Cylinder head problem

[bmcecosse]

Certainly - when the gasket fails, that's were it tends to fail! But really - they should NOT fail. Understand the time/warranty thing - I suppose it's fair enough. And yes - tighten it to 45 ftlbf after the first heat cycle, and then don't forget to reset the valve gaps!

[LouiseM]

gillbirm - From previous experience of having new heads & engines fitted, re-torquing the head after 500 miles or so is only necessary if the head or engine has been reconditioned /newly fitted (although I stand to be corrected!). You don't say if this was the case or not but if you do a search of the forum you'll see that it's not that uncommon for head gaskets to fail. You did well to get half the cost of the repairs paid when you'd owned the car for well over a year and it was out of warranty. As I've found to my cost, not many garages would offer the same service!

when the gasket fails, that's were it tends to fail! But really - they should NOT fail.

Roy - I've had two head gasket failures over the years, without prior warning, in Minors which had their original engines. What do you suggest to prevent it happening?

[bmcecosse]

Really - it should NEVER happen! If the faces of block and head are flat and clean - a new gasket carefully installed with a thin film of grease and then properly torqued down (oil the threads) - run through a heat cycle and then torqued again to 45 ft lbf - it should last 'for ever' as long as the engine is not run short of water or overheated in any way. Later Mini engines were torqued to 50 ft lbf - but they had better studs and better nuts with a flange built in - so unless using these parts, stick to 45. BMC used to sell 'competition' head nut washers - these were thick and hard washers that fitted under the nuts to spread the load. Later engines had 'dimpled' head studs ( a wee raised dimple in the middle of the stud end face) which were stronger, and later again engines have ' T ' studs (yes - a wee T stamped on the end faces - sometimes looks more like a ' Y ') which are stronger again and used with the flange nuts. The studs themselves must be firmly screwed into the block - and the block holes should be lightly countersunk to remove any raised threads. Perfectionists of course will only use NEW studs and nuts - a luxury I have never been able to afford!

[LouiseM]

Really - it should NEVER happen!

Well I must have just been unlucky to have it happen twice. Mind you, I've also had a coil fail when "it's never the coil" so I'm no stranger to bad luck

[bmcecosse]

Most Minor and Mini owners have never experienced a head gasket failure - it really is a very reliable engine if reasonable maintenance and care is taken with it!

[MarkyB]

That's quite a statement, how about a poll about head gasket failure?

I'd suggest that most Minor owners have experienced at least one head gasket failure on a Minor they have owned, if not the current one.

Almost every MOT sees a head gasket change on the camp site.

[chrisryder]

on the last MOT i played part to 3 or 4 head gasket changes, and there were more than that changed in the course of the week. the MOT is a tough task for a minor, and you can sometimes only get very weak petrol which wouldn't help, but 6 or so out of 60 cars is a large proportion.

[bmcecosse]

Geees - there must be some lack-of-care going on out there! Think of all the Minis/Minors/A35/A40/Spridget engines out there......... Of course - could be some owners only join this site when they blow the head gasket, to get advice. Those that don't - have no need of the site! And of course - if the gasket does blow for some reason (usually overheating due to lack of water) then it is MUCH more likely to blow again ....... Partly due to damage caused to head/block by the first blow, and partly due to incorrect assembly with the new gasket.....