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Cylinder Head Removal Q's ???????

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George Zeck

George Zeck

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I finally broke down and started to take the cylinder head off and have come to the conclusion that my overheating problem is not a result of one major issue -- but a series of smaller issues that all add up to trouble.

I have difficulty in adding pic's under 100k and multiple pic's. Please refer to the following for specific questions:

https://home.comcast.net/~gzeck/Sprite_Info.doc

I've never gone this far in auto mechanics -- I think I've found part of the problem. Any help here would be greatly appreciated -- I "extending" my knowledge rapidly (aka -- out of my league).

Tx-

George
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hammer.gif
 
George, regarding the "steel wool", I've never seen anything like that before. Whatever it is, it doesn't belong there. get rid of it, and continue with the head removal. When you remove the rocker assembly and pushrods, make sure to keep the pushrods in the proper order. A piece of cardboard with holes punched in it for the pushrods works great for this.
Regarding the valve, it looks as though you have a broken valve spring, and the ticking you heard may have been the piston hitting the valve. Not a good sign. Once you get the head off, inspect the piston for damage.
The tappet covers require gaskets, and the bolts are torqued to 24 in lbs. Not much at all. I would recommend getting the upgraded tappet covers, as they are stronger and don't easily distort and leak. They are available from Victoria British, P/N 18-520. Use the rubber gaskets, P/N 1-724, and get new bolts, P/N 12-1350, and washers, P/N 12-4106. That whole setup will be less than 20 bucks, and should solve the leak for good.
You can move the temp sensor bulb from the radiator to the cylinder head by removing the plug in the right front corner of the head and installing the sensor bulb there. Install the plug in the radiator where the sensor was.
Hopefully I've answered your questions thus far. Just keep plugging away, and don't hesitate to ask for help.
Jeff
 
I've never seen anything like that steel wool thing either... Then again, I've only delved into one MG engine: my own.

As for that one spring that is lower than the others in the picture, isn't that normal? I'd rotate the engine by hand to compare that spring's travel with the others... Sorry if that's completely obvious, I don't know George's knowledge level /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
My guess as to the purpose of the "steel wool" would be to keep oil in in the engine. I suspect the rockers and rocker shaft on this engine are well worn and were allowing oil to squirt out of the filler cap. A little appropriately placed "wool" and presto the oil spary stays in the engine.

The plug under the thermostat outlet is for an optional tempreature sensor. If you want to use the Austin sensor an adaptor is required. It is avilable through Moss (and possibly others).

The "odd" looking valve looks like a fully open valve. As suggested above, just rotate the engine; this valve should close (go up) and others should open (go down)
 
Good questions, good photos, and good answers, George. I'm sure you are going to get through this just fine.
 
Thom, when I originally looked at the picture it was very dark, and looked like the rocker wasn't touching the valve. Now that I've brightened it up considerably, I can see that you are indeed correct. Looks like a normal fully opened valve.
Sorry for the confusion, George.
Jeff
 
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