citronut wrote:the tool i use for moveing/releasing the tensioner is a very short 3/8th drive extension (aprox inch to inch and an arf long)on a 3/8th drive ratchet, the 3/8th drive fits the square hole a treat
regards malcolm
Mine is very similar although it's too long to take a ratchet head so I did this to the short extension. Third post down.
The beauty is, despite the modification, it's still perfectly usable for it's original purpose.
I finally got the head off yesterday, In number two cylinder I found some scrapes on the front of the liner and some, what looks like white salt crystals, does anyone know what this could be? The head I took off looks quite marked, there's a lot of scratches, one or two of them could possibly be small hairline cracks, there's also a few small holes in the casting, I'll upload some pictures, maybe someone can have a look and give me there opinion whether or not this could have been the problem.
Fangy.
If you can post up some pictures, that'll be excellent.
The "crystals" you mention will be coolant residue and nothing to worry about. Likewise the bores. You are most likely just seeing honing marks from when the thing was made. I kid you not. I saw similar "scrapes" on MikeT's engine and these wiped off with a finger so again, pictures and let's have a look. Bottom line is that things can look miles worse than they actually are before a good clean-up
Hairline cracks around the throats of the prechambers are common and nothing whatsoever to worry about.
I've uploaded some pictures for you to look at, this is the head that got knocked over. The circles are holes,the heads got loads of them, do you think this could've been why the car was still loosing water after the rebuild? I've also put a picture of one of the liners, it's got a few grooves in it and a bit of rust, do you think this is ok? Could I give it a light sand with 1200 grade wet and dry?
One last thing, do you know what thickness of gasket is needed for a VSX, The one that came off has five grooves, I think, but when I spoke to the guy that made a mess of it he said I'd need a three groove.
Thanks,
Fangy.
it dont look like that head was faced off (skimed) to me, and the matting face of the block should be perfectly clean and smooth, with no rust pitting especialy werte the coopers rings seal the combustion chambers,
also if i remeber GSF's three notch head gasket is there thickest one, which is usualy a MELIOR gasket and i have never had any probs with
I'd say those "holes" or pits are a result of corrosion caused by less than regular coolant changes and/or lack of anti-freeze. I'd also suggest that the garage that supposedly did the job did not have the head skimmed which is MUST.
I'd take the head along to your local skimmer and seek his opinion but I reckon it'll come up OK with a skim on the basis of those pictures.
One cylinder has clearly imbibed a lot of coolant, hence the rust and "crystals". It'll be fine after a clean-up. Use "Sctochbrite" rather than wet and dry.
Fangy,
An old tip when cleaning up the face of the block: clean up around each cylinder in turn with that piston on TDC and a 'squidge' of grease (any) around the rim of the piston to stop any hard bits of crud getting jammed in the top ring. Stuff scraps of rag firmly into water- and oil-way. We used to use brass scrapers, but a scrap of perspex (snap a CD in half) is better - hard enough, but not so hard that it scores cast-iron, and it's easily resharpened with a file. A wipe of grease on the edge of the scraper traps most of the crud before it can go anywhere. With a bit of care, the grease will trap all the crud so none goes down the bores, oil-ways or into the cooling system. Obviously, when the whole block face is nice and clean, you turn the engine over wiping the ring of grease out of the top of each bore.
I agree with Jim, wet-'n-dry is likely to leave particles of carborundum behind in the bore to cause havoc. Fragments of 'Scotch-Brite' tend to be big enough to see and if left behind they melt!
As an apprentice 40-odd years ago, I was taught to always undo cylinder head nuts/bolts in the same way to tightening them down - backing the tension off one flat at a time in the same sequence - to avoid warping heads. I've had the head off lots of different car engines (from minis to Triumph 6). Using a 24" steel rule to check for warping, I've yet to find one (alloy or cast-iron) warped. Maybe I've just been lucky? Or not done enough?
Guy
2012 Subaru Forester - capable but no magic carpet
2011 Grand C4 Picasso VTR+ 1.6HDi - not missed!
1995 Xantia Estate SX 1.9TD in Vert Vega "The Green Lady" - sadly missed
1998 Xantia 2.1 VXD Estate in Mauritius Blue - R.I.P. (terminal tin-worm)
Thanks for all the advice, I usually used a copper scraper to clean up heads and barrels on bikes but I'll use a cd and grease, I don't want anything to go wrong with the rebuild, I don't want to ever see inside this engine again. I've got a mobile head skimmer at the house just now, he's going to skim the other cylinder head I've got. The one with the holes in it has been skimmed to it's limit I think, The small circles ( I've been told these are there to tell you the limit of skimming) on the head are just about flush. All the parts should arrive tomorrow from GSF, so all going well the car should be back on the road for the weekend. Will there be a water pump gasket in a GSF gasket set or will I need to but one separate?
Thanks,
Fangy.
