Changing 1.0 Headgasket -all systems go !!

I'm finally getting round to changing the headgasket (see Blown headgasket -Diagnosis thread)

Will be following my Haynes manual pages 1.4-1.7 section 4.
So far removed distributor, spark plugs & air cleaner.

Any tips/advice from experience, so I don't have to learn from silly mistakes ??

Haynes manual says to remove Radiator (item 4) & Right Hand Engine Mount (item 10).

1) Do i really need to remove Radiator, as I cannot see why they say to remove it ??

2) Can I get away with not removing Engine Mount or is it essential/helpful to access timing belt covers ??

3) item 35 says to use a Peg Spanner/Cam Sprocket Wrench on the camshaft sprocket, are these easy to get, as cannot find anything on ebay ??

Thanks
 

frank

Club Member
john

i only drain the coolant to below the head level, and the belt should just slide off, if you slack off the tensioner.
and if you can, leave the gasket to compress for a few hours, then re-torque the head bolts
post up some pics of the gasket and head/block faces
 
OP
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J
1) Do i really need to remove Radiator, as I cannot see why they say to remove it ??

2) Can I get away with not removing Engine Mount or is it essential/helpful to access timing belt covers ??

3) item 35 says to use a Peg Spanner/Cam Sprocket Wrench on the camshaft sprocket, are these easy to get, as cannot find anything on ebay ??
From answers above:

-I don't need to remove Radiator
-I do need to remove Right Hand Engine Mount

Anyone know about the Peg Spanner/Cam Sprocket Wrench, are these readily available in motor factors ??

Thanks
 
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J
I'm looking to remove the Inlet & Exhaust Manifolds next.

I know the coolant flows through the Inlet Manifold through base of Carburettor, I had a leak there
(see: Water Leak -on hose at base of carburettor).

Can you get typical Headgasket failure symptoms (eg. over pressurisation of cooling system) if there is a leak to the coolant circuit on the Inlet Manifold gasket ??

I don't think you can, as it's not pressurised, but just want to check.
 
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J
Can you get typical Headgasket failure symptoms (eg. over pressurisation of cooling system) if there is a leak to the coolant circuit on the Inlet Manifold gasket ??

I don't think you can, as it's not pressurised, but just want to check.
What do people think ??
 
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J
Crankshaft Pulley Nut

Am progressing, have got inlet & exhaust manifolds off now.
Now moved onto Timing Belt area.

I am having problem removing the Crankshaft Pulley Nut !! (to remove pulley & timing belt cover)

What's the best way to get this Nut off ??
Trying to remove it, rotating anticlockwise.
Pushed screwdriver through pulley, to stop pulley rotating as I tried to get the Nut off for an hour, but no joy, doesn't want to budge.

Tried using rubber mallet on the spanner & socket wrench.
(this worked with my alternator bolts, which were also difficult, but not working with this pulley nut)

I haven't got a torque wrench to try yet, which I think can be longer, so giving more leverage.

Any suggestions on how how to get this Crankshaft Pulley Nut off ??

How did you & how do garages stop the pulley rotating when removing the nut, as jamming screwdriver through pulley doesn't seem ideal, as screwdriver is pushing against timing belt cover !!

Thanks
 

Micra 110

Site Supporter
It's only 69 Lbs per square inch....:girly: :laugh:

This might do the trick though....

Freeze it. Buy a can from Halfords or any car shop. It freezes the part which makes it easier to remove as the part contracts slightly due to the Coldness
Or....

Put a Socket on a long Handled breaker bar. The Handle of the Bar comes up behind the Drivers side Engine mount between it and the Brake master Cylinder.

The dodgy bit: Get someone to crank the Engine (a second or 2) and hopefully the Nut will come undone.

If you think it's Dangerous don't try it :)
 

superls

K10 Tuner
brute force is the approach im afraid, lock it off and stop it turning first then a real long breaker bar or impact driver
 
yeas for my i used 2 LONG bars...one was a torque wrench on the nut...the other was a long breaker bar through the pulley spokes.

when rotating the nut.... the engine turns butt eventually the breakerbar jams up against the engine block at the back so then you can really pull on the torque wrench and off it comes...

I did all this from underneath the car with the car on the floor...all the bars inserted from the front corner of the car....but I had to bend the big plastic splash guard ALL THE WAY back on itself to get the access I needed
 
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J
It's only 69 Lbs per square inch....:girly: :laugh:

This might do the trick though....
Freeze it. Buy a can from Halfords or any car shop.
brute force is the approach im afraid, lock it off and stop it turning first then a real long breaker bar or impact driver
yeas for my i used 2 LONG bars...one was a torque wrench on the nut...the other was a long breaker bar through the pulley spokes.

when rotating the nut.... the engine turns butt eventually the breakerbar jams up against the engine block at the back so then you can really pull on the torque wrench and off it comes...
Some great ideas there.

Admittedly I only have a 3/8" drive socket set, not the bigger 1/2" drive set where you can get BIG breaker bars to give more UMPH leverage.
Can you get long breaker bars for 3/8" drive (??), so probably have to get 1/2" drive bar & socket.

Good idea about using long bar through spokes to jam up against engine block. I was using screwdriver which was jamming up against plastic timing belt cover, which had started to deform, not good !!

Is 69 lbs/in2 torque a lot, probably not ??
I think it's one of those overtight nuts, like my alternator nuts, changed alternator 2 years ago & I'm from the school where you tighten nuts until they don't move, which is probably too tight.

Funnily enough the inlet & exhaust manifold nuts were easy coming off, which is probably how they should be.

What is an impact driver, is that socket on powered drill or socket on tool to hammer ??

Thanks
 
its a socket tool to hammer....theres a spral inside the workings of it that causes rotation when you strike it with a hammer...the added impact of the hammer helps keep the socket (o often a screwdriver bit) on the screw / bolt...


not much room to get a hammer swing on the pulley nut area though


Dude!..invest in a couple of long bars....you will use them time and time again...and there will be no such thing as 'overtightened' when you're armed with a pair of longs...LOLZ



hope you get it sorted mate
 
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J
Dude!..invest in a couple of long bars....you will use them time and time again...and there will be no such thing as 'overtightened' when you're armed with a pair of longs...LOLZ

hope you get it sorted mate
I've had another go trying to get this Crankshaft Pulley Nut off & it's still not budging.

This time I locked off the pulley with a long bar against engine block, other end supported on a car stand, so no movement in bar (much more rigid than first time I tried).

Tried 12" length 3/8" drive breaker bar, then tried 9" length 1/2" drive ratchet, no movement of nut, really pulling (turning anticlockwise) !!

Tried hammering these with a rubber mallet, still no movement !!

What next, get a longer breaker bar or ratchet or maybe a long torque wrench (if you can lock it) ??

I haven't got a torque wrench yet, can you lock it & use it like a long handled breaker bar ??

What about an impact driver, manual or powered (my motor factors said they do a 12 volt one for £15)

Haven't tried Micra110's two suggestions, freezing nut or cranking engine with breaker bar on the nut.

Thanks

Ps: can someone confirm you turn anticlockwise to get this nut off, probably stupid question, but just in case !!
.
 

frank

Club Member
john

yeh, anticlock, i doubt an electric impact gun will free it, air guns have more poke.
a couple of whacks on the nut with a heavy drift might help :)
 

jowley

Ex. Club Member
a good electirc impact gun will work or put it in gear and have someone hold the foot brake on as hard as they can an use a knuckle bar it will work done it loads of times especcaily on suabru s
 

K10

Ex. Club Member
you'll prob need a longer bar than a foot long one if its siezed on. i did a wishbone on a sera the other week and we used a 3 foot bar, the bolts came out with ease. if that isnt long enough a scaffolding tube extension will help. don't use your mums vacum cleaner attachments, they won't be strong enough- and you'll get a clip round the earhole

i think i was lucky when i did my k10 cambelt, it came out with a normal ratchet no problem.
 
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J
you'll prob need a longer bar than a foot long one if its siezed on.

i think i was lucky when i did my k10 cambelt, it came out with a normal ratchet no problem.
Finally managed to get the Crankshaft Pulley Nut off.

Found I had a 15" length 1/2" drive breaker bar I had forgotten about which gave more welly to just get it moving, it didn't move easily at first though.

Now need to buy some Deep Sockets to get the right engine mounting bolts off, so as to get the timing cover off.
 

curtis

Ex. Club Member
I just snapped my timing cover lol, didnt mean to but thats twice ive done that...

Invest in a £20 argos torque impact wrench, best thing ever...
 
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J
Right Hand Engine Mount

Took Right Hand Engine Mount off to get access to timing cover.

Two of the bolts are hidden within the protruding sides of the engine mount (top bolt holes in picture)
My 3/8" drive 12mm socket wasn't deep enough, so I bought a set of 3/8" drive deep sockets.

Then found the deep socket was too deep/long, coming right up to the car body, so couldn't get ratchet on.

In the end I used a deep offset ring spanner to get these hidden bolts off, though couldn't get lot of rotation on each turn as it hits the protruding sides of the engine mount, so had to keep turning bolt a little bit at a time.

Then realised later that my 1/2" drive 12mm socket is slightly longer than 3/8" drive socket (not as long as the deep sockets I bought), so could have used probably have used that, as could get that onto bolt with the ratchet.

Here's a couple of photos.

Right Hand Engine Mount:
DSCF8789.jpg


Engine mount removed:
DSCF8799.jpg
 

Ed

Fusion Motorsport
MSC Founder
Official MSC Trader
Just to wind you up a little (lol!) I can do a cam belt change in under an hour on a K10!
 

Baz

Ex. Club Member
Just to wind you up a little (lol!) I can do a cam belt change in under an hour on a K10!

Ha ha some man for one man Ed! I can aswell as long as the engine's out of the car ha ha! Never tryed it with the engine in:laugh:
 

superls

K10 Tuner
its easy with the engine in, just undo the single bolt that goes through the rhs mount, take off the bottom pulley and jack up the engine as much as it will go and you can easily get to every bolt on the side plus it makes timing it a little easier.
 
Just to wind you up a little (lol!) I can do a cam belt change in under an hour on a K10!

not if I dumped you at my house, with my car, my facillities, my tools, my budget, my tempremant and my supply of alcohol


......I am just jellous mate did you guess :)
 
OP
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J
Loose Head bolt

I've now taken everything off around the headgasket & am ready to take it off.

Went to do quick check to see whether head bolts move easily, before I put lot more effort in.

One of head bolts moved quite easily, all others aren't moving.

1) Could this be cause of problem ??

I think some people have suggested tightening head bolts without removing head gasklet if you have headgasket failure symptoms.

Maybe I should have tried that before I removed all surrounding components !!

2) What do you think, could just tightening this head bolt solve problem ??

3) Is it worth a try or should I go ahead & remove headgasket now I have taken everything else surrounding off ??
.
 
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J
I've finally taken the Cylinder Head off.
3 bolts on exhaust side (bolts 5,2,4 in section 1.5 of haynes) were really difficult coming off.
2 of them seemed to stop coming out, had to prise up with screwdriver while undoing with ratchet.

================================================================
I will clean the Head & Engine Block ready to fit new Headgasket.

What else should I consider doing, I have 2 days.

-Fitting new oil stem seals, is this normally easy ??

-Do I just need valve spring compressor ??

Anything else ??
.
 
I've finally taken the Cylinder Head off.
3 bolts on exhaust side (bolts 5,2,4 in section 1.5 of haynes) were really difficult coming off.
2 of them seemed to stop coming out, had to prise up with screwdriver while undoing with ratchet.

================================================================
I will clean the Head & Engine Block ready to fit new Headgasket.

What else should I consider doing, I have 2 days.

-Fitting new oil stem seals, is this normally easy ??

-Do I just need valve spring compressor ??

Anything else ??
.

i hope you havent stripped the tread inside the block? did you get any bits of metal come out when you did get the bolt out or did it look clean?
 
OP
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J
i hope you havent stripped the tread inside the block? did you get any bits of metal come out when you did get the bolt out or did it look clean?
Didn't see any bits of metal, need to clean everything up.

The 2 bolts came out 1-2 inches, then seemed to stop coming out (dabbed some white tippex on then so I could see better)

Then pushed up bolts while undoing with ratchet.

They then came out.
.
 

frank

Club Member
thats quite common john, i usually lift the head with the bolts in :)
the inlet valve seals just flick off, and the new ones press on
 
OP
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J
thats quite common john, i usually lift the head with the bolts in :)
the inlet valve seals just flick off, and the new ones press on
1) I assume the inlet valves have been removed with valve spring compressor
Is that correct ??

What about exhaust valve seals ??

2) I haven't looked at the Head much yet & haven't checked what seals are in my Head Set.

Which other seals do/can I replace apart from the main Headgasket ??,
as there seem to be whole load of seals in the Head Set, I'm not sure which I need & which I don't ??
.
 

frank

Club Member
john, there should only be inlet ones, probably manifold gaskets ? and i always hold a plugsocket on the spring and give it a sharp tap to spit the collets out, but you may need a compressor to put the collets back in tho :)
 
OP
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J
john, there should only be inlet ones, probably manifold gaskets ? and i always hold a plugsocket on the spring and give it a sharp tap to spit the collets out, but you may need a compressor to put the collets back in tho :)
Are all the inlet valves on the carburettor side of the Head ??
.
 
OP
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J
Here are some photos of what I found:

I noticed there were 2 little tubes in carburettor side corner holes of headgasket, not sure what they are.

Water is in No 3 cylinder (reflection of flash in photos)


Pictures with old headgasket still in place

xDSCF9703.jpg


xDSCF9704.jpg


xDSCF9711.jpg


xDSCF9712.jpg


xDSCF9713.jpg


xDSCF9714.jpg


xDSCF9715.jpg



Pictures with old headgasket removed

xDSCF9734.jpg


xDSCF9737.jpg


xDSCF9738.jpg


xDSCF9741.jpg


xDSCF9742.jpg
 
ACE PICS


looks to me like your sealing problem was here (pic)

if you've not hd too much heat & you're not after crazy performance...then teh casket replaced (and cleanewd surfaces) is likely to br fine...but if youre worried about performance or longevity...thn a SKIM and a new H. Gasket will sort you

Rich
 

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Sealants on gaskets -anyone use ??

Does anyone use any Sealants on mating surfaces of gaskets ??

-Headgasket
-Inlet Manifold
-Exhaust Manifold

I have heard of Hylomar which can be used on Cylinder Heads.

I'm cleaning my Cylinder Head.

Not sure if some sort of sealant was used, as some powdery stuuf is scraping off on exhaust side. Maybe that's just the old gasket.

Around old inlet manifold gasket there is a rubbery sealant around the old gasket.

Hylomar & sealants, anyone use these on the gaskets ??
.
 
I think all those are dry deal...not meant to use any sealant....just use clean flat surfaces.


having said that...I have ised a tiny ammount of hermetite red on teh inlet and carb mount gaskets only around teh area where there is a water gallery....so far so good


the exhaust powder is old gasket....new exhaust gaskets are thick and soft and only require small amount of tightening when fitting (to half squash them)...the surfaces take some cleaning if teh old gasket is mashed...sometimes teh gasket can look like teh surface on teh exhaust side since teh gaskets are metalised


I would check teh flatness of your block & head before refitting.....just in case thay are too far distorted
 
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J
Replaced headgasket today, although not finished putting everything back.

1) In my headset with all the parts/gaskets there is a Rubber Strip for the Timing Cover.

Where does this go, as my car didn't have one & not sure where it should go ??

2) Trying to put Timing Belt in, when I push tensioner wheel too far left, the tensioner spring jumps out.

Anyone else get this ??
.
 
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