Ok, will have the cylinder head off in a bit, didn't have time to get it all off yesterday having sheared off a crappy socket adapter!!!

If I get the head off and cleaned and check it all over with an engineers rule for warping..is that ok or should I skim it? Only asking as the temp guage never rose so surely it won't have got hot enough to warp?
 
don't think I've ever done a HG without getting the head skimmed - you'll never get it properly clean manually and it's the only way to be sure it's properly flat, it'll only need the lightest skim
 
Might as well do it to be safe then, only £40 + vat unless someone can recommend someone cheaper in Peterborough
 
Right, head is off, basically no full on crack, but the area between one of the coolant holes and piston 2nd in from bulkhead side of engine has worn through and there is evidence of coolant getting to the ring on the gasket, and then loads of wet coolant mess heading out from there, so clearly the coolant has found a way to the piston, boiled and steamed out of sides and into exhaust, and the pressure from the pistons ended up pumping air into the coolant.....is that about right?
 
UPDATE: found a really good motor engineering company in Pboro called Lyndale Engineering, they checked it this morning and its very very slightly warped, so they're gonna take off as little as they can and hopefully have it back to me this afternoon :) Measuring everything today for the gasket, and then its just a case of putting it all back together...hopefully won't take forever!!! Anyone got any tips for cleaning surface of engine block by the way?
 
UPDATE: found a really good motor engineering company in Pboro called Lyndale Engineering, they checked it this morning and its very very slightly warped, so they're gonna take off as little as they can and hopefully have it back to me this afternoon :) Measuring everything today for the gasket, and then its just a case of putting it all back together...hopefully won't take forever!!! Anyone got any tips for cleaning surface of engine block by the way?

a big tin of elbow grease for cleaning - how much are they charging for the skim ?
 
£35 + vat, thought that was quite good...not that I have much to go by. Is it best to use a rag and spend ages cleaning block rather than scraping it off with a putty knife or something?
 
£35 + vat, thought that was quite good...not that I have much to go by. Is it best to use a rag and spend ages cleaning block rather than scraping it off with a putty knife or something?

putty knife isn't ideal - a inch by 4 inch length of ali used as a scrapper is what i use for the bits that won't come off
 
UPDATE: head is back from engineers, only needed 6 thou taken off, gasket comes in the morning along with head bolts, so I should be able to get it all back together tomorrow after work hopefully!
 
UPDATE: head is back from engineers, only needed 6 thou taken off, gasket comes in the morning along with head bolts, so I should be able to get it all back together tomorrow after work hopefully!

can we have some shiny head porn pics
 
Yeah i'll upload some shiny sexy pics in a sec, just to double check something though, where the thermostat housing bolts onto the cylinder head, should there be a gasket there? They removed the housing to skim it, but there is no gasket, grrrrrrr
 
Hey all,
Its all done, thanks for everyones advice! Got a terrible feeling I did the last set of 60 degree tightening wrong on the head bolts so I really do hope I'm worrying over nothing and that I did it right but we shall see!!

So nice to have done all this, was actually good fun and my funds haven't been buggered by the garage which is always a result!!

Anyway, thanks again everyone :)
 
As far as I understand it a thicker head gasket will just lower the compression a little and shouldn't really be a problem. Of course if you have the head skimmed this will increase the compression by a little so a thicker gasket would be good.
 

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