Crankcase Pressure

[Snapperpaul]

I've not found a 93+mm gasket cheaper than Adjusa (£40 +VAT) and trust me I've looked

You can get a Rheinz which is very good but at best 92.8 for £15

 

Recently I've scraped the remains of the last Adjusa of the 2.1 block with a Stanley blade in a surface scraper then used a hard block wrapped in wet & dry then wet & dry the head surface

 

The proper way is to check how flat the block and head are and skim to correct

I know that Cometic gaskets need an accurate and fine finish however if your just replacing a gasket if risk it with an Adjusa but spend more care with a full rebuild.

 

My biggest regret, going for a 2.1 with V6 pistons instead of Forged in a standard (ish) bore, you can get more with Forged as you can run much more cam and add a lot of compression to compensate

[Bob Tucker]

If you dont have a tap to clean the bolt holes, use an old bolt

and cut 2 or 3 slots vertically in the thread with a hacksaw.

 

BTW I forgot to add that you then have to wind the bolt in & out a few times....!!!!!

Edited August 9, 2014 by Bob Tucker

[Guest Gargoil]

Update 2

I know, it's been a while but I now have what is hopefully the full story.

Firstly, thanks for all your advice, lads. I took most of it on board in so much as I did buy new head bolts, I did cut slots in the old ones to clear the bolt holes and I did get a decent head gasket. There were other tips along the way and again thanks, I nearly wore the screen away going over them, making sure I was fully armed.

The work went quite well, got the head off, had a look at the top of the pistons etc, fitted the new gasket and got it all back and running. For some of you gents, that's an easy undertaking, but quite nervous for me. Unfortunately, it didn't make a blind bit of difference, compression figures were hardly changed, the best I could hope for now were unserviceable piston rings. Glad it was me that took the head off, I knew it was a gamble and that in the end it could be money wasted. I simply viewed it as money spent learning, shouldn't be so much of a pansy, next time.

That left me with a lot of options, do I buy an old engine and get it fitted, cheap but I could be inheriting someone else's problems? Buy re-manufactured (complete or bottom end), expensive but it would get the job done quickly and I would have a nice new(ish) engine to play with? In the end, I decided to try and get the original engine fixed and took it to Auto services of Doncaster.

They have had it for the last 10 days, today I found out what had gone wrong and why.

The pistons apparently were never going to seal. The metal that forms the piston between the rings, had cracked. New pistons and rings then. But why had they cracked.? If you want to have a stab in the dark as to the cause, don't read any further until you have an idea................Ok back in the room....

The answer, so I am reliably informed was the very thing that I had been trying to get back. Compression, to be more specific, too much compression.

The top of the block had been skimmed too much (the bores were too large too), the integrity of the block was also compromised. Seems that the block was actually moving internally. So the skip at Auto services is going to weight a little more this week.

Fortunately there is another block available and I have been given an estimate for the work (which led to many tears and wailing) so they are cracking on with it now. I doubt that it will be ready for Donnington, which for me is a shame, it also means I wont be able to afford new seats just yet. However when Betty gets back on the road, that will be my reward. Just need a bit more overtime at work to keep the wolf from the door........

Again, thank you all for the advice and offers of help. See you at Donny.

Edited August 27, 2014 by Gargoil

[Snapperpaul]

"The metal that forms the piston between the rings, had cracked"

There called ring lands and yes to much compression usually over 10.5 to 1 and ignition timing to advanced will do it.

[Snapperpaul]

You may be able to recover some money by selling on the V6 pistons on the rods, if any are unbroken