I confess I have (not yet) had to do the head gaskets on this truck, as a previous owner had a shop do the job. Their shoddy workmanship has caused me to do everything but the head gaskets (intake manifold, throttle body heater, power steering pump, water pump, etc.)

I have done many head gaskets in my life, and when I do this Land Rover, will almost certainly go with studs.

Keep us posted.

 

head bolts or studs are strictly a choice, as far as the head bolt removal you will find it much easier working from the outside in. opposite the order they were torqued.

 

Hi

I've worked on dozens of cars in the past but I would not wish the headbolt removal procedure on my worse enemy. The amount of torque needed to loosen them using a 2 foot ratcheting torque wrench was greater than i have ever needed to do before. Working outdoors with the hood still attached made it harder than someone working indoors with it removed, but applying that order of torque through a U/J to access the rear bolts... the only ones with major issues... was no fun at all.

I intend to hang on to the car... I would do whatever maintenance was required and just keep on driving it... it is a lovely car.

But I also have to acknowledge age and mortality, and, if the head gasket goes again in say 5 years time, I don't intend to go through this procedure again. It's studs for me and, armed with the learning curve of this stripdown, I don't anticipitate it being half the bother.

As for my next course of action, I will grind these valves in, replace the springs, oil seals and gaskets, and generally give it a top end overhaul. I can take the opportunity to replace spark plug leads and I have a bunch of other parts to replace before final reassembly.

 

Congratulations on getting it apart. Taking the hood off would be a good idea but in my opinion it doesn't make those back bolts much easier.

Can you explain what you are going to do with the valves?

 

Hi

The irony is I can use a wooden dowel with rubber sucker that I can buy in the usa and is what my father and I used 50 years ago in the uk, or I can sign on to Amazon UK or EBay and import a device I used 40 years ago that fits in an electric drill and has an epicyclic internal gearing that slowly auto reverses and would spare me a lot of blisters!

Basically you clean the top of the valve and use coarse grinding paste at first and finish with fine.

You look at the valve seat and the back of the valve for minor imperfections and should finish up with a smooth grey unblemished finish on both.

Of course, you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear so you have to decide at the beginning if the seat and/or valve are too far gone and need replacing. But generally you can grind them as I describe.

 

I admire your tenacity and realize that you have a lot of experience doing these tasks... But, I really think you should pony up the $200 and get a machine shop to do the heads.

I would hate for you to button the whole thing up to find that there is an issue with the valves or the heads were warped and didn't seat properly.

 

Hi

But there are two issues there:-

The integrity of the head.... whether it's warped or flat....

And the state of the valves and their seating.

I will certainly have the first checked but the second will perfectly match each valve precisely to its seating.

 

The reason I'm so keen on this is that I have an engine in the shop and it is my first time to do so. I had the bottom end checked and cleaned, cylinders honed, the crank has been turned and the main bearings and rod bearings have been ordered, and the heads have been pressure checked and planed ever so slightly. The whole project is awaiting arrival of my seriously late new camshaft. But I don't remember asking that anything be done with the valves. I just didn't think about that when I dropped it off... I suppose I should give them a call and, while we wait for the cam, get the valves seated??? Sorry to interject on this thread but the valve issue just hit my radar screen and has me worried.

 

In auto mechanics, some years ago, we would fill the combustion chamber with oil and pressurize the intake and exhaust ports and see if it bubbles. We would do this even after a valve job, to see if they needed more lapping with compound.

 

Hi

In the murky past, I have seen exhaust valves so badly burnt they were almost D shaped. While I don't expect yours would be that worn the valves and seats should be checked for leaks and pitting.

It was always drummed into me to have those valves perfectly mated to the seating. I don't personally believe a new valve in a new seating would be as gas tight as one that was lapped in.