tearing her down....

[dan58]

Guess what I did last night.... :lol: Dropped the heads off at the machine shop today. $175 will get me a cleaning and new valve seals, and a grind to mill her flat. From the valves, you can tell she was burnin' the oil. Can't wait to put her all back together with the new tranny and 4:1 in the D300. They're willing to mill as much as I want. Any suggestions on how much would give me an extra 0.5 in compression while causing no big issues (Edelbrock performer cam and intake, and Shorty headers soon).

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa319/dan58jeeptj/Pile%20Rebuild%202008/IMG_0532.jpg

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa319/dan58jeeptj/Pile%20Rebuild%202008/IMG_0535.jpg

Rest here:

http://s203.photobucket.com/albums/aa319/dan58jeeptj/Pile%20Rebuild%202008/

[jeepsr4ever]

Have them take .023-.025" off the heads to gain .5 in compression.

[Goose]

So this brings up the D/A question.. how much can you mill off the heads before you start getting into intake manifold fit issues??

[AMX69PHATTY]

Performance American Style says whatever is milled from the heads and/or block deck,
same amount is to be milled from each side of the intake manifold,
and 1.4 times as much from front and rear intake manifold ends.

[tufcj]

I had .015" milled from the 291C heads on my 69 390 block. I dropped on an early R4B with no machining and no leaks, just slotted the center holes.

Bob
tufcj

[fifesjeep]

Hmmm, I guess it all depends on each individual motor.. I had .014" from the heads and .008" from the block.. Used a feeler gauge around the intake it was good (How? Who knows)..
If I have 10:1 pistons w/58cc heads, the heads have been milled .014", the block was milled .008" and the pistons come up .010" taller and a .045" headgasket, what compression ratio would that give me... 10.7? or there abouts?
Sorry for the Hi-jack... this thread has me scratching my head again.

[dan58]

It looks like it will just be safest to have them mill the minimal amt to just ensure they're flat.

[AMX69PHATTY]

The thing to avoid is ledges in the flow path between the ports in the intake and heads. The intake ports are usually some amount smaller than the ports in the heads to make up for some fit variations. Using silicon beads at the ends in place of the stock rubber seal strips eliminates fit problems in that area.

[dan58]

She's all back together now. Unfortunately, I have an electrical gremlin. :(:

The lights on the switch panel come on. I know I have juice to the safety solenoid for the propane. It clicks when I flip the igntion switch. I tried to start it, but it just clicked once. If I tried it again, nothing. I checked the battery and starter. Both had 12.4 volts. All the fuses were good. I don't know how to check the little relay for the starter.

I guess I'll be going out to the garage after work and going through each and every wire. :roll:

[73hornut]

Ground cable from block to frame?

[dan58]

She had a bad battery cable. At some point, it got too close to the manifolds.

BUT...it RUNS. It RUNS! Woohoo! It hasn't fired since the last weekend of October. Open headers are LOUD! :lo1l:

[ironman_gq]

very loud EH!! I started mine with open headers and in the closed garage I didnt wanna rev her cause it almost hurt to listen to it, so I took it round the block a few times :lo1l: sure as hell sounded meen though!

[dan58]

Well, the chit hit the fan tonight. We tq'd the heads exactly as per instructions. Ended at 110 ft/lbs. I used the blue FeltPro gasket kit. This is one of the many places that have weeps of coolant.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa319/dan58jeeptj/Pile%20Rebuild%202008/IMG_0573.jpg

Sooo...
1. leaking head gaskets
2. brakes now leak like a sieve (from the MC)
3. hydro steering leaks more than brakes
4. Tranny/t-case issues. Even with the tranny in park, I can push it around the garage.

I need a beer.

So, what's the next step? Should I retry these gaskets, just tq'd down to 130? New gaskets? ROLs?

BTW, this is a quick vid on the second startup.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbk4IrrVBAY

[ironman_gq]

did you have the block milled with the heads? I would try a different gasket

[dan58]

No. Block stayed in the truck. Forgot to say this, but the block was cleaned with green scotchbright pads, then brake cleaner to get the last of the residue.

[76-cj7]

dan58......dont feel bad i had the same problem with victor reinz (spelling?) head gaskets and after a few days running them it sealed up and stopped leakin............all hope isnt lost yet so dont give up! just run it around after you get the other issues fixed

[dan58]

dan58......dont feel bad i had the same problem with victor reinz (spelling?) head gaskets and after a few days running them it sealed up and stopped leakin............all hope isnt lost yet so dont give up! just run it around after you get the other issues fixed

The best I can do is let it idle. The tranny issue keeps it from moving anywhere (trail rig only). How did it seal itself? From my understanding, it's a one shot deal right from the start. It's either sealed, or it isn't.

[76-cj7]

Mine had seeped on both sides....passenger above the motor mount and driver right after motor mount and after driving it some it stopped and hasnt leaked since although i did have to re-do the intake due to warped intake and them shitty valley pans :(:

[AMX69PHATTY]

I've always sprayed the steel side of the Fel-Pros with Copper Coat.
Doesn't it say something about that on the head gasket package paper tag ?

Also fill radiator first time with just strait water for break-in run
until everything has heat cycled and hopefully sealed up.

Don't think I'd torque beyond #110.

[ironman_gq]

Things can seal up as they heat and cool a few times. I think the gasket compresses slightly more as the engine cycles a few times. Now that I think about it I had some leakage problems too and they sealed up after about two weeks

[FuzzFace2]

I've always sprayed the steel side of the Fel-Pros with Copper Coat.
Doesn't it say something about that on the head gasket package paper tag ?

Also fill radiator first time with just strait water for break-in run
until everything has heat cycled and hopefully sealed up.

Don't think I'd torque beyond #110.I am with PHATTY I thought you HAD TO COAT the gaskets, I did on mine and no leaks.

And what is this about the valley pan intake gaskets? Throw out the end gaskets and do as tthe directions and you are good to go.
Dave ----

[dan58]

I'd talked to several tech lines, and they all say that the FelPros don't require the copper spray. Grr... So, what's this about those horrendous rubber gaskets on the valley pan gasket? Toss them and use RTV?

[1tuffcj]

after rebuilding my motor i also kept haveing small leaks, i also used the blue fel-pro. after reading this thread i wished i would of just drove it for a couple days. instead i kept changing the head gasket, ordering arp bolts. then phatty mentioned spraying that copper gasket stuff. so i tryed that, and had a very very small weep of a leak, i figured i'd just keep an eye on it, well the leak went away, that was over 1000 miles ago.

[dan58]

Yeehaw! We retorqued the heads to 112ft/lbs, and no leaks. The tranny issue was just the shift linkage not hitting right on the money. She runs like a raped ape. :lo1l: I might have to take it out tomorrow afternoon for more fun snow frolicking. Open headers aren't exactly for uncool old people neighbors. :?:

I'm still having nightmares of this danged Taurus fan.

[AMX69PHATTY]

FelPro actually contradicts themself on the front of the Head Gasket packaging.
But on the back they clarify that steel face gaskets should be coated, fiber should not.

http://home.fuse.net/ckthomas/AMC-FelPro-HeadGasket-Paper.jpg

:idea:

[dan58]

Geez. It would be nice if they had clear instructions WITH the kit. #-o

[dan58]

Just got back from the first trail ride with all the changes.
1. Reworked the heads
2. New tranny
3. 4:1 in the D300
4. electric fan


The only issue I had was that I lost the low speed on my fan. Not a big deal. Otherwise, the new gears were AWESOME. I'm digging the 4:1. Whatever happened, I now run 25# of oil pressure at hot idle! :lo1l: I never had that kind of pressure prior to the teardown. How in the world could that have happened? It used to sit around 12# at hot idle.

[dan58]

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c197/CoveJeepsPA/wheelin%2008/P3180002.jpg

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c197/CoveJeepsPA/wheelin%2008/P3180005.jpg

http://www.myjunkinyourtrunk.com/albums/RC032208/DSC_0055_Large.sized.jpg