30 replies to this topic

[sonscar]

When blown between cylinders there is often a distinct tick tick sound.Steve..

[Steam]

A head gasket blown between cylinders or blown to atmosphere will make noises that can sound variously different but generally get progressivly worse. An engine that is pinking can make differing noises and can also cause head gasket failure so I would suggest checking timing, advance, and generaly the distributor condition and settings. Also fuel mixture and which fuel you are using will determine settings and can cause problems.
Fix the gasket and check settings etc, then try runn8ng the engine to see if noises persist or pinking is present.

[Lplus]

so it is indeed a blown headgasket.  I have about 8mm missing from between the left most 2 cylinders.  The tear down went better than i had expected.  I left the rocker pedestal in place and just undid the 9 perimeter bolts as described in the manual, i did pull out 3 of the front studs but i dont think its a big deal. i will lock tight them in when i reinstall. I had to unclamp the header so i could push it out of the way of the studs.  

The head looks ok so i think it was a recent blow.  There is a fair amount of missing metal around the coolant tubes and i am not sure what i can or will do about that.  There is enough left to clamp the hoses but not by much.  The valves and chambers look ok but im no pro.

The pushrods might be worn.  The mushroom top of a few of them can not pass through the head while others can no problem.   I don't know if that is a sign of wear or if its just how it is.  I realize the pushrods would be inserted from the top so i might just be over thinking things.

 

Can anyone theorize why i was hearing the knocking noises prior to the car dying?  Is that a sign of a blown headgasket?  Any confidence i could get in that would make me spending money on head repairs a lot easier to swallow. 

Further to others' comments

Don't loctite the studs into the block, just tighten them back in using two nuts locked together.

 

The holes for the pushrods are different sizes due to having ports either side or not, so the pushrods don't all drop out of the bottom of the head.

 

Which coolant tubes do you mean?  The small tubes in the head and waterpump for the bypass hose?  The tube in the head can be replaced though it's pain to do and if the waterpump spigot is corroded, water pumps are cheap.

[kit352]

The coolant tubes I am referring to are the ones in the head. I won't be able to replace them myself I feel so I will leave them for now.
I will most likely be replacing the water pump just as a matter of course while I'm there.

That's good about the noise being associated to a blown head gasket. That makes me feel much better. I don't know why it would have failed. The timing hasn't been touched in years. I feel it may have been fuel related. When I pulled the carb off it wasn't rebuilt right when I had the car restored several years ago. Maybe it finally caught up with it. It was missing the spring for the jet knob so it could have drifted over time.

I think my game plan is to check the head with a straight edge, check the block, clean everything the best I can and toss on a new head gasket for now. If that turns out ok I will look for either a new head or have my cam head rebuilt locally. I have a line on a few 202 heads but the cheapest one is over a grand. A cam head is just a little cheaper at $900. I could easily convince myself it's cheaper to find one in the UK, fly over to get it and come back with it in my carry on.

[Steam]

If the dissy is worn it may be way out on its advance wben revving or under load causing detonation. The best way to check is to do a decel check on advance.

[kit352]

Well it only took 3 weeks to get a head gasket and water pump in so I'm back on it. Today I was able to pop the new pump on and clean up the fan and pulley. My radiator is slightly iffy but I'm going to put it back in just to see how the car runs later. New belt and hoses that I had in stock are going on as well. I hope to get the head back on this week but it's getting colder out by the day so I need to hustle.

[kit352]

The weather has been garbage recently so it took me time to get the car back together. Today was the first time I was able to try and start it which of course it didn't. It turns over fine and will fire every so often on starter fluid but it won't actually run. Everything sounds ok but I didn't have day light left to run any deep tests plus my battery was getting weak. Everything went together fine so I'm not sure what's going on. I checked the valves 3 times and they seem to be fine but maybe I'm doing something wrong. I'm not putting the pistons at tdc, I just look for when the springs have opened fully then set the clearance on the corresponding one according to the Haynes manual.
Tomorrow will be compression test and spark check and some more starting attempts.

[kit352]

so no joy today.  Compression testing shows 120 psi in all cylinders.  valves all are in spec @.012in according to haynes.  I have spark and its pretty strong.  Im getting fuel because the plugs get soaked with enough cranking and stabbing of the pedal or choke.  i even rechecked the plug wires to make sure they are in the right order even though i numbered them.

All i can get is the occasional fire then back to cranking.  Starter fluid appears to have no effect on anything at all which is odd.  

I think my next step is to pull apart the carb again.  Maybe i missed something or screwed it up.  I need to find a good how to on it.  I used the manual and youtube videos to rebuild it and set it and none of them were exactly the same.

[cal844]

Swap 2 and 4 plug lead, engine sounds 180 out to me

[kit352]

Thanks for the tip. I will give it a try tomorrow.

[kit352]

I tried switching 4 and 2 plug leads and it does not appear that was an issue.  With them switched i cant even get the car to cough, it just cranks and cranks.

in a fit of desperation i threw every new spare i had at it without much success.  New wires, plugs, filters, belt, fuel etc.  I also redid the carb last night and check the valve clearances again.  the only positive outcome of all this was i got the car to barely run for about 4 seconds after i sprayed starter fluid directly into the plug holes.  Its not repeatable though.  Maybe every 10 or 15 attempts at it i can get it to run for a few seconds.  It runs very badly too.  couple hundred rpms and no amount of throttle or additional starter fluid can change the rpm or running time. 

I have given up for the day. I spent about 9 hours on it this afternoon.  I just dont understand whats going on.  I must have screwed something up some where but im not seeing it. One thing thats driving me crazy is i am not able to really get starter fluid down the carb because the piston is closed and i cant operate the throttle at the same time to try and get it open to squirt.  Thats what lead me down the path of spraying directly into the plug holes.

I can feel it want to catch and run while cranking but something is messing it up.

 

Any advise?  maybe something with timing though i never touched anything to do with it, at least not on purpose.  Am i correct to assume that if i have good compression the head is more or less on correctly and not a potential issue as far as the headgasket is concerned?

[sonscar]

Leaking inlet manifold gasket?,Steve..

[kit352]

I reused the old one out of nessesity. It's four weeks to get a replacement here. Of course it took 3 for the headgasket so I should have gotten one at the same time lol. I figured at worst it would cause a problem driving but not starting. I will order one up but sadly it won't be here until winter hits and I won't be able to work on the car.

[gazza82]

... but sadly it won't be here until winter hits and I won't be able to work on the car.

You might want to update your location on your profile .. not working on the car in winter in Guildford isn't an excuse ;)

[Designer]

I believe that is Guildford in Canada not Surrey England.