

But it’s certainly a reminder not to use that stuff again. I use Wellseal, but even that can be tricky to separate after a while. Hence conversations elsewhere about Loctite 518.

Rest assured it was 518 on the last bike and will be forever more. Live, suffer, learn.

Onder said:

Rest assured it was 518 on the last bike and will be forever more. Live, suffer, learn.

Click to expand...

Did you use 518 on the cases faces (ie face to face with no gasket)? And has it done the job?

Used on the T150v no gasket. No leaks.

Onder said:

Nope. Right now nothing at all obvious. And the crank isnt out because I cannot get the cases split. My fault entirely as I used Permatex Ultra Gray. No it does not leak at all but
it is now glued together for the ages it seems. That stuff is good to 500F so there goes the
heating the cases routine. Same issue with my Trident and I got that apart with a puller but the total area of case interface is a lot smaller than an Interceptor.
Im not amused. Any suggestions?

Click to expand...

Some sort of silicone caulk remover, such as this? ...

I have some made by the Loctite mother company. Will have a go but you are asking it to
get between two machined surfaces that are bolted together. Which is why I thought to immerse it in a pail of diesel. Since the rods and mains are still in there I hate to do that.

Onder said:

I have some made by the Loctite mother company. Will have a go but you are asking it to
get between two machined surfaces that are bolted together. Which is why I thought to immerse it in a pail of diesel. Since the rods and mains are still in there I hate to do that.

Click to expand...

Any luck?

Moments ago.....you can see the approach and the results in the attached.

That is a very clever solution

Any idea what the gasket goo is?

I have to say, from what I’ve seen of that engine I’m pretty impressed. Really beefy crank, and the castings look very good quality.

Permatex Ultra Grey. It sure doesn't leak....

The Interceptor is a very mixed bag. Simply let down by so many problems all happening at once. Mostly no
money for development. Weak lubrication system is biggest problem. Next one is head design led to hot
running. Clutch was wonderfully easy and smooth but not up to the power on tap. Gearbox agricultural in
all ways but durability. Too heavy as most bikes were at the time.
I've said all this before, sorry to sound like a broken record. Er, wow, does that comment date me or what? :-(

Hi Onder, did you find any smoking guns?

Hmmm. Yes the one that was pointed at my foot, now pointed at my head.
After managing to part the cases and not break anything, I pulled the rods off and used plastigauge.
This is an inexact science but it should assist in giving a person (me) without a full set of measuring instruments an idea of what is what.
I got 1.5 thou clearance on the Timing Side and a bit more, say 1.7, on the Drive Side. Bear in mind that the Series 2 Interceptor called for a slightly looser DS in a faint attempt at ensuring that side got sufficient oil.

Would you think the clearances mentioned are excessive?

“Would you think the clearances mentioned are excessive?”

If you are asking me, I’m afraid I have no idea, but it seems ok. Out of interest, I downloaded the Interceptor II manual from Hitchcocks, and it doesn’t state what the clearance should be (as far as I could see). Is there an official figure?

Going back to your original posts, it seems to imply that the top end is over oiling and the bottom end the reverse. In the manual I see each feed have their own OPR valve. Is it possible you have those (or components of) reversed?

Let's see: last post was in Feb'24! But I'm still at it. To answer your immediate question, no, you cannot swap the two OPRVs. The main is three piece the rockers one piece. The manual shows a ball valve for the main OPRV but that
was replaced in service by a needle with a tiny hole to allow for at least a trace of oil always going up to the heads.

I reassembled the engine and drove it. Nothing changed. When cold things are fine but within a mile or two the oil pressure to the head disappears and the main begins to fade soon after. Once hot it will run around 25-40 pounds
is the ambient air is below 65F . Normally hot it is around 30 or less.

However the NEW news is that I have installed an aftermarket pump! Not of my design nor handiwork. This is a gerotor pump from a Honda single modded up to the standard S2 worm drive. Game changer. I get a nearly constant 9 pounds at the exhaust rockers and 40-50 at the mains even when fully warm. My Commando runs 40-45 but almost always shows 42 psi. So I feel pretty safe.
We are talking more money than most would be willing to spend and more than I will publicly
state in case the wife is lurking on the list!
This is attempt number two with the modded pump. First attempt fell short because the pump over feeds the
tiny oil galleries twixt the pump and the crankcase. It would seem that the stock pump provides just enough flow
to prevent immediate rod bearing failure but no doubt causes the rod bearing to have a short life.
So many threads end leaving the readers hanging so I thought I'd bring things up to date.