Morris Minor Owners Club

hi

i finished putting my engine back tonight

its taken me almost a month to get it sorted, i had to change an exhaust valve and replace the valve stem oil seals, though it WAS the very first time ive ever been inside an engine ... arent morris minors brilliant ?

after cracking TWO head studs (thats 3 times i put it all in and took it all back out again) lucky i ordered a couple of spares (excellent ESM service), i think the torque wrench was bust, so i just guessed it in the end ... anyway i set the tappets just as it was going dark, it was difficult to see as i filled her up with oil and turned the key .... im so glad to say she is going great all four cylinders, no oily plug ... it took a couple of trips up and down the lanes to get the timing and mixture right and i think the old duck sounds better than she ever has.

anything to watch out for over the next couple of days ? i cant see any oil in the water or the otherway round ... though the oil is so clean i cant even see the level on the dipstick !!! ... no leakages ... yet

cheers
grainger

you are mean to re-torque the head nuts after a few days (more so with copper head gaskes as the heat and cooling alters them a little) - however it might not be a good idea to do that if half of the head studs are partly yielded

however it might not be a good idea to do that if half of the head studs are partly yielded

Could be fun in a few years if the head has to come off again!

With copper gaskets (well, all the gaskets I have ever used really) I always re-torque after the engine has been run up to normal running temperature for the 1st time (and has cooled again). And again after about 500 miles.

i had to change an exhaust valve and replace the valve stem oil seals,

If that was all you had to do to sort your problems it was not so bad then.

hi

well altogether ive already replaced 2 long studs and one short one, i think i'll do the others soon. ive used copper grease on the gasket and everywhere else so it should come apart ok. i was planning to replace the 3 other exhaust valves soon anyway, and i may have to get one of the stud threads for the thermostat recut, so it looks like the heads going to be on and off quite a few times .... i will tighten all the nuts gently after a couple of days and i'll save up and buy a decent torque wrench that works


ps, kevin, yes i was dead pleased the piston rings hadnt gone, i checked the bottom end before i put the sump back on and it was all solid.


thanks

grainger

copper grease on the gasket and everywhere else so it should come apart ok

Generally that's not recommended on head gaskets! Grease expands and goes runny at high temperature so it will create extra risk of a headgasket failure. However I used to do it when I was a teeneager and never got a problem from it sio I don't think it's 'very high' risk - just something else to think about.