A couple of months ago the crankshaft nut came loose on my 2002 MK3 Pampera, wedged against the primary cover and stopped the engine. Loctite and 40Nm sorted that out. Now after about 400 miles the engine vibrates at low revs and knocks on idle. The cause seems to be excessive end float on the crankshaft, I've not measured it but it seems considerably more than the 0.02-0.03mm recommended.

My main concern is WHERE did this end float come from? There's no apparent radial play in the main bearings or thrust washers to wear and the big end seems OK so I'm a bit reluctant to split the cases at the moment.

The basic engine is the same as a TXT 250 Edition I believe.

Anyone got any ideas?

Colin

Hi Colin,

I have a Mk3 Pamp with the endfloat problem although it doesn't have any issues with vibration. The problem seems to be the interference fit of the main bearing on the crankshaft is not quite right and I gather this is quite common. If you grasp the flywheel you can move it about 1mm (endfloat) which isn't ideal but i'm not pulling it down until it needs mains and seals as it runs fine. I have heard stories of hard chrome plating on the crank to get the interference fit correct although this sounds quite involved and possibly expensive. A new crank will set you back about 320 quid tho.

Tony.

Hi Tony,

It's good to know someone else has the same problem as me! I'm not particularly worried about the vibration, just the knocking at idle.

I've got most of the parts I need for a complete rebuild but don't want to do do it at the moment, mainly because I don't have a garage to work in at the moment and I don't want to rebuild it and find I still have the same problem.

If or more likely when I rebuild it the only bit I to sub out will be the crank rebuild. Can anyone recommend someone in the South East to do this?

Thanks

Colin