pulling heads and a stuck screw

[az_max]

Finally started the head gasket job last night. got to the point of pulling the heads (well, one of them anyway) today. What do you guys think of the condition? I can still see hatch marks on all 4 cylinders, and no scoring.

Here are the cylinders. Heavily carboned, not oily.

Heads:

The screw in the middle of the alternator bracket ate my hex socket. Tried to cut a slot to turn it, but no luck so far. Drill was dead, so not a lot of time to drill it out.:

 

[D Chapman]

Looks like your valve seals are shot. Not great, not not horrible looking. At least they're not washed clean.

What oil did you run? I'm guessing it was not Rottella.

 

[az_max]

Looks like your valve seals are shot. Not great, not not horrible looking. At least they're not washed clean.

What oil did you run? I'm guessing it was not Rottella.

I've used Rotella since I've owned it (8 years). No Idea what the previous owners used. As soon as I get the second head off, they're off to 5-star machining for a check up.

 

[jymmiejamz]

Try removing all of the other bolts for that bracket and hitting it with a hammer so that the bracket rotates counter-clockwise. That usually works for me.

 

[az_max]

I win.

Here are the driver side cylinders. number 7 isn't as bad as I thought it was.

 

[David Despain]

I had a very hard time with that same screw. I used fire and Kroil and it finally broke free.

 

[az_max]

What's the Discoweb approved way to remove carbon from the pistons? I hear gasket remover will soften it up and a hard plastic scraper to remove it.

 

[jymmiejamz]

What's the Discoweb approved way to remove carbon from the pistons? I hear gasket remover will soften it up and a hard plastic scraper to remove it.

Why bother? As soon as you run the engine it will have carbon built up on it. If anything, the carbon helps increase the compression ratio!

 

[az_max]

Why bother? As soon as you run the engine it will have carbon built up on it. If anything, the carbon helps increase the compression ratio!

It just feels like you're missing a step not cleaning that part.

Had I have known how badly carbon'ed up they were, I would have run seafoam through it while it was still running.

 

[singingcamel]

Try a little PB Blaster and let it sit a spell, bring each piston up to almost top dead center. soak it.
I feel the same way you do, wouldn't feel right not decarbonizing. It make me feel better.
I'd run a little seafoam every once in a while after the rebuild.

 

[az_max]

Well, went over Chad's house with an electric impact wrench and it still took us an hour (and another busted hex socket) to loosen the bolt on another motor. Hammering it and using the impact finally got it loose. Got it installed in my motor and am almost done putting things back together.

 

[kk88rrc]

That alternator bolt is a b!tch. Even worse on the older ones that used a a giant flat head.

 

[az_max]

ok, everything reassembled. Sounds good, no leaks... But...

While idling, the temp gauge quickly climbs to the 3/4 mark and revving the engine while parked it gets to the red mark. If I turn off the ignition and then turn it back on (without starting) the gauge reads about half or so. This is in a garage, but I do have a fan pushing fresh air in. Can't drive it until I fix the brakes.

new:
Gaskets from the heads up.
Water Pump
Thermostat
Temp gauge sending unit
belts/hoses

Over filled the cooling system the first time, had to remove a couple quarts from the over flow tank. Verified radiator is full, overflow is at the proper level and it's full at the burp tube on the heater pipes.

So, do I pull the thermostat to see if it's working, or did I fuck up something with the gasket?

 

[Ren Ching]

easy to check around the engine bay with an IR thermometer to confirm ballpark temps. Could be a grounding issue or a flaky connection at the sender unit. Does the upper hose get hot?

ok, everything reassembled. Sounds good, no leaks... But...

While idling, the temp gauge quickly climbs to the 3/4 mark and revving the engine while parked it gets to the red mark. If I turn off the ignition and then turn it back on (without starting) the gauge reads about half or so. This is in a garage, but I do have a fan pushing fresh air in. Can't drive it until I fix the brakes.

new:
Gaskets from the heads up.
Water Pump
Thermostat
Temp gauge sending unit
belts/hoses

Over filled the cooling system the first time, had to remove a couple quarts from the over flow tank. Verified radiator is full, overflow is at the proper level and it's full at the burp tube on the heater pipes.

So, do I pull the thermostat to see if it's working, or did I fuck up something with the gasket?

 

[az_max]

I'm stopping at harbor freight for a thermometer on the way home. Upper hose was not overly hot, but the radiator left a nice mark on my arm when I was reaching down to check something (engine off).

 

[jymmiejamz]

I've gotten sending units that are the wrong resistance from Land Rover causing the gauge to read high.

 

[az_max]

I read 180f at the thermostat neck, and 170f right above the sensor. I measured the voltage between the engine and the negative battery post. .02v both with a cold engine and at operating temp.

I hope it's a bad sensor. I'll talk to BP on monday.
unfortunately I threw out the original sensor while cleaning up.

 

[ptschram]

Fan clutch.
Believe it or not, a breaker bar has worked better for me than an impact.
There is a trick to remove the screw. Drill a hole slightly off center of the hex opening. Use a punch to spin it counter-clockwise and Bob's your uncle!
Brake parts cleaner and a paper towel do a great job of removing carbon from pistons.
How old is the radiator? I have a brandy new one if you need one.

 

[az_max]

Fan clutch is about 4 years old (GM heavy duty). I'll test it tomorrow.

Radiator was rodded and resoldered in February. I already knew I needed to replace the head gaskets and the radiator was a first step.

 

[az_max]

Anyone know the resistance of the temp sender at different temperatures? Was thinking of checking it's calibration at 70f, 100f and 180f.