Soldato
- Joined
- 19 Oct 2002
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- 18,102
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Or if you're not a pleb use a rule and feeler gauges?
Possible HGF - Spec new car please!
- Thread starter ja3h
- Start date
It's in the Rover workshop manual, Page 78.
The bolts are allowed to stretch a certain amount before they have to be renewed, so you have to measure their length and ensure they are within limits. If they are too long the threaded section can bottom out before reaching the required clamping force.
They can typically be re-used several times, though some people prefer to renew the bolts anyway as third party ones are quite cheap. Personally I'd reuse the Rover parts in preference to cheap Chinese parts since material spec. is very important.
It depends on how vigilant the owner is. Slight overheating is ok, but if it's really cooked then not only can it warp the head it also softens the alloy which means less chance of the head holding a gasket, thus the "head saver" shim was born to help with this situation. Skimming also removes the hardened surface of a good head, so is not something that should be done as a matter of course, only if measurement indicates the head is not flat.
Yeah, I suspect this is the source of the very gradual loss of coolant in mine. It had the water pump + belt done about a year ago but still seems to be loosing some coolant. Might grab an IMG and get my mate's dad to help me change it in a few months.
Dogbreath is bang on the money, nice to see someone giving some good and correct advice.
Having replaced in excess of 100 K series head gaskets over the course of nearly 19 years........I can count the times I've replaced head bolt sets on one hand.
Having replaced in excess of 100 K series head gaskets over the course of nearly 19 years........I can count the times I've replaced head bolt sets on one hand.
Associate
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- 23 Nov 2002
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- Faygate, West Sussex
I did the head gasket on a 214 a few years ago, didn't need a skim as it hadn't over heated (was just displaying early symptoms)
And I used the same headbolts as they hand't streatched beyond the prescribed limit.
No need to replace the cambelt or tensioner as they both had less than 20k on them, so was a cheap fix tbh.
And I used the same headbolts as they hand't streatched beyond the prescribed limit.
No need to replace the cambelt or tensioner as they both had less than 20k on them, so was a cheap fix tbh.
The belts and water pump were done 3 years ago. I'm not sure if it has over heated, it was at a point where the engine fan came on and I waited for it to cool down and there was no coolant in the expansion tank. When I checked on the coolant a week later I removed the cap and there wasn't a hiss (It does do that right?) and the coolant was low!
The temperature gauge has never passed the middle point - but maybe that is broken!!
The temperature gauge has never passed the middle point - but maybe that is broken!!
Once the coolant level gets too low, the sensor will not be immersed and the reported temperature will likely go down rather than up. This is a sign to stop immediately!
With 3 years under the timing belt and tensioners I'd personally replace them if the head has to come off. It's hardly any extra work, so boils down to the cost of the parts. I'm assuming the rest of the car is in good condition and worth repairing...
If the only symptom was coolant loss, i.e. no water/oil mixing then there is a possibility that the head gasket ok - it's not unknown for head gasket failures to be incorrectly diagnosed on these engines as people tend to jump to conclusions!