Ja da ist ein laut schlagen, wegen schaden zum pleuelzapfen des kurbelwelle! Die Pleuelzapfen müssen nachgeschliffen, um die Größe der Ersatz Pleuellager angepasst werden!!

Kenneth: wollen Sie die "Bolzen" beziehen?

Jon, I suspect they put the replacement rods right over the worn out crank journals. The crank journals have to be worn out of round when the two rod bearings lost all of their babbitt. The rod journals are normally reground to a smaller diameter , and then undersize rods fitted. These older cranks are not hardened like modern cranks, thus they need the old style soft lead-antimony babbitt bearings. Any attempt to modify the rods to accept Jeep inserts will have an eventual bad result when the non hardened rod journals get worn out of round by the modern hard babbitt inserts. Geoff Clark has had experience with this.....He does not recommend it. I generally do not have access to the older prewar parts. Geoff more likely would have. I strongly suspect that Heidi needs a complete reconditioned 8 cyl crank and matched set of rods to get this car road able again. And possibly a set of pistons and rings. I suspect the cylinder that had the broken rings will have scoring. I am doubtful of them finding a competent shop in Laos. Thailand would be a somewhat better bet. I might be willing to look at the car in Thailand, and arrange repairs, if my travel and lodging expenses were covered. Currently airfare in economy class to Bangkok is around $1200 if bought 14-21 days in advance. I was looking at the airfares to Bangkok because a lady friend is going there to skate at Eddie Matzger's Thailand Skate Farm, a school for inline skaters, in about three weeks.

So viele lachhaft "Micky Maus" reparaturen.........

Ken, I think it would be great if someone with your expertise could be flown in to make a careful assessment of the car's mechanical condition. Or, if they can coax the car as far as Australia, perhaps there's a Hudson expert there who can perform this service. And they may have some parts for the car, right there in Australia.

They certainly do need to stop and take stock of things, as opposed to "pressing on" and depending upon the kindness (and expertise) of strangers.

How might they check the journals to determine if they're too far egg shaped to continue as-is? Simply mike them? And, what kind of tolerance would be acceptable? I think there is a certain level of "egg-shapedness" acceptable, isn't there? After all, no journal is completely round after tens of thousands of miles, is it?

I'd love to know if the rod bearings that have recently given out, are the same ones that were recently replaced....or if the bad ones are in fact the original ones that have been in the car since the trip started.

As I stated before, from the pictures I saw of the crank and rod bearings, this car won't get very far. It needs either a replacement crank, or major crank repair (welding metal to build up the journals, then regrinding to standard), along with a set of re-babbitted or NOS rods, not to mention pistons and rings as well as a block re-bore (sleeving?) and hone job. An attempt to drive it further in its present condition could result in a rod going through the block, and then they would need a replacement block.

The local mechanics "cured" the knocking sound by taking some shims out of 6 of the rod bearings (!) ...So they think the engine is good enough to make it into Singapore....

Heidi, I don't wish to sound repetitive, but I do hope that you will be able to find a good mechanic in Australia who can take some time to carefully analyze your engine and other mechanical parts of your car, to determine their condition. Then, perhaps, the "fixes" made by some mechanics during your trip, can be cured, using parts which more correctly will work with your car. It would be well worth your while to pause for a week or so while repairs are made using the correct parts (which may be available in Australia) and -- most importantly -- you can acquire certain spare parts for the remainder of your journey.

Perhaps, if we could know your itinerary for the Australian portion of your trip, a good mechanic could be found along your route, and he could be scheduled before your arrival, to work on your car.

As you may know, many Hudsons were exported to Australia and in fact there was an assembly plant there.

If all else fails there's always Geoff Clark in New Zealand - if he can't fix it, nobody can. Besides it would make a great Technical Topics article for the WTN.

Hudsonly,
Alex Burr
Memphis, TN

[quote="Alex Burr - Memphis, TN - HudsonTech" post=8408]If all else fails there's always Geoff Clark in New Zealand - if he can't fix it, nobody can. Besides it would make a great Technical Topics article for the WTN.]

Agreed, plus the NZ Triangle!!

Another breakdown of the transmission shaft to the alternator coupling 70 km outside Singapore. ..

Maybe the Chinese custom made part wasn't exactly the solution, or the Audi alternator....

I believe there are three problems with the "Chinese" solution:

1. The alternator has a much larger diameter than a generator. The shaft must bend in order to connect to the alternator. This is NOT good because it puts a stress on the shaft and its connection to the distributor drive. Instead, there should be a generator which is (I believe) of a much smaller In the photograph of this coupling, A used generator (even a 12-volt one) would be a better choice because of its size, and the original brackets on the engine may hold a generator much better than an alternator.

2. The alternator was fastened by brackets to the engine AND the frame of the car! This should not happen! The alternator should be fastened ONLY to the engine!

3. There should be a FLEXIBLE coupling between the shaft and the alternator. In your photograph it did not seem that there was a flexible couple there. You can make one with a short section of rubber hose, and some hose clamps..

Perhaps I have misunderstood the photograph that you showed us, of the engine. But it seemed to me that your problems may come from the three conditions I have described above.

Jon - a good suggestion for a through check. It is a very hot time of the year to travel across the Nullarbor Plain. The Nullarbor Plain stretches from Ceduna (SA) to Norseman (WA). There is not much there except great scenery. The distance by road between Perth and Adelaide is 2700 km (1680 mi) and The Nullarbor crossing is almost half the trip. (Perth Western Australia is one of the most isolated major cities in the world).