Hi All

Today I changed my valley gasket for a composite type. The one that was on there was the same type but leaking oil down the front and rear of the end seals. By the amount of old peeling sealant present on the old gasket and seals I was not surprised it leaked.

Anyway, I noticed that the main metal coolant hose pipe at the front of the lower manifold (the one that has the hose going to the top of the rad) does not seem to have a gasket to the actual manifold.

Is this normal? I cannot find any reference to it in Rave.

Another weird thing is there was no gasket between the upper and lower inlet manifold. That does seem odd.

Tomorrow the rocker covers are to come off and I aim to strip and re-paint then fit back with new rubber gaskets.

If anybody can advise on the gaskets above that would be great. Thanks in advance.

James

Update..........
Taken the coolant outlet off the manifold and there is a gasket. A thin metal one that has signs of rust on one side, although it was not leaking. Anyway, now it is off I need a new one, along with the upper/lower manifold gasket.

The rocker covers were in a real state. The paint was clinging on through corrosion and the inside was fairly clear of sludge but I gave it a all a clean anyway, baffles removed and cleaned.

I found putting the inlet manifold on was far easier with the rockers removed, mainly as you have a tiny degree of extra movement when getting the bolts in which helped a lot. Covers now primed and ready for high temp paint.

Now to degrease the utter mess that has seeped out of the valley end seals and down the front over the timing cover and generally everywhere. The back seems to be not so bad.

More to come I am sure..........
Cheers

Be carefull how you wash the engine down I always got told never to wash an engine bay down on a petrol p38

Yes, although not washing with a jet wash and water/steam etc..... The electrical systems on these are fragile at this age. Doing it the old fashioned and long winded way with degreasant and a brush. Probably the missus toothbrush

They are not too bad for damp just watch the fuse box up top and the alt etc good luck

Thanks.

Alt is off at the mo as I had to get to the valley gasket and both rocker covers, plus doing a belt change and tensioner change too.
In the process I found the water pump is a little dodgy on the bearings side. Never noticed a noise and never overheated, but I have decided to change it anyway.

I have also ordered a few new hoses and the metal gasket (that I mentioned in the original post) that sits between the manifold and the waterinlet/outlet going to the rad top. Oh and the one that sits between the upper and lower manifold.

Let's hope she runs happily after all this. Started just trying to resolve an oil leak.

Cheers

JamesBB said:

Yes, although not washing with a jet wash and water/steam etc..... The electrical systems on these are fragile at this age. Doing it the old fashioned and long winded way with degreasant and a brush. Probably the missus toothbrush

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Don't forget to put it back when you've finished, she will need it before bedtime.