From: Marc Strangfeld (mjstrangfeld@yahoo.com)
Date: Tue Dec 21 2004 - 03:22:06 PST
Sean
I changed my head gaskets this summer so I'll tell you
about my experience.
My engine was running fine but slobbered out unburnt
fuel and oil from several places around the heads.
The front of the engine being the worst. After the
truck was up to operating temperature there was a
faint chirping noise. The coolant level stayed up and
an oil analysis showed no antifreeze in the oil.
After asking several people what to do, the main
opinion was that they would probably last quite a
while like they were and if all I did was stay close
to home to let them go unless I really wanted to
change them. I was going on a long cross country trip
so I decided to fix them.
Memphis Equipment sells the new style gaskets which
are the only ones to use, period. The job is too time
consuming to use the old style ones. The old style
gaskets, if my memory serves me correct, have little
tabs sticking out from the block at each cylinder that
is most likely were you'll see leakage because of the
groove they put in them. The new ones don't. You can
however buy the older gasket overhaul kit which has
everything else you'll need except the head gaskets.
Once you have the gaskets, decide if you have the
right tools and will to do the job yourself. There is
a tool to remove and retorque the head bolts. It
isn't built very heavy but does the job.
I decided to remove both heads at the same time and
separate them on the bench. Then a thorough clean up
job on everything. The heads were resurfaced. It
took about .005 to clean them up. The valves are
below the sealing surface so they were left in. The
valves could be removed and inspected but it wasn't
necessary on my heads. The intake and exhaust
manifolds were then bolted on to the heads as one unit
and lowered with a hoist back onto the block. Then
both manifolds were loosened slightly to let the heads
torque seperately then they were tightened back up.
That is a basic description but there are a lot more
details to go over if you wish. I called Hercules and
got torque specs and even flatness requirements on the
heads. I also have detailed instructions on setting
the valves copied from a military manual. If and when
you decide to take the plunge let me know and I can
dig up the info for you. I would look by each
cylinder on the passenger side and see if it's leaking
there. On the drivers side there is so many places
for leaks that it's hard to tell. Also the sound
should be a chirping, like an exhaust tick. If you
hear a buzzing noise then I suggest you start wearing
hearing protection...just kidding. I also have two
extra head gaskets I could sell you. (they are the
new ones) Memphis wanted $25 for a restocking fee so
I kept them. I someone wants them they could have
them for $135 plus shipping.
Good luck
Marc
--- Sean Nichols <Sean.Nichols@xilinx.com> wrote:
> Greetings List,
>
> I took my deuce ('71 AMG M35 with a -1D multifuel)
> out for a weekend
> 'stroll' and all seemed to be well and good, as
> usual. But lately, I've
> started to notice oil seeping out of the engine
> around the air
> compressor and down around the injection pump. It
> looked as if my air
> compressor was seeping oil from the base, but in a
> lot of places, I
> couldn't really see where the oil was seeping out
> from.
>
> So back to the story... I got home, parked the
> truck, left it running,
> and got out to get my chocks set. When I rounded
> the front of the
> truck, I could hear a faint 'buzzing' sound. That's
> the best way I can
> describe it. I popped the hood and listened, but it
> just seemed to come
> from the general vicinity of the engine and I was
> unable to pin point
> the exact spot. Then I noticed that at some point,
> it appears that oil
> has been seeping out from under the head at the
> front of the engine.
>
> Truck ran great, not down on power at all. This
> morning it occurs to me
> that I remember some posts about a blown head gasket
> making that
> 'buzzing' sound. Is that what I'm looking at here?
> How can I
> conclusively tell? I've not had much (any)
> experience wrenching on
> multifuel engnes...
>
> Which brings up a few more questions...
>
> How tough is it going to be to replace the gaskets?
> What's this going to cost me?
> Do I need to have the valves done and get the heads
> resurfaced at the
> same time?
> What other pearls of wisdom can anyone pass along
> for someone who has
> neither 'been there' nor 'done that' from a
> multi-fuel standpoint?
>
> Thanks and Happy Holidays!
>
> Sean Nichols
> '42 IHC FFN-3 Crash Truck
> '71 AMG M35A2
>
> ===Mil-Veh is a member-supported mailing list===
> To unsubscribe, send e-mail to:
> <mil-veh-off@mil-veh.org>
> To switch to the DIGEST mode, send e-mail to
> <mil-veh-digest@mil-veh.org>
> To reach a human, contact <ack@mil-veh.org>
>
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail - Helps protect you from nasty viruses.
http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.4 : Sat May 07 2005 - 20:38:55 PDT