cylinder head replacement

hi - a brief background - our vehicle suffered head gasket failure but due to driver not stopping we needed a new engine - this was bought off ebay and fitted by a local company - five minutes after collecting it overheated and we are back to square one - apparently it was shipped with a thermostat fitted behind the engine as you look at it and ours had the front fitting thermostat connected to the top rad hose - the garage then wanted another £1000 to scrap the existing head and put a "new" one on -we had already paid £1600 at this stage for engine and fitting so I decided enough was enough and I would sort it myself - I took the head off and first things first took it to place in Hyde to be checked over (bridge cylinder heads) they immediately pointed out that it had previously been skimmed beyond tolerance and not even level - the marks faded accross the four cylinders from visible at one end to not at the other - I contacted the company who sold me the "reconditioned engine" who rather begrudgingly sent me a replacement head but advised me to get it checked out. back to bridge and I had it pressure tested, skimmed etc and now have what I assume is a perfect serviceable cylinder head

my questions revolve around if I need to replace the rail in the sump that the head bolts thread into - landrover dealer say this should be done and secondly I noticed on the bottom half of the engine that someone had previously tried to remove the locating dowel and has scored the face -





you can see the marks above the hole for the dowel at approx 2 o'clock -

As long as the marks are on level with the surface, it's ok.
If you put the head gasket on, you'll see that there are no problem.
But you NEED TO ADD THE METAL DOWELS supplied with the new head gasket.
I personally aren't afraid of skimmering the head more that the 0,2mm recommended.
The most I've seen on a 18k4 (this engine) is 1,05mm.
The car is still running smooth.
You can also get a "head saver" which is 0,5mm an use instead of the supplied one with the MLS head gasket.
I got it from this shop:
I can't find the 18k4 head saver shim there now, but I'm shure he still have it.

Good luck.

The mark to 2oclock is more of a gouge - you can feel this with your finger - its not near the water channels as you can see - that's why I am a little unsure

mark wont hurt just smooth it off ,do liners protrude ?

Hi james - no the liners don't protrude from the face of the block - so just use emery paper to smooth out as best as possible in just that area ?

Johnbrunt said:

Hi james - no the liners don't protrude from the face of the block - so just use emery paper to smooth out as best as possible in just that area ?

Click to expand...

they should do ,if they dont it wont last long

By how much ?.....I'll have to check tomorrow as car is at my fathers house ?....cheers

2 thou ish

Cheers - can you add anything regards the rail that the head bolts thread into - I understand this is accessed via the sump ...?...ta

Johnbrunt said:

Cheers - can you add anything regards the rail that the head bolts thread into - I understand this is accessed via the sump ...?...ta

Click to expand...

it is, later is strengthened , but if heads good and liners are correct height new bolts should be ok ,an over heated runs a good risk of going again ,

I've read somewhere that the new rail was an issue towards Ford.
They demanded a solution for the HGF and Rover came up with the new and stiffer/bigger oil rail as a solution.
But from what I read on another English forum, it was just a play for the audience and not really necessary.
My advice is to replace the old one if you see cracks on it, otherwise, not.

royturbodiesel said:

I've read somewhere that the new rail was an issue towards Ford.
They demanded a solution for the HGF and Rover came up with the new and stiffer/bigger oil rail as a solution.
But from what I read on another English forum, it was just a play for the audience and not really necessary.
My advice is to replace the old one if you see cracks on it, otherwise, not.

Click to expand...

id believe that

Not looked but is it easy enough to get the sump off - any obstacles ?

Johnbrunt said:

Hi james - no the liners don't protrude from the face of the block - so just use emery paper to smooth out as best as possible in just that area ?

Click to expand...

Liners can be flush with the top face of the block or protrude up to 0.003" .
See bulletin 0036. http://www.mgfcar.de/hgf/freelander_LN_1994_0036.pdf
Any high spots on the block around the damaged area can be dressed with an engineers file.

If the garage you commissioned to carry out the engine change didn't check to see if the engine was fitted with a standard stat when they knew your car had a PRT, wouldn't they be responsible for any subsequent engine damage?

Yes I think garage are at fault - and maybee I will take it up with them once I have solved the problem

Ok i think I have managed to screw up the timing as when everything has gone back together I think we have somehow managed to get the cam sprockets mixed up

So it's back to square one - can someone possibly confirm if the following is correct

1. Ensure crank shaft is at top dead centre - I.e the notch on the crankshaft pully is aligned to top dead centre?

2. I take it the assumption that the exhaust cam is the one nearest the exhaust manifold and the inlet cam is the one nearest the inlet manifold ?

3. Ensure that that cam sprocket on the exhaust cam is located in the ex notch on the pulley

4 Ensure that the cam sprocket on the inlet cam is located in the in notch on the pully

5. This is the bit where we got confused as there were previous marks on the sprockets and am not sure which are our marks :-/

6. Assuming we cannot now identify our marks can we use anything else on the pulleys to set them - there is the word exhaust and a line at opposite sides on each ?

7. Am I right in then assuming that once the cams are correctly postitioned it's just a case of popping on the cam belt and then giving it a whirl ?

finally are we likely to have any damage if the cams have been incorrectly set in relation to to the crank position?

And a final finally .......is there a tool available to lock the sprockets in position once set whilst I get the belt on, the Haynes manual suggests there is a piece of plastic that you can insert?....can this be bought anywhere......thanks in advance ?

1st the crank must be locked in the safe position using the hole in the gearbox back plate into the flywheel. This ISN'T at TDC top dead centre. A 6mm twist drill can be used for locking the flywheel. Your timing on the cam pullies sounds rite. The exhaust cam should say EXHAUST with a timing mark just left of the word Exhaust. The inlet cam should read INLET with a mark to the right of the word Inlet. These marks should point towards each other through the pulleys centre line. I suggest you get that checked by someone who has done it before! Also if you have spun the engine on the starter with the timing out you could well have bent a few valves!

So I take it this can be done with the engine in situ?.....is there a tool available to do this - and this is the position the crankshaft needs to be in and set with the cam shafts ?...thanks

Johnbrunt said:

So I take it this can be done with the engine in situ?.....is there a tool available to do this - and this is the position the crankshaft needs to be in and set with the cam shafts ?...thanks

Click to expand...

you can just use mark on crank sprocket ,i do , as well as lining up inlet on rear and exhaust on front so both meet,pins in cam end need to fit in the correct slot on each pulley

DONT TURN THE ENGINE OVER WITHOUT THE HEAD ON.
The liners will move and can cause other problems down the line, from the pics clean the top of the block with emery cloth use the metal dowels and the latest MLS gasket boltit all up.
Set the cams they are the same and use the settings described earlier but always turn the engine over by hand not the starter if you got it wrong it will lock up and won't do any damage if you do it on the starter motor it will bend valves.
I've had lots of fun with these engines !!

Mike