Wedge tr7 head removal

[SSS]

Bought TR7 with blown head gasket. Last night got all bolts/studs out save one stud which snapped. Will escalate the war after posting this. The question though.. it appears the radiator tanks have been pumped up from the inside so to speak. (The radiator didn't leak when I started the car, even drove it a few hundred yards). If the radiator was damaged like that, is the 6 vane water pump likely to be damaged too? Also, can the 6 vane water pump be replaced by the 12 vane and if so should it be done since engine is coming apart anyhow? OH! Suggestions of anything else I should check or replace while it's apart would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[SSS]

Woohooo!!! Those sears bolt extractors work. Got the snapped stud out and have head off. Now the fun begins.

 

[steve99]

Welcome SSS, What year is your TR7? I believe most of them came with 12 vane impellers. While your in there, make sure to check the condition of all the timing components, including the dowel for the jack shaft gear. As for the pump, a blown head gasket should not have harmed the pump, I've never had great luck rebuilding them and always wound up going back in and installing a REALLY expensive new one. The thought of "if its not broke dont fix it" comes to mind. On the other hand, as long as your in there, now is the easiest time to get at it. Guess it depends on your budget. Anyway,welcome to the forum, I hope you find this as great a forum as most others do.

Steve
79 TR7

 

[MichaelF]

Not only can you replace the 6 vane with the 12 -- but you should. Only the earliest cars had the 6 vane and very early on they were uprated to 12

Bits of advice: Get a whole new set of studs & bolts. Don't reuse anything. Replace all the O-rings. Check the head for warpage and mill as required. Be sure you have the *later* bolt tightening sequence (Haynes has it) and not the one in the first manuals.

 

[MDCanaday]

SSS, not to be negative, but the tr7 head is quite a challenge for an experienced mechanic. Make sure you dont throw away $$ thinking it is OK, you gotta have all the ducks lined up or you're in trouble. The head CANT be warped or the cam bores will be disstorted. Most machine shops will just plane it off and RUIN it. If you dont start with ARP studs ,dont do it at all!! Careful torque in sequence is critical, as is a re-torque after run in. A bit of silicone sealer around the water passages(just a film of it) is helpfull. Be very sure the system has no air pockets when filled with coolant.Steve and Michael both offer good advise too, get lots of it and a good rabits foot....
Mad dog

 

[Mark Beiser]

If you replace your 6 vane pump with a 12 vane one, you will need to use the housing for the 12 vane pump also.

 

[MichaelF]

I think the water pump covers are interchnageable. I moved from 6->12 vane and reused the old cover 5 years ago. No problems with it.

 

[Dale]

Welcome to the forum. Nice to have another Triumph guy on board and a TR7 to boot. Consider buying a new head if you can. Used heads are readily available but not often good. Went through 3 heads to get a good one for the rebuild on mine. One on a parts car I had was milled improperly and actually put the cam bearings in a bind and self destructed. Lots of guys on this site that can give good advice and encouragement. This is a good engine when "right" and will provide good service. I have over 20,000 miles on mine since the rebuild and use it as daily transportation. Good Luck and keep us posted.

 

[Hegg]

Welcome to the forum and it's great to have someone going through a TR7 rebuild! I'm in the process of rebuilding mine as well.

As far as a head goes, I've heard quite a few good things about Ted at https://www.tsimportedautomotive.com/. It's $500 for a head rebuild ($600 if you want a hot cam). I'm sending mine in this week or next week to see how it turns out. He's apparently got a ton of experience and knows what he's doing with a TR7 head. Normally I'd just consider rebuilding the head myself, but I'd feel much better with a pro doing it.

As a side note, I've got both a 12-vane (original to the car) and a 6-vane water pump. Measuring every dimension seems to indicate that they should be interchangeable without a problem. Hopefully I won't have an issue rebuilding the 12-vane one -- steve99 didn't give me warm fuzzies with his comment!

Again, good luck and welcome to the forum!

 

[SSS]

Good to know someone else is going through this too. Local machine shop (only 50 miles away) says it will be straight and parrallel again. Then they'll line bore the cam bearings. I'll rub the lucky rabbit's foot a few times, polish ports, do valves and hope for the best. Thanks for all the info.