Tappets failed

Recently rebuilt my 2.25 petrol engine.
I had it bored and crank ground then short motor built by local engine shop.
So all good I thought.
I fitted it into my landrover started it up after getting oil pressure and it knocked like someone hitting the sump with a Hammer!
Pull gear box and I could see flywheel moving up and down!
The crank was moving around on rear main.
So they took it back and told me they had fitted wrong main bearings!
Any way a few weeks later I got short motor back and fitted it again.
This time it all seemed fine.
I've been running it in.
But a noise started that sounded like tappets, so I adjusted them and it was better but not for long.
The tapping got worse, I convinced myself it was distributor, changed that and no difference so today I pulled it all apart.
6 out of the 8 cam followers/wheels are destroyed also camshaft is scrap.
I had new cam and followers tappets when I rebuilt engine.
I'm now thinking is it a oil problem when I ran the engine with the wrong mains?
I did have oil at rockers before I fired it up.
Did they get destroyed then?
Or bad parts they were bearmach or maybe a oil gallery is blocked?
Any thoughts?

That’s a big shame

I would go to turners for new parts , they also have a nice article on rebuilding the petrol


Don’t know why so many would break at same time
How long did you run engine for when it was making noise

Was the push rods renewed and seated correctly

steve2286w said:

That’s a big shame

I would go to turners for new parts , they also have a nice article on rebuilding the petrol

LRO September 1999 - Spring 2001 - 2.25 3MB Petrol - Engine rebuild Pa

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7

www.turnerengineering.co.uk

Don’t know why so many would break at same time
How long did you run engine for when it was making noise

Was the push rods renewed and seated correctly

Click to expand...

Followers were from turners
Pushrods,cam,rockers etc were all nos

Turners reputedly are quite helpful and knowledgable, so was it the followers and tappet slides that both disintegrated , I presume the little bolts securing the steel slider housing were still tight
The tappet slides themselves say which way faces front not sure if it makes a difference

Have you rang them to say their new bits have broken and have they any answers what might have happened

Also post same query on the series forum , don’t think many look at the engines bit , have you pics of broken bits

Thinking timing train in order of probability….

If all the followers are goosed then the issue would be more likely before that. Wheels? If all those are goosed probably before that. Cam? If it was new and a good make I’d be looking at cam bearings and timing.
Can’t believe an engineer would fit wrong bearings. It’s likely to have had significant impact on the whole block and it’s components.
Annoyingly I’d be stripping the whole thing down and starting again checking every tolerance very carefully. Even more carefully than if I’d done the short engine myself. I couldn’t rest worrying what else they’d done or ignored on its second rebuild. Specially if the same employee attempted covering his arse.

I didn’t think about incompetence and arse covering but yes , when you said crank going up and down by how much , thinking did they even fit the bearings at all or only half of them
If crank reground 10 thou and they put original bearings in it’s still not a lot of movement to notice

Could have destroyed the crank. I’d be having a look.