Head gasket party?

[jettaglxdriver]

I am actually in Aurora off Quincy and Parker. I am thinking I will take Friday off work since the weather looks to be the best then.

I was really planning on coming to the next RS meeting but it's race night for my RC cars at MHOR and I love my RC racing. I just got a new body painted up for my truck and I am dying to run it. I took 1st place in the A main last wed.

 

[jettaglxdriver]

Well today after work I got the head on (made a nice rope handle using the threads for the rocker mounts to anchor off of so I could lift this thing easier. I didn't knock the head gasket around or mash it up at all. Got the head torqued, rockers on and bolts torqued, intake and exhaust mani's on, carb on, linkage hooked up, exhaust hooked, up and many other misc things done.

I still have to finish the front of the motor then reassemble the rest of the engine bay and actually get it running again. Friday should be the finish day.

 

[Rzeppa]

Well today after work I got the head on (made a nice rope handle using the threads for the rocker mounts to anchor off of so I could lift this thing easier. I didn't knock the head gasket around or mash it up at all. Got the head torqued, rockers on and bolts torqued, intake and exhaust mani's on, carb on, linkage hooked up, exhaust hooked, up and many other misc things done.

I still have to finish the front of the motor then reassemble the rest of the engine bay and actually get it running again. Friday should be the finish day.

Woo Hoo!

 

[jettaglxdriver]

The cruiser is alive again. After working on it most of the day today while we still had some nice weather I got it all back together and it's running pretty good. I still need to keep an eye out for leaks and watch the coolant level but it's running good.


Thanks all for the help and advice and thanks so much Jeff for the head. Gunn did a great job with it.

 

[Hulk]

Great news.

Oh, what a feeling... Toyota!

 

[Rzeppa]

Awesome Mike! WTG!

 

[jettaglxdriver]

Next I need to call Slee and see if they have any of hte Marlin Crawler axle seals in stock for my next project. I'd had an order in with Marlin and he called me telling me they were out for a while but after talking some more and finding out I was in the Denver area he pointed me to slee saying he recently sent some that way.

 

[ElliottB]

Any updates on how she's running?

When I get back from Moab, my gasket kit should have arrived and will start reassembling my head and all of the other components. Rebuilt PS pump, new water pump, all new gaskets, no more engine grime, completely desmogged, rebuilt carb, recurved distributor... should run like a dream.

Also, whats the deal with that copper spray you were mentioning?

 

[jettaglxdriver]

It is a copper head gasket prep spray. I ended up not actually using it because the head is so damn heavy.

The truck is running really good so far.

 

[ElliottB]

Sounds good! I am getting my head machined at Gunn Automotive, the guys there seem really helpful and skilled. My projected date in July for initial startup may not be such a wild feat afterall!

 

[jettaglxdriver]

Well the saga continues. Today driving the cruiser is started smoking coolant like a locomotive. I am going to try and retorque it tonight (not holding my breath there) and hope it is better. Thoughts on what I should do at this point? Gunn machined the head and said it leak tested ok. Perhaps a cracked block or water jacket? Just a tired old engine? Should I get a block and have it machined up and build a short block to put this head on if it has not yet cracked? That would take care of my little oil leaks and stuff and give me some longevity peace of mind.

Advice folks?

 

[FJ_Mark]

How long has it run since the HG job? If it's not been too long it might just be built up coolant in the exhaust system. I have done HG jobs where a lot of coolant ended up in the exhaust system/cat etc. And it will smoke like crazy till it all burns out.

 

[jettaglxdriver]

3500 miles approx.

 

[Beater]

do a full leakdown and compression check. Try and do the compression cold.

j

 

[jettaglxdriver]

When it was running like crap a couple weeks ago I did compression and ended up with 120, 110, 110, 115, 110, 120. When the valve cover was off the inside of it was all milky from coolant.

So after re-torquing the bolts again last night it still smokes. SIGH.

 

[ElliottB]

How tight are you torquing the bolts? Are you sure the HG is on correctly?

 

[jettaglxdriver]

I remember double checking the head gasket and made up a handle to help us maneuver the head into place carefully without jacking the gasket up. I torqued teh bolts to the factor manual spec of 97 ftlbs.

 

[wesintl]

you could pull the head again and look at the HG. Are you sure the machine shop checked it for cracks? That would be the first thing I look for. Usually between the valves but i've seen them on the top of heads too. It's harder to find them there due to the oil from the rockers.

 

[jettaglxdriver]

Yeah they did a full check for cracks before rebuilding it. The first head I took down there they found a crack on and I got this head from Jeff Zepp and they checked this one out and said it was good and proceeded to rebuild it (Gunn automotive).

I guess I can get another head gasket and try again.

 

[wesintl]

oh.. yeah. I guess I could have reread the thread to see you got a good used head. Sorry bout that.

You should be able to see if the HG bad. Did it overheat at all since you did the head?