P38A Diesel Head Removal - Flywheel Pin / Camshaft Locking Plate

Grrrrrr said:

Step back, breathe. Let the f*cker lie for a bit. Get it nervous and think it is destined for the scrappy. In a few weeks go back and reassess.

How high up is the water? Sure it isn't the water-pump seal that has been disturbed?

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Hahaha, sounds like you've been there before!

Took a step back. Made a cuppa. The left hand long M6 bolt that clamps the head to front cover looked like the offending item. I removed the bolt, and the water leak immediately got worse. I therefore added a little Loctite 542 just in case the bolt travels through to the water jacket and tightened it up to 20Nm. The leak, so far as I could see, then stopped. I checked the torque of all other bolts and ensured they were tightened to 20Nm.

I went through the bleed procedure for the injectors, and once it started to leak diesel and intermittently fire (this did take a good 30 seconds of cranking), tightened them up. I then started the engine and it fired to life. After a few minutes the idle smoothed out and the hydraulic lifters quietened down. It now idles absolutely beautifully and there is no water leak from the head that I can see.

I ran the engine for 25 minutes as per RAVE, and then shut it off to cool down overnight tonight.

The pickup on throttle most of the time was absolutely spot on. I didn't want to put it under boost, even sat on the drive not moving, before the head is torqued the last 90 degrees, but blipping the throttle briefly, it felt torquey.

I did notice a couple of times a few minutes after starting, the engine didn't respond to the throttle at all. This seemed to instantly resolve itself when I fitted the intake runner across the top of the engine to the air filter, but this may have been coincidence.

A few things to check tomorrow in addition to the final head torque is a small oil leak from the camshaft vacuum pump o ring (it is new) and diesel leaking from No.1 cylinder leak off (the pipe that goes back to the pump, all others look fine).

After over a year with no update, I'm pleased to say the truck has now covered the best part of 7,000 miles since this thread ended and still runs spot on!

Thanks so much for everyone's help, and for the laughs which kept me sane, especially to @wammers whose expert knowledge was absolutely invaluable - top bloke!

If anyone finds themselves rebuilding a P38 diesel, hopefully this thread proves as useful as it did to me.

TwoAndAQuarter said:

After over a year with no update, I'm pleased to say the truck has now covered the best part of 7,000 miles since this thread ended and still runs spot on!

Thanks so much for everyone's help, and for the laughs which kept me sane, especially to @wammers whose expert knowledge was absolutely invaluable - top bloke!

If anyone finds themselves rebuilding a P38 diesel, hopefully this thread proves as useful as it did to me.

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Glad it's been trouble free and it's NOT a truck btw. and I'm afraid wammers passed away a short time ago,but his legacy lives on.

tomcat59alan said:

Glad it's been trouble free and it's NOT a truck btw. and I'm afraid wammers passed away a short time ago,but his legacy lives on.

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That's properly gutting to hear . RIP Tony, you will be sorely missed although your knowledge will live on.

Sorry about calling the P38 a truck I've got a Series - can I call that a truck?

TwoAndAQuarter said:

That's properly gutting to hear . RIP Tony, you will be sorely missed although your knowledge will live on.

Sorry about calling the P38 a truck I've got a Series - can I call that a truck?

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You can call that one a shed.

tomcat59alan said:

You can call that one a shed.

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Yea? ..... 1958 sat on the drive started first time, never had a dead battery, one fuse........ and looks as cool as f**k

Can you do that?

Dopey said:

Can you do that?

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Never tried,but it does look fun.My only experience of a Series was many years ago towing cables from the winch at a gliding club, it was noisy draughty and stunk of cooking sheepsh1t which had been thrown up onto the exhaust.it does look like my shed at the moment, open to the elements awaiting for the tree to be felled. No insult intended looks cool

tomcat59alan said:

Never tried,but it does look fun.My only experience of a Series was many years ago towing cables from the winch at a gliding club, it was noisy draughty and stunk of cooking sheepsh1t which had been thrown up onto the exhaust.it does look like my shed at the moment, open to the elements awaiting for the tree to be felled. No insult intended looks cool

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I am not saying it doesn't have its faults.....

Dopey said:

Can you do that?

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Yes i can.

Both ways up

tomcat59alan said:

Never tried,but it does look fun.My only experience of a Series was many years ago towing cables from the winch at a gliding club, it was noisy draughty and stunk of cooking sheepsh1t which had been thrown up onto the exhaust.it does look like my shed at the moment, open to the elements awaiting for the tree to be felled. No insult intended looks cool

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That was how I started driving, although the one I drove was pretty clean.