Thread: What to do after V8 head removal

That's the way I did do it. Hard work though when your doing it for the first time. When sprawled across the engine I'm sure most of my weight was on my groin.
Next time will be easier. In another 20 years, I hope.

A bit premature at this stage, but the best piece of advice I used when I did my V8 was once I had it all back together. I went to start it and it wouldn't fire. After 2-3 hours of playing around with the timing, checking for spark, checking for fuel and general pulling out of hair, I found a very helpful post in a random thread that told me the Rover V8 is prone to flooding when you try to start it for the first time after a rebuild. So a quick squirt of Start Ya Bastard and pinning the throttle pedal to the floor the old lump burst into life. It's a shame that information isn't shared in the Haynes or Rave manuals! You can send the case of beer to me at.......

Hopefully it won't come to that. I expect it to start first time.
But all advice appreciated.

I'm sure if you leave the ign on till the dash lights go out,, it will fire straight up.

Not quite Pedro, but close.
Turned over for about 5 seconds without starting. Tried again and away it went. No tappet noise at all, just purred like a kitten.
So far no leaks either.

Couldn't have done it with out your help, so thank you to those who did.

Next job: Transmission flush.
Then: Repair diff flange leak
All pretty simple compared to the head gasket and radiator repair.

Just for closure, diff flange successfully sealed.
Drained transmission tonight but oil is quite clean so I think I'll just refill and not bother about the full flush or the filter for now.
Hopefully I can enjoy some leak free motoring for a little while.

Originally Posted by biggin

Hopefully I can enjoy some leak free motoring for a little while.

Hopefully you have achieved what most Landrover owners can only dream about.

Oh goodie, I get to replace head gaskets again, but this time it’s in my new secondhand .[emoji6]L V[emoji[emoji6]] (due to coolant leak on left hand rear). It lasted six years, so not a bad run.

There are a couple of things I can’t remember from before:
Is it advisable to use Hylomar or other sealant on the Elring head gasket?
Do the TTY bolts need to be lubricated?

I hope the heads don’t need a skim as I have to get this done over the Easter weekend, ready for a trip to SA the following week. Good timing eh?