Right yesterday I attacked the head


After lifting the head off, i had to put it some where. It is very important lay the head on some wooden blocks, as at any time there will be at least 2 valves sitting fully open past the bottom of the head.

Laying it on a flat surface will bend a valve, due to the shear weight of the bloody thing. I chose to knock up a simple crate which i screwed together and also bolted the head to to avoid any expensive accidents



Just got back from the engineers workshop, as i wanted to show him the head complete, to get his opinion on the over all condition. I can comfirm he said all was well and it simply needed a good de-coke and a light skim for peace of mind.

So back in to my workshop (im so glad i have heat and i carpeted it, also have a big hifi, sink, kettle and toaster now- i could live in here)


Right

1- Remove dizzy (mark and make a note of position)



2- Remove cam shaft bearing caps (from center outwards to avoid stressing the camshaft under the valve spring tension) Also be aware the caps are also located buy 2 dowels around the stud bases, so the will require a gentle prise with a screw driver to loosen.


3- Lift out cam shaft


4- Make up a cardboard 'template'- Lay out each part as closly as you can to the head layout, this is probably the most important part of any head strip, what ever you do do not mix any parts.


5- Camshafts removed


6- Remove the hydrolic tappets (they will feel tight but what ever you do dont use pliers, the orange tool you see is a telescopic magnet, of of the most usefull tools i own. pull out the tappets with this, again placing them in order on the cardboard)



7- Syringe out as much remaining oil as possible (you will see why later)


8- Find your valve spring compressor


9- Tilt the head and support it with something (i have used a bit of tile batton and screwed it to the bench to be extra safe)



10- Very carefully tap the to0p of each valve, this should hopefully "crack" the collets binded into the taper. one gentle but accurate tap will do, but keep it square to the face to avoid rounding the valve end.

11- Use the valve compressor


12- Using the magnet, pull out the 2 collet halves. If the collets bind hasnt yet cracket you may need to tap the top of the tool with a hammer to release the bind.



13- valves removed


14- seats look in good condition uniform with no pitting


15- Dont forget to check all of the valve assembly has been removed, the lower part/valve stem oil seal will usually need to be teased out. loosen with a screw driver BUT DO NOT TOUCH THE WALLS OF THE VALVE SPRING HOUSING AS THIS CAN AFFECT THE TAPPETS LATER


16- Degrease the stripped head (be carefull not to remove any setting marks you have made, ie dizzy and chain tensioner)
I was supprised how smooth the head was, its as if aston polished the ports from standard, i dont know if this is a vantage spec thing but is was pleasently supprised. Rough ports can loose you 10-20bhp!



17- This is what you should be left with, make sure everything is located and in position. I marked grids on my card to be extra sure where each part has come from.



18 - This is what £692.33 looks like - headgasket kit, oil filter and a set of brake pads. check everything is there ready for the rebuild!


19 - Take head to be skimmed.


I hope to have the head back tommrow, but whilst im waiting, gearbox needs to come out. The severe oil leak from the head has ruined the clutch, I was quoted £950 for a new kit, but thats stupid, hopefully i can get away with a clutch and release bearing for about £200.