Ok, as my s2 turbo cab was starting to leak water and the tapping tappets were doin my head in, i thought i might as well sort it out this bank holiday weekend. So i ordered a headgasket kit from the local motor factors and a payen kit has turned up - are they ok?
Ive also noticed no head bolts were with it so ive ordered some of them. Ive also ordered some 2wd cossie discs to go with my newly aquired and rebuilt 4x4 calipers and pads.
I also managed to get a ported and polished head that was rebuilt 4k miles ago and that has a piper vernier pulley and piper t2 cam for a good price.Saves me rebuilding my current head.
So with my cousins help we should start stripping it down and doin it all friday nite and have it finished saturday hopefully.
Is there anything i need to be aware of apart from getting a torque wrench for doin the head bolts up?
Anything that could cause a prob?

 

You need to get the head checked for flatness and possibly get it skimmed before you fit it. So get it to an engineering firm asap to have it ready for the weekend.

 

You might want to get a second opinion on the head you bought, just in case

Yes you'll need a torque wrench. Not sure about CVH engines but YBs have star-shaped head bolts, which aren't Torx bolts. Make sure you've got the right bit to get them out or you'll make a mess.

You'll need to be able to crank the engine manually for when you set the timing. Make sure you can reach the crank pulley.

If things go well you'll do it in a weekend - if they go badly it'll take longer, so don't count on it being straightforward as there's always something that will screw up your plans. That's what I found anyway.

 

deffo get it checked, there 13mm bolts, put a drop of oil under them to stop the friction, easy job

 

Payen are the best gaskets and a lot of ford oe gaskets are made by them so you've got the right headgasket! Headbolts aren't of the torks bit type, an angle gauge is also handy to have when tightening down the head as it's not just a matter of tightening it down to a specific torque.

 

Does anyone know the cheapest place (and quickest as want this done over bh weekend)where i can take the head and get it cleaned? Was also looking into getting it all cleaned up as got bits of dust and sand in it where it was sat in a garage. Also ive noticed some of the manifold bolts (or studs) are missing, is this easy to sort?

 

there is a place at the back of sussex shops in walcot that will do the head that is where i had my done thanks bryan

 

To clean the head, i have always stripped them and taken them down the jetwash after a good soak in degreaser, get the hot foam jet cycle on the go and it will come up like new! That way,m they end up with the mess to! (head must be stripped first tho of course)

 

I bought a new full set of exhaust manifold studs and nuts from either Burton Power or Woodford Garage. Half mine were missing or sheared in the head too. If you send your head away for examination/skimming, it'll take at least a day before you get it back.

 

Ended up taking it to the place in walcot what bryan said (tho i went there before he said as was recommended by my cousin.) Dropped it off this morning at 9am and was ready by3pm. Only cost me 20 quid too and he said it was in good nick too.gonna start stripping it down in a bit.Havent got many tools on me so prob wont be able to do much.

 

You should only need basic tools TBH mate - 10, 12, 13, 15 and 17mm sockets, star sockets and spanners, and the star bit for the head bolts.

 

You will need a valve spring compressor to get the valves out or you can use a hammer and a deep socket if you dont have one but its not ideal . The head bolts are just 13mm socket.

 

didnt think i need to take valves out as new head is all ready built so just swap over i thought.
Started stripping, got metering fuel lines,all water,drained water and oil,cambelt cover,exhaust manifold,all electrical connections etc off. Think its just a case of getting belts off and then cracking head bolts.Ive left turbo on manifold as i seem to have enuf room to get head off without taking off turbo from manifold.
Is that right?
Also when i took the rocker cover off my current head is all gold in colour inside like its been sprayed.Is that normal as my new head is standard silver.

 

I thought you were stripping it to power wash it sorry. No you dont need to take the valves out then. Are you changing the cam to the same as yours or does the head you got have the cam you want in it?

Any ones i have seen are silver i think like the outside

 

I had one that was gold too, think it depends on your casting number not 100% though.

 

OK, we got the head off and the hgasket looked suspect. We`ve cleaned up eevrything but while doin this we realised that the piper vernier on the new head doesnt have any markings on it.How do u time it up? Also my cousin come up witht he idea of just sticking the standard vernier on it until i can get it properly setup at Janos. Will this work?

 

Stcik the stamdard pulley on if you're not sure about timing marks. Its not worth guessing and potentially ruining your engine.

 

hi
you can use your standard cam pulley with no problems or you can transfer the markings onto adjustable vernier its quite straight forward
take a metal ruler and aline it with the point on old vernier and dead centre of where camshaft goes this is critical so use digital caliper if you have one
once all alligned you can make a mark with a centre punch on the outside face to give you a static mark for timing i have found that this falls in the centre of the tooth if you follow me
i would like to add once the head is all on and everythink is nearly done and cambelt back on rotate the bottom pulley by hand with a 19mm spanner to turn the engine over to feel for valve/piston contact if all rotates smoothly and your ready to start the engine i disconnect coil feed so car will turn over but wont start and i crank it over listening for noises and do this untill the dash oil light goes out then you know oil is in the topend if you get to this stage and all is looking good and sounding great reconnect coil and start the engine it might take a while to start as the turning over with no coil connected floods the engine but does clear and starts
if your using a piper 285 t2 cam its around 16degrees tdc on bottom pulley with strobe light
if when it starts it sounds tapperty this could be down to where the head has sat
about for a while but should clear quickly as the lifters fill with oil
and the golden rule is get it setup asap dont drive it hard keep revs/boost low as i am sure you know
good luck
mark2

 

Got head on. New gaskets all round,new studs,nuts and washers everywhere and gave everything a real good clean. Tried it by hand and all seemed ok.Turned it over a few times and it started. Runs fine, slight misfire but id expect that as timing hasnt been tuned yet.Top end very tappety but the more i run it the quiter it gets.Cant run it for long at the mo as got a new fan switch and havent got a big enuf spanner to put it on so no water in there at the mo. Hopefully sort 2moz or monday latest, then off to Janos in next few weeks for tuneup and pick up my new doors in Essex too.

 

Payen??? Don't know how they work under UK temp conditions but here in Malta with the high Mediterranean temp they're shit man! Felpro 2nd worst. Best value for money standard Ford. But the best I've found till now is the Cometic. It costs 100 quid ok, but you put it there and you forget about it