Cylinder Head Crack (read The Manual!)

[peter_m7uk]

Bu**er!! I decided to take my 2.0i Pinto cylinder head apart today

and everything was going fine until it came to sliding the camshaft

out. I tried pushing it and pulling it, but it seemed to be stuck, so

I thought I'd "assist" it with a hammer. Next thing, it came loose,

but I'd cracked the rear loop for supporting the camshaft, $£##! :gdit:

After swearing for a bit, I looked at the Haynes manual and realised

that it said "withdraw the camshaft from the rear of the head" and

I was trying to get it out of the front!! :boohoo:

 

So, read the manual, guys and gals! Now down to my question - How

do I sort this out?? I suppose there are three options: 1) do nothing,

2) try to repair it, 3) look for a new cylinder head.

 

1) The camshaft is still supported by the front and middle loops and

by the rear loop on one side. The bearing adds a bit of strength and

the cam cover sits on top of the loops, so it may actually be useable,

at least for a short time. I expect it will die eventually, though, and

it won't be pretty!

 

2) So, if doing nothing is asking for trouble, I could try a repair. Anyone

else done something similar and tried welding it? Presumably, the

cylinder head is cast iron and reasonably weldable, but what are the potential problems with this? The other repair idea is to tap a couple of screws

into the loop of metal, one each side of the crack, then attach a brace

across it. Or I could do it with a couple of bolts and brace it on both

sides.

 

3) Looking for a new 2.0 injection head will be a pain in the ar$e and the most expensive, so I consider this the last resort, unless someone on here has

a spare head going at a reasonable price?!

 

I'd be grateful for any advice, Hoodies.

 

Cheers,

Peter

[Guest Dunebug]

Peter,

 

I'm afraid the head's scrap. :boohoo:

 

The good news however is that Pinto heads are 2 a penny although the injection head is by far the most sought after 'standard' head. Keep checking on eBay and you might find something that meets your requirements.

 

If you can't find an injection head then a mildly ported head retaining the standard valve sizes will be a pretty close match.

 

If you can't find what you're looking for on eBay then I'm sure someone here will have something that will do the trick (myself included although the thought of sending a Pinto head through the post scares me ).

 

Cheers,

 

John.

[Guest micky bigthumbs]

Try jetskijase i think he has a spare

Mick

[Guest chris brown]

Peter

Afraid its scrap as John says. Don’t even try to repair and certainly don’t try to run it

Chris

[Guest coopsuk]

Peter,

 

I think my mate might still have a spare head (std) in his lock up, might not even be an injection type, we weren't interested in the top end when we got the engine all we wanted was the 205 block.

 

I won't be able to check until after easter as he has gone up to north to visit family, but if you want me to check it out and get a price from him send me a PM and I will happily talk to him about it when he gets back.

 

Aaron

[peter_m7uk]

Thanks all for the advice, I'm looking into several leads at the minute.

Still p$$$ed off with myself! :gdit:

[peter_m7uk]

PS Anyone know how the SVA/registration/MOT is affected by having mismatching

engine block and head numbers?

[Guest Takumi]

Hi,

When we took our car to SVA, they only looked for the Block number.

 

Mr DVLA came around before SVA to check the car, I think he only checked the block number , just to confirm that it came from the donor and matched the V5. We then got our VIN number, and stamped it onto the chassis . Then a few week later went to SVA...

 

 

Tak

[Guest chris brown]

head numbers

There are no recorded serial numbers on the head

[Guest Jim Poole]

I had this happern to me with a stage 3 head, which was sent to me via courier. The courier dropped it and one of the hoops broke off and it had to be scrapped. I nearly cried! :boohoo:

 

On another note, I've got a standard leaded head that you can have for a small fee if your stuck for one.

[peter_m7uk]

Woah, Jim's experience puts mine in perspective

 

Anyway, I tracked down a head to a scrap merchant in Goring

and got it for £40, so panic over.

 

Cheers guys