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AV 590 Parts

Hi everyone.

Don't have a bus myself but a friend of mine in Poland has a 1961 routemaster with an av590 9.6 litre engine for which he needs pistons, rings, liners and possibly some other bits.
Have read a thread about cylinder heads and it seems these are a very rare comodity. Is it the same story with all parts for these engines or does anybody know where I can source them? Have found some big end bearings on ebay but thats about it. Otherwise, are there any complete engines in working order out there anywhere?
Any help/guidance would be much appreciated.

Thanks all.

Re: AV 590 Parts

Once all the components have been measured and properly examined and tested for cracks and alignment, and the internal and external sizes are known, then there is a slim chance that the correct parts may be available. The rare quantities of spares that are available for these engines are too valuable to squander on a job that is not being carried out to proper standards.

A cheap rebuild which fails, for example, because a set of shells were fitted without the necessary attention to the crankshaft, not only denies those bearings to someone else who might have done the job properly, but quite possibly renders the entire engine scrap wasting whatever components of that engine which could have been of use.

At the moment, I cannot even source head gaskets for these engines which are of the correct thickness I require - 20 thou oversize.

AS the job is being undertaken in Poland, the cost of machining, testing and manufacturing any bearings, pistons etc is going to be considerably less than in this country, since for this reason a very large proportion of commercial vehicle components for current vehicles are now made there, rather than in the UK.

Your friend would probably be best advised to put the overhaul in the hands of a local specialist vintage engine reconditioning company.

Re: AV 590 Parts

I was based in Poland for a short while and they have really excellent machining and tooling skills.
Hugely skilled workforce much under rated and those skills are with much younger people than in the UK now.

The only major obstacle is working in imperial which is completely alien to most.
So some serious conversion work has to be factored in for an replication work that is dimension critical.

I would not at all be surprised if a small engineering firm could refurbish heads fully for a fraction of the cost in the UK or germany.

Re: AV 590 Parts

There ought not to be any problem since all the critical standard measurements are metric anyway. Bore 120mm, 121 or 122mm as oversize. Mains 95mm nominal, pins 75mm nominal.The undersizes go down in steps of .25mm

There are some top notch restorations carried out in Poland.

http://www.trucknetuk.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=90907&p=1295578&hilit=polish+restoration#p1295578

Re: AV 590 Parts

Old thread I know, but what is the current availability for replacement pistons, sleeves and rings for AEC AV 590 engines?

We have been asked about getting some for an engine rebuild.
Are any complete blocks still about? Are the engines Tony Jeff had or Rob's AV 790s still available?


Thanks in advance!

My bus number (if any): RTL 960, RM 1585, RMC 1458 and several RTs

Re: AV 590 Parts

I only have 2 AEC AV760's left for sale.
It would be more cost effective to fit a 760, which already has new pistons big ends, mains etc already fitted, than go to the expense of trying to find pistons, liners etc.

Some of the 760's that have been fitted to Routemasters used the existing 590 pump and injectors, thus derating the 760, but still giving it more power than a 590.
Do not forget that you still need the donor 590 engine for the conversion.

If you are converting from an Iveco you will also need the AEC front cross member as well as a donor 590 engine.

Rob

My bus number (if any): RM48

Re: AV 590 Parts

Rob Duker
I only have 2 AEC AV760's left for sale.


Rob

Thanks Rob, can you E mail me details etc Thanks Brian

My bus number (if any): RTL 960, RM 1585, RMC 1458 and several RTs

Re: AV 590 Parts

As a guide for those of you planning to rebuild engines, I've just had a crank ground for my BEA coach. The cost of grinding all journals and 1 set big end bearings and 1 set main bearings was in the region of £1600. Pistons are now around £200 a piece if you can find any, and so it goes on.

Fuel pump rebuilds are now around £700-£800 because they usually have to strip 3 pumps togged enough bits to make 1 good 1 from what I've been told. The days of "cheap" rebuilds are over as parts become ever more scarce.

We bought in 4 engines form abroad for rebuilding but 2 of those are likely to be beyond repair for various reasons and some are missing vital parts.

My bus number (if any): RML2532