Head Gasket
- Thread starter seamusb
- Start date
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It's a DIY job, and quite straightforward.
Done really carefully and cleanly, and extreme patience when torqueing the head down, you can be pretty sure the job will be a good one.
Two people working away would do this in a day easily.
CharlesY
Done really carefully and cleanly, and extreme patience when torqueing the head down, you can be pretty sure the job will be a good one.
Two people working away would do this in a day easily.
CharlesY
There are all sorts of little things to try to do. The following is GENERAL advice, except the bit at the end about asking here if there's a better procedure than degrees for torqueing down.
WORK CLEAN!
As soon as the head and the old head gasket is off, clean the top of the cylinder block very thoroughly. Do NOT use sandpaper, Try one of those stainless steel pan scrubber things. Make SURE the head bolt holes are NOT filled with water or oil. Use a syringe to remove it. If you don't the water or oil may squish out as you bolt the head down and pollute the new head gasket, risking another HG failure, or they may even crack the block by hydraulic locking. Wipe the top of the block clean with a clean rag and a little PETROL (NOT diesel or kerosene) to de-oil it.
Make sure the underside of the head is clean and dry, and make sure that there is no oil or water hiding IN the head that might drip onto the new gasket as you fit the head.
CLEAN AND DRY!!!! Way to go, every time. You want that head to STICK to the gasket, and the gasket to STICK to the block.
DO NOT USE GASKET CEMENTS!
When you are ready to rebuild, have everything ready to do this smartly.
New gasket on the right way up - head on - and fit all the head bolts IN ORDER nipping each one down firmly with a normal spanner IN THE RIGHT ORDER as you fit them. GO straight into torqueing down right away. Don't start putting the head back on unless you can get at least as far as torqueing it down before going for a well-deserved beer and lunch.
You must use a torque wrench to start with.
Cylinder head bolts:
Stage 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Nm
Stage 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Further 60 °
Stage 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Further 60 °
Stage 4 - Bolts 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17 and 18 only . . Further 20 °
Let me tell you - these are GODDAM TIGHT!
Personally, I would be asking a LandyZone guru if there's a pet way to torque these heads down OTHER than the 60° business. They may be able to recommend a torque setting, but the CRUCIAL thing about the Landy process is that they want it done in four stages, building up to full torque. I suggest that whichever way you do this, build up the torque in at least 4 stages, and always do it in the proper order. This is usually to save warping the head .
Does this give you some ideas for a head gasket change philosophy?
CharlesY
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