TR4/4A 62 TR4, new owner, [dumb ]question about cyl head

[tc3]

hello fellow triumph enthusiasts.

just picked up car yesterday. starts easy put only only running on a 2-3 cylinders. previous owner and his some recently did a head gasket. hasn't run correctly since. i bought car as is.

i'm an ex bmw tech and look forward to getting it sorted out.

machine shop paperwork showed head not cracked, resurfaces, everything else good.

they put together will all new gaskets and such (reused head studs).

he thought they messed something up on the valve adjustment.

last night i pulled valve cover and saw really no 'oil', but there are a few areas of coolant. can someone please confirm that this is not correct? there should be no coolant in there i would think. i have no documentation/books yet. just wanted to ask you guys at now.

my plan was/is to recheck the valve adjustment and do a compression and leakdown test. look forward to participating in the forum.

thanks,
todd

 

[DrEntropy]

Welcome aboart, Todd!

No, there shouldn't be any coolant under the valve cover... Sounds as if you should take nothing for granted here and yank the head. You're really near a good reliable parts house, BTW... The Roadster Factory, over in Armagh. Get a Payen head gasket set and have at it! :wink:

 

[Geo Hahn]

Hey Todd -- Welcome to the TRs and the Forum!

Quite right -- no coolant should be there (or anywhere other than inside the cooling system). Things should be oily (in particular the rockers) though it is more of an oil ooze than an aggressive amount of oil moving about.

Good luck -- if you get into doing the head gasket there are a couple of tricks to make it easier that can be had with an archive search or a question here.

Someone is going to point out that there are no dumb questions -- I can only comment that they never met the people I used to work with.

 

[tdskip]

Welcome Todd!

 

[Tr3aguy]

Welcome.....Todd.
I will be heading up that way in a few weeks to drop off the body of my TR3 for a nice acid bath......and then a return trip a week or so later.....Pictures are always welcome.....and if you want to see some dumb questions keep watching my posts...I am sure to have some as my process moves forward...

 

[Brosky]

Hello Todd. Welcome to the forum. As a Beemer tech, you know that no question is dumb, only the one that went unasked and a problem resulted from it.

Keep us posted as to what you find and do post some pictures when you can.

 

[TR3driver]

There is an aluminum core plug under the rocker cover, that sometimes corrodes from the inside and starts to weep coolant into the rocker area. IMO that is the most likely source of your visible coolant (but not likely to be related to why it doesn't run on all 4). Obviously you need to deal with the leak even if you get the motor running well.

If you do pull the head, be sure to check liner protrusion on both sides. I've got two TR3 motors now where the block deck is not parallel to the liner bores, causing the protrusion to be too low only on one side; leading to blown head gaskets for no apparent reason.

Good luck, and BTW, welcome to the asylum!

 

[TRMark]

Welcome to the forum. I don't know if have exactly the same problem, but I found some antifreeze last spring on the head of my 4. Turned out to be a leaking aluminum plug. Guys here were very helpful advising me on a repair.


Earlier Discussion

Edit: Yup, Randall gave me some good advice. He posted while I was fumbling around trying to figure out how to link to the earlier discussion.

 

[TR6oldtimer]

TC3, welcome to the world of old LBC's. These engines are really basic, so once you get your head into the 50'`-60's technology, you will have no problem with them.

If not done already, you should check that the firing order of the spark plugs is correct. This is often an item rookies mess up.

 

[TRDejaVu]

Hello from Chester County.

 

[mtlman8]

welcome todd. I just went through a similar prob. with my tr4a. be sure flush the block as good as you can, lots of crud will sit right around the fourth cylinder not allowing coolant to flow, but be forced between the head and block, blowing out the head gasket.

 

[tc3]

Thank you all for all of your quick and informative responses.

it appears that the aluminum plug between cyl 2 and 3 on the top surface of head is my issue. it LOOKS fine, but if i completley dry it off, in a few hours there is a bit of fresh coolant there. the surface/plane the plug is on is the highest surface point on the head, so it must be originating here.

i drilled plug to 3/4" and used small chisel punch and got it out. picked up a 3/4" NTP plug with square head fastener. having problem locating a 3/4" NTP tap though. i will secure one eventually.

regarding 'flushing' the head after this drill and taping, i'll take any advise from you guys. i can blow into the coolant cap overflow hose and get a nice stream/gusher of coolant shooting out. is that the best i can hope for without head removal?

best regards,
todd

 

[sp53]

Yes Todd good to have you aboard. Get on the net and find “Moss Motors” and “The Roadster Factory” for parts and whatever. I ditto what TR6 old timer/Ray noted. If you pop the cap, and look from the underside, you will see how the wirer layout can be misleading.
Steve

 

[TRMark]

having problem locating a 3/4" NTP tap though. i will secure one eventually. regarding 'flushing' the head after this drill and taping, i'll take any advise from you guys. i can blow into the coolant cap overflow hose and get a nice stream/gusher of coolant shooting out. is that the best i can hope for without head removal?
best regards,
todd

I bought a tap at Ace Hardware. I squeezed the rad hose and forced some coolant out of the hole, same idea, hope all the bad stuff came out.

 

[TR3driver]

Uh, Todd, you do realize that a 3/4" hole isn't big enough for a 3/4" NPT tap, right?
https://www.engineershandbook.com/Tables/npttap.htm

"Pipe" threads are sized by the nominal inside diameter of the pipe, so the threads are larger by the thickness of the (cast iron) pipe.

 

[tc3]

TR3driver,

yes, sir i do understand that. the current factory hole is .92"

the 'fix' that i am doing was recommended by braver men before me, and apparently is a longer term solution than the standard/non-tapered 14mm threads.