Re: 1750 Head Gasket R/R-- Looking for Tips

[Ian Lomax <sfalfisto@domain.elided>]

Ah hell, I screwed one up last year, so here's what I
did wrong.

1.  Dropped the chain tensioner shim into the engine,
after the lower pan was on.  Don't do that.

2.  Two people to remove the head makes short work of
it (except in Andrew's case).  One person is asking
for back pain.

3.  Check for all wires/hoses, the temp sender wire
tripped me up as I had overlooked it.

4.  And finally, I totally agree with Dean.  Get a NEW
high quality gasket, and might as well get the
kick-butt O-ring kit from Jon Norman while you're at
it.  Jon also mentioned that on older engines, you
need to add gasket sealer to the rear section as the
newer gaskets don't have glue/sealer there anymore. 
And it will leak like a stuck pig without the sealer. 
AMHIK.

5.  If you don't surface the head, make sure to clean
the head and block with super-fine steel wool and
acetone to make it surgically clean.

6.  I like to chase the threads on the head studs with
a die, and remove any corrossion from the studs, so
that hopefully the head will come off easier next
time.

I think that's it.  I'm down to about 3 hours start to
finish, on a head that was just reinstalled.  As they
say, it's always easier the second time!  Or third, or
fourth...

Cheers,
Ian Lomax
71 Spider

--- "Dean W. Cains" <dwc@domain.elided> wrote:
> Hi:
> 
> The actual job of getting the head on/off is fairly
> simple and 
> straightforward.  I can't imagine that any of the
> manuals you have would 
> leave out any of the big details.  The small stuff,
> like hoses, wires, etc. 
> varies from car to car, though, so some of those
> instructions might be more 
> general, by nature.
> 
> The best advice, and most important, is to use only
> the best head gasket 
> you can find.  That means a Reinz or Goetze
> (German-made).  Don't even 
> think of using one of those $25 Italian pieces of
> cardboard that all the 
> big-name vendors sell.  Try Don Ereminas, Jon
> Norman, Matt Jones, etc. to 
> get the right part.  If you ever saw the two types
> of gasket side-by-side, 
> you'd see what I'm trying to get across.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Dean
> '72 & '87 Spider's
> 
> At 09:57 AM 2/20/2003, you wrote:
> >Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 04:22:59 EST
> >From: Caxambu@domain.elided
> >Subject: 1750 Head Gasket R/R-- Looking for Tips
> >
> >Hi,
> >
> >The oily goo on the inside of the radiator cap
> tells me it's time to replace
> >the head gasket. Can anyone share their proven
> method? I have three different
> >workshop manuals (two Autobooks, one Alfa Romeo
> shop manual,
> >engine/clutch/gearbox) but it sure seems like they
> left out a lot of info.
> >
> >Planning on doing this with engine in car.
> >
> >Last head gasket R/R was approx. 60,000 miles ago
> by Grand Prix Motors in
> >Seattle.
> >
> >1750, SPICA, stock except for MarelliPlex and
> pusher electric fan.
> >
> >PS: Probably should not be asking about this
> already but I heard from a
> >reliable source that it's possible to change the
> pistons/rings/liners from
> >the top. Anybody done this sucessfully?
> >
> >Thanks In Advance,
> >
> >- --Caxambu
> >1969 Spider Veloce 1750
> >Seattle WA
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