Pootle's rear is sagging....

[Pootle's Owner]

Well I'll fit a replacement valve first to see if that helps but it's good to know I can access this from below. I have a nagging fear that, when I rebuilt the engine I might have mixed the conrod caps up when I refitted everything and that may have screwed up the new big end bearings.... With sump off I can check and could get pistons and rods out if needed - had to replace pistons in my old Celica like this last year though the fault there was Toyota's rather than mine!
Quick note on springs I fitted on Saturday....
When I sized everything up I had to advise Jones Springs of the bolt sizes for the front and back bushes to be fitted. I measured a shackle bolt at 5/8" and springs came with four id 5/8" rubber bushes. When I came to fit them, I found that the bolt at the front spring mount was 9/16" (WTF???) so the bush was a bit too sloppy for my liking. As I had new shackles from Martin I chopped up one of the old shackles to make two 5/8 'bolts' and drilled out the chassis holes to 16mm to suit. The old imperial system really is a pita some times despite what old Jacob-R-M might tell you!!!
So below are some piccies of the process - Things to note.... This method is not the method suggested by the Health and Safety Executive and working on a 20 degree slope isn't the best idea though handbrake on front wheels does help! The pictures do make the situation seem a safety nightmare but it wasn't quite as bad as it looks in the pics. - We did it very carefully and the setup was very stable and we didn't work under the van at any point...
Do note the sporty, eager stance with raised springs!...

 

[Panky]

That's better Although it does look a little dodgy the type of thing I'd do myself as I have a bit if an incline on my drive
You can get the crank out from underneath but you will need to take the head off the get the pistons and rods out, can't remember if they will drop out from underneath but the have to go back in from the top. I found it difficult to keep everything clean doing it that way and if you're going that far it's not much more work to pull the engine.