geekdaddy
X1/9 Learner's Permit...
OK for those of you following along at home, I've been trying to diagnose a problem where air was getting into my cooling system. http://xwebforums.com/forum/index.php?threads/24950/ After a lot of testing and evaluation I determined the air was building only at high RPMs (over 3-4K) and very slowly. I suspected a potential head gasket leak but wasn't certain.
Following the directions and advice of others here, I pulled the head. I initally borrowed a head wrench (thanks Docpan) to remove the nuts/bolts but the head wouldn't budge. Got the head-removal-tool from Mirafiori (thanks Jeff) and removing the head was easy-peazy -- except for the fact that it's awful darn freezing cold in my garage right now!
While removing the manifolds and other bits I noticed some coolant drips when I removed my Allison's header. This kinda surprised me because I installed a new gasket and had that header very tight when installed last Spring. Now that I've pulled the head, the gasket looks pretty good to me. I don't have much experience with this, but don't see any problems with the gasket. So mainfold drips + good head gasket suggest loose manifold + exhaust gases pushing into the coolant ports.
Anyhow, would appreciate fdbk from those of you with more experience on anything good, bad, or ugly about the condition of my piston tops, head, etc. Since I've pulled everything apart, I will probably splurge on one of Matt's rebuilt perf heads before I put things back together and will of course double-check the flatness of the block beforehand...
Following the directions and advice of others here, I pulled the head. I initally borrowed a head wrench (thanks Docpan) to remove the nuts/bolts but the head wouldn't budge. Got the head-removal-tool from Mirafiori (thanks Jeff) and removing the head was easy-peazy -- except for the fact that it's awful darn freezing cold in my garage right now!
While removing the manifolds and other bits I noticed some coolant drips when I removed my Allison's header. This kinda surprised me because I installed a new gasket and had that header very tight when installed last Spring. Now that I've pulled the head, the gasket looks pretty good to me. I don't have much experience with this, but don't see any problems with the gasket. So mainfold drips + good head gasket suggest loose manifold + exhaust gases pushing into the coolant ports.
Anyhow, would appreciate fdbk from those of you with more experience on anything good, bad, or ugly about the condition of my piston tops, head, etc. Since I've pulled everything apart, I will probably splurge on one of Matt's rebuilt perf heads before I put things back together and will of course double-check the flatness of the block beforehand...
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