Fitting a TD5 AMC Head

Hi
My previous thread on my TD5 Stripdown and Rebuild, showed the rebuild I had to do as a result of a mild runaway caused by 6 litres of diesel leaking into the sump from a cracked No1 injector pocket.
I enjoyed the rebuild and the 4000 odd miles of driving after, but always in the back of my mind was, would the head crack again?
I routinely checked the oil level every few days, all ok until last month when the level shot up, sure enough the repair had cracked!
I wanted to keep the D2 so I decided to splash out on a new AMC head, got mine from Turners, with the new bolts, gasket, seals and some other odd bits, it came to £1450.
Frida from Turners was great, got the head shipped next day even though she was off on her holiday the day after!
First pics show the head as recd, it was very obvious that the AMC head had much chunkier injector pockets! Sorry for the weird colours later, I forgot the camera was set for tungsten lighting.

Hmm pics not showing!
Ill try to use Photobucket instead of Google!

The old head was removed, quite easy.
Couple of tips:
I can never get the push fit fuel hose couplings to release so I just disconnect the whole pipe assembly from the FPR.
Dont bother removing the fuel cooler, just unbolt it from the inlet manifold.
Leave the inlet manifold in place, the bolts are a total PITA to get to!
Leave the turbo in place, remove the exhaust manifold.
Remove the injectors
The head can be lifted off by hand, its easy if you have help, I didnt!
When the oil was drained out a total of 13 litres of oil/diesel came out, it should have been about 7.5 litres!

Some other comparison pics
Heads together

Old head showing previous repair

AMC head with thicker pockets

Different internal castings
Old

New

So to the fitting!
I dont have a workshop now so a 20ft container works quite well!

Before starting work, clean the new head, use a lint free (microfibre) cloth and meths, Dont use cotton rags or paper towels, they will leave lots of threads on the sharp machined edges.

Transfer any studs and brackets from the old head to the new one.
When the old head was stripped down the parts were stored using my favourite freezer bag system, just number the rollers and lash adjusters 1-10
EDIT DO NOT PUT YOUR HYDRAULIC TAPPETS IN A BAG!!!! KEEP THEM UPRIGHT!!!!!

The AMC head comes with new valves, springs etc. They also supply new exhaust studs and copper injector seals.
The TD5 head comes in two parts, the top part retains the camshaft, its bolted to the head and also through bolted to the block, so its not possible to change the camshaft without removing the head.
The joint between the two parts must be oil tight as the galleries in the top part supply oil to the camshaft and the lash adjusters.
Clean the mating faces with meths and apply the sealant, then use a small gloss paint/foam roller spread the sealant into a thin layer.

Page from RAVE showing where sealant has to go, do let it get into the channels/galleries. Or the camshaft bearings.


Oil up the cam bearings with assembly oil or normal oil.

Then after fitting the camshaft, fit the top part of the head and bolt down, in sequence and to the torque in RAVE.
IMPORTANT
As soon as you fit the cam, some of the valves will protrude below the head face, so make sure your head is supported on the ends, the packing from the AMC box was perfect.

NOTE: I decided to build up my head before fitting it, but you can just fit the head, without bolts then build up the cam, etc before bolting it down, its your choice, if you build up the head before fitting, try to use a crane to install it, or have a bigger garage and a mate to help!
Injectors fitted, new, genuine, seals. Oil up the injector o rings and push fit the injectors.

For anyone who's interested, this is how I remove TD5 injectors!, slightly bent tent peg, works a charm!
Also on this close up, the numbers you can see are the head bolt tightening sequence, thats coming later!

Before fitting the head, clean the block deck. The old head had only been on a few months so not much cleaning was needed.
Use your fingers to feel for high spots. I used 1000 grit wet and dry, wetted with WD40, wash after with meths.
To add, the head bolts are obvioulsy tightened in sequence, the AMC guide was different to RAVE and involved 8 stages! Mark the head with sequence numbers first then check off each stage on the guide.

Before you refit the head, use the easy access to change your CPS (crank sensor) if you want!

Fitting the head; I used the RAVE method, use an engine crane.
I didnt want to risk dinging the valves/injectors by man handling the head on.
I have a 1 tonne SGS crane, but a 2 tonne would be better, it takes a bit of trial and error to set the arm correctly, you need max extension.
Also I used a strap and leveler to pre set the angle of the head, you have to angle it back at first to just clear the bulkhead lip, then bring the front down, be careful not to catch on the timing sprocket.
It took a long time but no damage to the head or my back!
The arm isnt bending, Ive got it set way beyond its normal limit!


Ok all in, after the head is fitted, its another couple of hours work to connect the exhaust manifold, fuel cooler, fuel pipes, cooling system etc.
Couple of purges and she started almost first turn.
Qute happy with the result
Now to fix the 3 Amigos!
Any questions just ask!
Thanks for reading.. Mark

Nice write up. When I had the three amigos I used a Nanocom Classic to flush and bleed the high pressure ABS brake circuits one wheel at a time. It is one of the menu options.
Sorted it out with no cost other than brake fluid. All after Landrover Stealer told me I needed a new shuttle valve assembly and wabco unit.

Hi Shifty. Thanks!
Popped it over to Turners in Bedford, it needed the flashing odometer reset so he checked the fault codes.
Intermittent fault N/S front ABS sensor.
He cleared the faults and it hasn't come back so far, cost me £40, so happy days!
Mark

Often it is just a dirty abs connector causes the problem. Mine was old brake fluid and/or air in the system so a good power flush solved the three amigos. Nanocom paid for itself on that occasion alone. No idea why the LR dealer in Guildford could not find the problem but I guess they were only interested in taking my money. If they had changed the shuttle valve and wabco they would have had to bleed the system solving the problem so who would ever know? The three other Fenders I've looked at with the three amigos were all dirty connectors on the front wheel abs sensors. Quick clean and a smear of vaseline and good to go. Its the first place I look now as it only takes a few minutes and costs nowt.

Thanks Ill check them over this weekend.
Ive got a whole arsenal of cleaning/protecting sprays from work that are great for connectors.
Mark

Cheers Mark very interesting, let's hope this is the end of the line with your engine problems. Just wondered was it the repaired injector pocket that gave up or was it something else?
By the way did you get out through the sun roof when you put it in the container?
I did my injector seals again over the weekend and I have the same AMC head on my engine, the old one failed when the previous owner had the vehicle, it was that and needing a new rear cross member which helped tip the balance and made him sell it.

Hi Ray!
Yes fingers crossed! Once again I'm planning a long trip this year.
Im a lot more confident now I dont feel the need to check my oil level every few days!
I checked the width of the container first, if you park with the left side hard against the inside, you can quite easily get in and out of the car!
Which is handy, cos my Commercial D2 doesn't have sunroofs!!
Mark

markomate2 said:

Hi
My previous thread on my TD5 Stripdown and Rebuild, showed the rebuild I had to do as a result of a mild runaway caused by 6 litres of diesel leaking into the sump from a cracked No1 injector pocket.
I enjoyed the rebuild and the 4000 odd miles of driving after, but always in the back of my mind was, would the head crack again?
I routinely checked the oil level every few days, all ok until last month when the level shot up, sure enough the repair had cracked!
I wanted to keep the D2 so I decided to splash out on a new AMC head, got mine from Turners, with the new bolts, gasket, seals and some other odd bits, it came to £1450.
Frida from Turners was great, got the head shipped next day even though she was off on her holiday the day after!
First pics show the head as recd, it was very obvious that the AMC head had much chunkier injector pockets! Sorry for the weird colours later, I forgot the camera was set for tungsten lighting.

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Hi Marc , I have fitted my new AMC head (new Turbo cartridge, new waterpump , steering pump etc etc ) , but something must have gone wrong , It started almost immediately, but there was a huge amount of white/grey smoke and my oil level dropped very very fast , I didn't do the 8 stage but the rave 4 stage . What did I do wrong ?? Need help as I am going to the sahara the 11th of august . Thanks

Where did you have your head repaired? Was it tig welded? I take it you wouldn't recommend this route.

brianconwy said:

Where did you have your head repaired? Was it tig welded? I take it you wouldn't recommend this route.

Click to expand...

Hi , it is a brand new AMC head

Urban Traveller said:

Hi , it is a brand new AMC head

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Sorry. I meant Mark's original head before the AMC one. It's my wife's car and she won't spend that much on it. She has now got a little Kia hatchback while we get this going (hopefully). She may well sell the disco and stick with the Kia. We have had the Disco since 2007 and it may be the time to sell on. Thanks.