Off with it's head!!!!!!!!
 

Well today was the day to remove the head and take the plunge with the head gasket...

All went smoothly and found the head gasket to have a section that was not in great shape... :o The K seal that was found was helping mask the problem, hence why it took a while to get to this stage. :shrug:

So anyway, ordering up the gasket kit in the next day or so and the head is off to be skimmed as a precaution.

Also found the timing to be out by one tooth!! So expecting a bit more performance when back together... :D

Work will re commence next week sometime I guess.

I few pics of the progress today.

http://i756.photobucket.com/albums/x...pswsymtphh.jpg

http://i756.photobucket.com/albums/x...pszu2y0hgs.jpg

http://i756.photobucket.com/albums/x...pssxdik5ky.jpg


I will update this thread when I put it back together.

Thanks for posting, looking forward to the updates. :}

Good stuff Pete.

No excuse for the timing being out, these engines couldn't be easier to time up!

Glad to see you are doing it yourself.

Was there any coolant in the oil?

Had the HG changed today. It was only showing the 1st signs of failure and no water in the oil. Overall it was in very good condition and it was due a cambelt change anyway.
Everything went well and is all back together but now will not start. Got a spark, got a good supply of fuel from the pump but for some reason its not getting fuel to the injectors. Got a feeling its something electrical.
Looks like taking SWMBO's MGF to work tomorrow.

No Coolant in the oil.... Think it was caught pretty early... ;)

So hopefully no worrying about the turbo :eek:

Fingers crossed, just need to sort the starting problem. Did catch it early but I do check levels and for deposits on the caps every day. I have become OCD about it. The OCD must be a 1.8 affliction.

Nice to see you've got started on it, good news that there's no coolant in the oil. Hopefully all should go well. I guess it won't do any harm to keep my fingers crossed for you anyway.

gasket
 

Are you going multi layer gasket or old school.

Probably going for the Payen BW750 Elastomer gasket.

It had an MLS with head saver fitted already.

Off with it's head!!!!!!!!
 

What are the liner heights Pete?

Good news on the oil, fingers crossed for the turbo.

Timing being out won't have helped starting. Does it have the fabled orange clip?

timing out trust me i know


andy

Hi Tom...

Liners were pretty level to be honest... 1 was low (Just)

The car started fine and to be honest you would not have guessed there was a problem... :shrug:

FOC is not in place, but will sort that out at a later date, as the car has always started fine....

Could it be 180 degrees out ? I know that will seem alright, but never start ? :shrug:

Sorry Pete, thought you had a starting problem too...? I don't know where I got that from.

Definitely go for the elastomer gasket then, MLS hasn't got a chance if there is no liner protrusion.

Have you measured the how low the low liner is? Any more than 2 thou and I'd want to fit a liner shim...

From post number 4.

Well, thought it was time for a little update on the car....

The head gasket was completed last Friday night and I had been using the car for local journeys to try and make sure it was alright... :shrug:

The signs were all good, so used the car to go to work in London on Saturday... All temps were behaving themselves and the engine was running as sweet as a nut.... :D

So the big test, a run to the national today.... Again, passed with flying colours... So I am hoping that all is now well... I have lost no coolant and she is behaving perfectly... :cool: I will keep an eye on it, but hopefully sorted...

I even met the previous owner today at the National which was nice in a way, but also it was confirmed that the car had all these issues when given to the member who sold it onto me and told me it was fine (when asked directly about the HG) and just needed a hose replaced and could possibly need bleeding again :mad:

Never a nice thing to find out a member of these boards can be such a flat out liar.. Especially when he seemed to be pretty well respected on these boards at one point... :shrug:

I suppose I just need to try and put that part behind me now and try and get on with enjoying the car that has left me skint for a while!! :o

As I said to you earlier Pete, glad she seems to be running ok now, onwards and upwards :}

Cheers Mark.

That's the plan. :D

She did look good yesterday when all polished up and is still gleaming in the sun this morning :cool:

So all that left now is to replenish the savings account!! :getmecoat: :o

Well Pete, best of luck with the car. If done correctly, the repair will be successful. :}

You'll be a bit paranoid for a while but I'm sure it'll be fine.

It's a shame about the circumstances, but try not to dwell on it and move on is my advice. :}

Had it remapped yet?

Well done Pete and it was very nice to chat to you yesterday:}

Cheers Paul.... So far, so good as they say!! :}

Not remapped yet mate... I spent a whole load more then planned getting it sorted, which left none for the re map....

It will give me time to prove it all it all out, but a re map is probably a long way down the list of things to do at the moment... :o

You too mate.... :}

Glad you are enjoying the Launch Car still :cool:

I have to say that I wanted a remap really badly, but actually once all the niggly running issues were sorted (new plugs with 0.65mm gaps, new coil packs, new boost solenoid and pipes etc) it really does drive superbly and is plenty quick enough and a joy to rev to 6k or so. :}