Starting on head work

[clhiller]

Hey all

I got my head off the the block and want to start a vizard mod.
Questions
-From the looks of the head gasket, there was some leakage between cylinders 1 & 2. Cylinder 2 showed evidence of coolant leakage. Could this contribute to the overheating issue I had?

-when I put the new head gasket on, some use wellseal on it as a precaution. I don't know if that is available here in Canada. Any other suggestions?

-looks like the head has been skimmed before, but the finish looks rough (machining marks). Is this ok or should it be smooth? Does it look like there is enough meat there to lightly skim it again? It is flat and not warped, so I would only skim it for smoothness.

-there is evidence of pitting around the exhaust valve on cyls 2&3, and also some light pitting on the pistons of the same cyls. Is this ok?

I am planning on doing the vizard mod and putting in a OD transmission, rebuild the carbs, button it up with new gaskets and see how it runs next summer. I don't want to put much $$$ into it right now as I am tempted to do the V-6 swap.

 

[RootesRooter]

The machine marks are intentional, apparently to give the gasket a better 'bite.' The square middle wear indicator is still there, but the two crescents look like they're almost gone. So you've only got about .010, maaaybe .020 skimming left. After that, the castings around the side chamber bolt holes get too thin and are susceptible to breaking off (from experience). With the skimming already done, the Vizard mod will lower your c/r back down to around stock. The valves look OK; some are better than others, but none appear too receeded. If your miles driven is typical of Alpines these days, your head should last a long time. As long as you're there, I'd replace the 0-rings. Also as long as you're there, pull the lifters for a look-see. They can get very noisy if there's more than just a couple of small pits on the face.

 

[clhiller]

The lifters are like brand new. Virtually no wear on the cam except at the fuel pump lobe.
Which o rings are you referring to? I got a full gasket set, top and bottom and am hoping to make it oil tight

 

[RootesRooter]

I take back what I wrote about the wear indicators. The crescent ones weren't shiny and are actually much deeper than I originally thought. Now you'll have to think about skimming it, since the Vizard process will reduce c/r.

 

[husky drvr]

clhiller.

You may be in need of a different head. It's hard to be sure looking at pictures. The pitting at the blue arrow appears to be severe erosion due to pre-ignition detonation. It appears the edges of the combustion chambers are recessed below the deck surface in all three chambers (RED arrow), which could also be caused by detonation. That damage looks to have under cut the head gasket fire rings. The edges are NOT machined in that manner. There is a real possibility of the exhaust valves being recessed, also.

You could play with a V-mod, but I doubt all the damage could be cleaned up satisfactorily on a budget. Probably simpler to find a different head to modify.

Hope this helps,

Don

 

[puff4]

I tend to agree with Don - this head is toast. Beyond what Don said, the coolant passages are also going to need welding up and I think it’s been milled one-two-many-times already. It *could* be salvaged, but I’d probably replace it with one that needs less work and has more meat on it. (Don’t toss it, though, since there may come a time when there are no more better heads and ones like this may then become economically viable to restore.)