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superpowerdave
03-25-2007, 05:01 AM
As many of you know I have blown a gasket ... couldn't resist!

Yes, my head gasket is blown and before I start surgery I was wondering if anybody who had been down this road had any advice? I am hoping to try and order all the parts I might need beforehand so i can work at my pace and not at the pace of the postal service.

Would appreciate any hints y'all might have.

59rover
03-25-2007, 06:47 AM
First and foremost you need the landrover bible, read carefully to become familiar with the process, tools required, disassembly ,repair and reassembly.If you want to have the parts in hand, then most likely a decoke kit will be all you need. However, sometimes there are surprises that are unforeseen. You may need as little as a head gasket and manifold gaskets, it all depends on the failed part and how far you wish to go when apart. jim

oscar
03-25-2007, 01:40 PM
The biggest headache I have found when doing this (disclosure: on other flavor vehicles) is snapping or stripping of manifold bolts. Usually exhaust as they are cooked, literally.

Get a can of PB blaster or similar and spray the you know what out of all fasteners that look like they may cause problems. Start a few days or even a week or so before beginning surgery.

superpowerdave
03-25-2007, 07:27 PM
Have already started PBing the bolts. Got a well-used Green Bible, but unfortunately the entire book is written based on a person doing repairs in a Land Rover shop, having all the parts and gear needed right at hand.

I'm leaving for Iraq in a month and don't have the time to get it pulled apart, discover I need some freakish gasket or seal I can only get through Solihull, and then wait for it to come through parcel post.

Really I'm just hoping for some experience suggestions like; if you're gonna pull it apart, might as well do 'x.'

Dav1550
03-26-2007, 05:55 AM
Dave

I would almost be sure that you could get a head cylinder gasket kit..... Which would include most everything you'd need..... I've gotten a couple for the 6 cyl. form RN and Wise Owl... That is if it's no more than pulling the head and replacing the gasket.

Gasket set decarbonising.... RTC3335 2.25 petrol <--- SIII parts catalogue


While the head is off, take it down to a machine shop to have it checked for plain to see if it's in need of resurfacing.

I generally take a putty knife or something of the sorts to scrape about on the carbon while using a vacuum and rags to guard any open ports and such...

Before hand I like to check that the bolts are not bottoming out and that the threads are in decent shape. In addition smear a tad of anti-seeze on the bolts on assembly, this will help holding the head down evenly when it's torque....

Oh and in jest !!! Will advise due "caution" for this is how it started with mine and fell prey to shipbuilders disease..... Went to replace a head gasket and one leaking hub seal and next thing I realized, was down to a bare frame.:eek:

Best of luck with the rover and well wishes of a safe return on up coming duties over seas

Dave <---- New guy on board.....

74 SIII sw
00 SII

superpowerdave
03-26-2007, 10:56 AM
I've ordered the parts, kit and all. And Dave, it's funny, but you started with exactly what I am; a head gasket and a leaking seal! I started tearing down last night and it's going smoothly ... no snapped bolts or anything so far (fingers crossed). I've snapped a great deal of photos and am following the Bible verbatim so hopefully once it's all torn down I'll be able to get it all back together without any bolts left over!

superpowerdave
03-29-2007, 06:50 AM
Tear down complete ... rebuild begins tomorrow when parts arrive. Nothing unexpected, although the head bolts were amazingly tight! Part I'm concerned with is that the gasket, although worn and slightly burned in between three and four, didn't have any apparent rips or tears like I was expecting.

The cylinder head was somewhat charred at number 4, which cleaned easily. All of the areas surrounding that cylinder head though, and the spot where I figured I had a leak, were carbon-covered and sooty, even the base plate of the carb.

Considering my options, and time on hand, I decided that once parts arrive I'll complete the installation of the gaskets and the carb rebuild and hope for the best. When I head down range in a month I need the truck in one piece, running or not, as she'll be getting shipped to Anchorage along with the rest of our gear.

I figure if it wasn't a head gasket and it is something else I'll just have to rip the whole thing out anyway and I don't have time to accomplish that before I leave.

More to follow on this though, thanks for all the tips and advice. Once I get her back together and either a) get her started or b) cry because I didn't I'll let y'all know!

Rob P
03-29-2007, 09:26 PM
Anchorage? Like alaska? Fur whut?

oscar
03-30-2007, 05:44 AM
Alaska....knew somebody that moved there.....they spent the next ten years trying to get OUT!

superpowerdave
03-30-2007, 10:31 AM
Alaska is one of those places ... you love or hate it. My wife was born and raised there and the military sent me up there for three years ... and I've been spending all my time since trying to get back!

Dav1550
03-30-2007, 06:08 PM
What this !!! :eek: Abandoning "Carolina" just when the sweltering heat and humidity is near to make it's return ???
Where one drips more sweat than a series rover does oil with just the effort of lifting the bonnet, and the black vinyl on the seats instantly sear unguarded bare flesh....... What of that rock hard red carolina clay stained and adhered to the Rover that takes a screwdriver and hammer to dislodge....
Leave such pleasures ??? :rolleyes:

All the same...... "best of fortune", and if need be can send a care package to Alaska of Dukes mayonnaise and some vinegar base bar-b-Q sauce to smatter on what ever critter folks up there fancy to grill.

Dave

superpowerdave
03-31-2007, 10:44 PM
Okay ... after removing the whole smash, cleaning everything up, and checking to make sure all the gaskets were the right ones, I started off on putting it all back together last night.

I had been lucky up until this point - all the bolts came off without much trouble, I didn't damage anything in the process, so I felt all right.

The head gasket looked great ... pity since it was to be covered up and never seen again until failure. Head went back on with no problem, tappets were all gapped correctly. I'd found only two of the 8 gapped correctly when I pulled it off. Valve assembly all good, I put the valve cover gasket in place and set her all up.

With that being done, I set to putting the finishing touches on the t-stat housing and ran into my first snag ... main bolt snapped off into the body. Trip to Lowe's for bolts, replaced them all, good to go.

Miscellaneous stuff was reinstalled ... time to start her up. Fired first time!! But she idled high. Turned out the accelerator linkage was jammed up a little. Bent things back into shape, idling good. Tuned the carb, she had been running real rich. Time for a test spin. Everything working good. Better acceleration (from the timing and valve tune) better pickup, just running great ... for about ten miles! All of a sudden she started back-firing, and then a sudden shot-gun blast type sound went off and she crawled to a halt.

I jump out immediately and pop the hood looking for a fire ... nothing. Hmmm. It was night so light was marginal. I tried starting her a few more times but no crank, so I call my buddy and he tows me the four blocks to the house.

We get her in the garage and pop the hood again ... thank goodness, something easy ... the ignition coil wire from the distributor had gotten tangled in the accelerator linkage and had pulled free. Zip-tied her a little tighter, rerouted her and she fired right up.

Long day, but job well done! Learned a lot, saved some money, but above all else I had a great time! Thanks to all who helped me along the way.

scatterling
04-01-2007, 08:30 AM
Congratulations!! I've been following the thread to see how it would turn out - a gauge to determine if I would take the plunge in mine. If it had ended with weeping and nashing of teeth I probably would have ignored mine for a little longer :D
I guess I need to get greasy!!

oscar
04-01-2007, 12:27 PM
Congratulations.......I love it when you think the machine has self destructed and it can be fixed with two fingers......:)

I couldn't help but notice though, that you went to The Discount House of Home Improvement Worship for fasteners......which is probably what someone did before, and why you snapped it......I try not to scimp on fasteners and use grade 8 material (key word "try").....less headache in the future for me, or the custodian after me.

For your reading pleasure on fastener science I offer the following:

http://www.rockcrawler.com/techreports/fasteners/index.asp
http://www.americanfastener.com/technical/grade_markings_steel.asp

superpowerdave
04-01-2007, 02:35 PM
Oscar-

Home depot carried the grade 8s I needed ... having to do that again wasn't something I was interested. I'm a "If I have to replace it I want it to be with a better part than was in there before" kind of guy. They've got a decent stock here and carried the correct bolts for me.

oscar
04-02-2007, 08:48 AM
I sit corrected.......and I didn't know Home Despot had grade 8 fasteners....Good to know as they are open more often than the autoparts store! Thanks!

superpowerdave
04-02-2007, 05:01 PM
All right ... write up complete! Not dial-up friendly however.

Write Up (http://dwbuchanan.blogspot.com/2007/04/major-surgery.html)

oscar
04-02-2007, 05:40 PM
Very nice write up. Love the click-to-supersize pics.

jason
04-02-2007, 09:08 PM
Great write-up, Dave! Can we put that in the next quarterly newsletter? I'm sure there are people that don't follow this thread that would be interested in reading your account.

scatterling
04-02-2007, 09:45 PM
Thanks Dave - the rest of the blog is worth looking at as well.

superpowerdave
04-02-2007, 10:00 PM
Appreciate the comments guys ... the blog was deemed necessary by my family and friends who don't live nearby that want progress reports!

Jason, use the article any way you like. If it is helpful then by all means, pass it along. I'm no mechanic by any means but I'm learning that there aren't a lot of things I can't do on my own so long as I do my homework and ask the right questions; and I've been able to be successful with it because I have reservoirs of knowledge like you guys top help me as I go.

If my little write up helps someone else then I've started to pay back the debt I owe!

oscar
04-03-2007, 07:08 AM
there aren't a lot of things I can't do on my own so long as I do my homework and ask the right questions

Bingo...you hit upon the secret of modern life. I've been working with that premise for decades and have acquired an extensive set of skills. In fact my philosophy these days is that "If there is a $30/hr person that can do it, I can do it." When the hourly rate goes to $200.- it's better left to them.

sven
04-24-2007, 08:17 AM
Hey Superpowerdave....What symptoms led you to do the head gasket?

I noticed last night that my coolant went from a nice green to a doo-doo brown. Looks like oil mixing with the coolant :(

superpowerdave
04-24-2007, 08:44 AM
Sven-

That's exactly what mine was doing. I really noticed it for the first time when I had gone for a short trip to the grocery store and noticed an odd puddle when I pulled out of my parking space. I stopped, popped the hood and found the overflow tank hose was oozing a chocolatey-milk froth.

Since the truck had been sitting for some time, at first I thought I might have just stirred up all of the garbage in the radiator and the core so I flushed her with a Prestone Flush ... I think I probably ran two cans of that through and about ten runs with just water. I kept getting the same results though. She would drain clear, like I'd gotten all of the junk out, and then a few days later would be brown again.

Around this time too I started noticing a lot of carbon buildup at the third and fourth cylinder, getting some weird pops and farts as she went down the street. When I did the tear down I found the gasket was burned between 3 and 4, with a hairline crack all the way through on the outside edge.

I replaced the head gasket, the intake manifold gasket, the valve cover gasket and all of the carb gaskets ... since I had it all apart. If I were to do it again, and weren't on a time crunch, I would have had the top dipped and cleaned. I did replace every single bolt from the intake manifold. It was also a great opportunity to do some cleaning, as half the engine is removed. I adjusted the accelerator mechanism while I was in there, pulled the battery box and oil bath cleaner bracket, blasted and painted a bunch of stuff. With that much space it was just easier to get to rather than try and do it later.

I'm no mechanic but I just went this route successfully so if you have any questions (for the next two weeks) shoot me an email, I'll be happy to try and help. I deploying so I'm not sure how much access I'll have while over there, but if I have it I'll be checking in from time to time.