Overheating/coolant leak

[sprint95m]

Sorry to hear of your unfortunate news.
I strongly recommend you remove the engine from the car Kyle.

Use Plus Gas as a penetrating oil.
This stuff is very good but needs to be allowed to do its job….I would be prepared to apply repeatedly, so would therefore
apply it over a course of a few days. It'll work better if the engine is tilted to align the head studs to vertical.



I have a Payen head gasket set and a Unipart head set, which I am prepared to sell in one lot.
Both have been opened to use the inlet manifold gaskets but I do have replacement gaskets from Robsport
(a pretty good fit once the locating holes have been altered).
The price is £30 including delivery. I will accept payment by bank transfer, cheque or postal order.
Please PM if interested.


thanks,

Ian.

[HQentity]

Hiya, many thanks for the help. Thank you Tony for the parts list, that is indeed very useful. I'll also have to buy a giant spanner for the cam/turning the engine, along with a torque wrench. Also something I was thinking, is using a blowtorch on the engine body not a fire risk? What about all that old oil?!

Ian, many thanks but I will probably drive to Wins International and buy everything I need in one go. Thanks anyway. One thing I would like to ask though is why you think I should remove the engine? I don't have the provisions to do that - is it better to just admit defeat and hand the job over to a mechanic?!

Thanks again!

[GTS290N]

If the head is reluctant to come off, the only solutions need space - and that means engine out. I would have several more attempts at borrowing/hiring the SOC head puller, seriously.

[trackerjack]

Why expect the worst?
I have rebuilt dozens of slants now and a Stag plus one 1850, and I have only come across one that was a sod, but in truth that engine had sat outside unused for six years by the seaside and the car it was in I had to drag onto a trailer with all the wheels seized!
As you have nothing to loose as you have a H/G problem already and you read that you should tighten a head by working from the centre out in stages and that removal is the reverse.
Start with the outermost and undo it completely and try to remove the stud. If you can retighten and move to the next and so on.
Finally I reckon a mechanic that cannot do one of these engines is frankly not a mechanic

[Galileo]

On for £10, NOS 1850 headgasket, and has the right Payen code on it, AK270...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Triumph-dolom ... 2011144947

[sprint95m]

Ian, many thanks but I will probably drive to Wins International and buy everything I need in one go. Thanks anyway. One thing I would like to ask though is why you think I should remove the engine? I don't have the provisions to do that - is it better to just admit defeat and hand the job over to a mechanic?!

Fair enough Kyle. That is your choice .
According to their website listing, Wins don't have Payen 1850 head gaskets and charge £27 for a pattern head gasket set.
Please do pay heed to this, buy the inlet manifold gaskets from Robsport (as these will actually fit after a slight modification to the bolt holes).

You should take the engine out so that you are able to have the cylinder head fixing studs pointing vertically upwards.
This is important because it helps the Plus Gas to do its job thoroughly.


Ian.

[HQentity]

Hope thats okay Ian, didn't mean to cause offence! Thanks for all the help though - even things like using the Plus Gas is absolutely invaluable. I will phone around a few garages tomorrow or Tuesday and see where I stand, if they can remove the engine and do the work at a reasonable price properly I will have to consider it! However if they have the means to take the car to their garage after my attempt I'll definitely give it a good go. I recon I can do it, its just the studs I'm worried about really! :')

I'll keep you all updated!

[Jon Tilson]

I think Alun has posted his method on the facebook group.
Getting the engine so the studs are vertical is the way to go as you can then get a plasticine reservoir around each stud and let the plus gas soak in overnight at least.

You can then whack the end of each stud with a large heavy mass hammer to break the corrosion binding the stud in the head.

Ive had mixed results with 1850 engines. Some are fine and some are gits....I ended up having a machine shop drill one bunch out, which cost more than the engine was worth.

Jonners

[dursley92]

My thoughts are that most garages these days won't have the first clue where to start with one of our engines so I would be very reluctant to have them work on mine.

If you have to use a garage then get recommendations from here for something near you or use one of the Triumph specialists.

[MIG Wielder]

I'm trying to think what you can do better with the engine out ?
O.K. you can hang the engine from a hoist on the camshaft and whack the studs with a club hammer and a drift; but you can jack up under the exhaust manifold ( when disconnected from the down pipe) and do the same thing with the engine in.
The only bit of better access would be that slight overhang at the back of the head which you could possibly buffer with a chunk of timber and hit it with a club hammer.
Or remove the timing chain cover and do the same from the front.
Yes if you have a machine shop to drill the studs then yes; Engine out.
What else can you do ?
Ta,
Tony.

[HQentity]

Ok so an update, 5 hours in I have the coolant drained, manifolds off, timing chain off head, 5 head bolts out, 5 nuts and 4 washers off the studs. When I took the spark plugs out, they were oil fouled, which is a bit scary. Hopefully I didn't overheat the engine?!? If I have, would replacing the head solve the fouling, or is it the engine block?! Just waiting on Plus Gas and I will attempt the studs. scary stuff!

[MIG Wielder]

Good progress ! I imagine you took the photo before you had finished ? I see the front cylinder head bolt is still in.
It actually helps quite a lot to have the exhaust manifold still attached to the head but disconnected from the exhaust down pipe I found, because you can put a trolley jack with a long wooden chunk of timber underneath it to help lift the head.
I'd also remove the heater blower and the large rubber connecting pipe ( 3 bolts) and a large Jubilee clip and just rest it above the bulkhead so access to the rear stud is slightly better.
In some ways its good news that there are 5 head nuts but only 4 washers. It means the head has been worked on previously maybe ! It may come off very easily ! That thick washer will need replacing though.
Don't worry too much about oil fouled spark plugs at this stage.
Was the car pushing out much oil smoke when warm on the over-run ?
If so it could be valve guides, that can be replaced while the head is off; or just the valve stem oil seals. They can be easily replaced when you decoke the head.
If its coming up from the bores then that is a different matter for later.
One question for Jonners. Are there valve stem oil seals on the 1850 please ? I cant see them in the parts book.
Did you get the stud extractor tool O.K. Kyle.
Good Luck with the next bits.
Tony.

[HQentity]

Thank you Tony. I did indeed take the picture before I finished! I struggled to get the angle needed to remove the downpipe, so I've removed the whole exhaust manifold. Now I've broken the corrosion on it it's not as much of a problem - I re-attached it a couple times to use it to lever the head bolts out. The long bolts were particularly stiff, and I managed to bend the wrench extension getting the bolts out!

I did wonder about access to the rear head stud. The bolt was a pain, I can only imagine what the stud will be like?! As for the bolt washer, I do have 5, I'm just still fighting with the last one. It's completely caked in.

When I ran the car, it had huge clouds of white smoke when I pulled up at traffic lights, heavy smoke that would stay when I drove away. Didn't look blue to me. I will see what it all looks like (hopefully) soon on the inside.

I did indeed get the stud extractor, it's in the post along with many other things!

Thanks for all your support! Getting to work will be fun until I have a car again!! :')

[HQentity]

Just a quick update. I can't get the studs out at all, I've got the stud extractor, but it doesn't seem to want to tighten. I've tried 3 studs, but the extractor will not lock. I had two massive spanners, and put a hammer between them to tighten them as tight as I could, but every time they both just unscrew.

I've phoned the garage who are picking it up tomorrow to extract the studs hopefully.

[GTS290N]

At least you gave it a good go, well done for trying. Presumably you have the bits required for replacement and can hand them to the garage, they probably don't want the hassle of sourcing suitable bits for a classic? Even telling them which antifreeze you need will be useful. They won't be spending the hours of TDC Forum reading that we do!