head gasket

[tezzz]

I can't believe it
The head gasket blew on the hiace, water in oil. Im grounded til i fix it. I cannot for the life of me unhook the accelerator cable , its inaccessible and if i do get it off i'll never get it on. this is the third in five years.
Question: are the headbolts supposed to be covered in oil when you pull them out or dry. iv'e got both.
Last time i left the manifold attached because the gasket blew under warranty and i didn't want more problems. it was difficult and i think i might have damaged the new gasket.
this time i'll get an assistant to help lower the head manifold assembly with cable attached.
This is an all gas setup and is always difficult to start, now i have a click for about the first 6 goes before the engine turns over but this might be a water in sump problem. anyway i'd better get back into it or i'll never get started on the sigma.

[Sigmaproject]

I had a Hi Ace. The cooling system is borderline at the best of times. I did a head gasket because I was a bit slack at replacing a worn radiator cap

Had a big overheat that warped the head. Trouble is just getting the head surface ground is only half doing the job. really need the top of the block done as well, but the work involved makes you take the risk, which ultimately means that the new gasket doesnt last long

[Jamie]

What breed is the head gasket?
If it is ACL / Monotorque, there is your problem.
I never have had a problem with monotorque until recently.
A friend and I both rebuilt brand new high compression 4G54s just over a year ago.
Both of them had the compression ratio bumped up to about 10:1
His was a narrow block with an astron one head, mine was wide with a TR Magna head.

Long story short, his lasted 15K with the ACL head gasket before it blew, mine lasted 5K.

After that we both cracked the shits and purchased OEM Head Gaskets.
I'm up to 20K now and it's fine!

As for your other question about oil on the head bolts, that should actually be the remains of moly grease, (if it was bolted on properly).

When you bolt a head down, smear moly grease on the threads of the bolts so that there is little friction so you can torque them down evenly.
Moly grease is a very high temp grease that is also a bit more resistant to solvents.

Jamie

[tezzz]

My new gasket is protorque. it's black with red trim.
I tried to get the manifold off in case it affected the head, I pulled it out still attached.
Even when i could get at the difficult nuts between the inlet and outlet manifold there was one nut that defied
all efforts to get a spanner on. It was offset by about 3mm. A half inch drive with a 14mm socket jammed because it couldnt go round corners. The three eighth drive was thin enough but i didnt have a 14mm socket.
So i left it on. I straddled the engine bay with one foot in the cabin well and the other in the back and lowered it carefully on the block , even the bolts on the manifold pipe slipped into place. This time i put a couple of cardboard strips on the head and slid them out after it was in the right position. Ive lost 3 headbolt washers in the dirt. so i have to get more. it was stinking hot in the sun for the last 2 days but only one more to go. I'm looking for a rocker spring compressor so i can install the rods, but there are none on ebay. last time i put them in by raising the head and then tightening the bolts but i dont know if it did damage or not. to clean the old gasket off i used wood and tried a chisel one was useless the other too dangerous so i found a piece of aluminium angle about 2" long and 1" wide and used the edge of that. -perfect. it doesnt scratch because it is softer. oh well on with the show

[tezzz]

Well it's actually called a valve spring compressor not a rocker spring compressor. Anyway none of the shops stock them . So....i improvised. I used a claw hammer and a bracket from a tv aerial . the one that clamps it to a pipe. like a exhaust pipe clamp only thinner. I slipped it under the rocker rod end and then hooked the claw of the hammer into the clamp and heaved back over the rocker arm. the spring compressed easily and i was able to pop the rod in the socket , but then i discovered the bracket was trapped between the rod and the rocker.
so i had to undo the 2 nuts on the bracket to take the keeper off. then re-assemble it for the next one. I only dropped a screw twice into the tappet hole. this is were the screwdriver with the telescopic rod with a magnetic tip comes in handy. they are not much cop as a screwdriver but the extendable rod is really good. dont leave home without it. the hardest bit was over i stuck everything back together and tdc on the compression stroke.
i set the gap on the dizz and popped it in what i thought was the right spot. not having a timing light.
Anyway its going but it needs new plugs and points. i might have another go at installing the electronic dizz which didnt work last time i tried it. i might get an expert to tune it properly- they do it all the time.
So the sig is on the slab now ready to pull the sump off.

[tezzz]

no no no
I took it on a long drive and it boiled nearly dry- bludger!
water coming from exhaust. have booked it in for head facing after xmas.
Might as well start on the sig