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I'll get a straight edge. Better to be safe than sorry!
Yeah I'm ordering the whole kit, probably won't do valve seals as I've not got the tools, will just change the necessary gaskets.
I'm half-tempted to send the exhaust manifolds off to get ceramic coated though...
Cheers
Keithy
Yeah do that and get rid of those bloody heat plates that are always in the way. Mine have been in now for 2 years and still look like new.
Sorry to butt in; but Peter did you notice much difference in engine bay temps?
I hope you have better luck than I finding a straight edge. Literally nowhere in Bendigo had one att.
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I used Elring gasket set which has as standard a composite valley gasket. I paid extra and bought a separate metal one which I set in place with Loctite 518 (spread cling-wrap thin). The Elring gasket set has a lot of extra bits because it covers several different versions of the Rover V8.
On advice from the local engineering shop (Chilton's at Woolloongabba) only the inlet valves were fitted with new seals, not the exhaust valves which were cleaned up and replaced with out seals. Apparently this reduces the chance carbon/varnish deposits building up on the stems of the exhaust valves.
Have a real good look at the cam... look for discolouration of the lobes and evidence of chipping. They are notoriously 'soft' and it's unlikely to escape the need for replacement if it has done more than 200,000km. Mine was shot at less than 140k km but I suspect the POs were slack with oil changes.
If you change the camshaft, you're going to need to change the lifters at least. Assuming the rockers are original, carefully check the pads for wear. As much as it "hurt" I opted for a matched set of 'steel' ones which I got from Turners (UK) for about the same price as local (including o/seas freight). The beauty of the steel ones is that they are machined from a single casting and have no inserts which are known to work loose (they are only staked in place).
The Thor engine only accepts a single chain so you need to go for reputable after market... I'd replace this and while you're at it, the camshaft position sensor as well...
I didn't go overboard except for the ARP head studs, everything else is stock standard...it still cost me about $1,800 for machining, gaskets, water pump, head studs, timing chain and wheel/sprocket, cam (stock standard), lifters, rockers, rocker shafts, spark plugs, NKG leads, camshaft sensor, new coil packs, coolant, oil filters, engine mounts... ( Above cost included all local and o/seas freight etc) I did all the pull down /replacement / rebuild myself..
It's a very satisfying exercise! If I had a proper garage space I would have removed the engine and done a more thorough job (= incl. welsh plugs, rear main seal etc).
Good luck with it.
cheers
Keith you can purchase a simple valve compressor for a few $ at most of the usual auto outlets. Buy a simple hand lapping stick and a tin of lapping paste and you can just clean up the valve surfaces. It's probably a Sat. afternoon's work to do them all and replace them in the heads with new stem seals. There are quite a few very good YouTube videos on how to do this....alternatively, you may even have all the kit from your "179" days:angel::D
Thanks guys! I'm not really aiming for a full top-end rebuild though! Provided the heads are flat I'm happy just to change gaskets and be done with it! I'm saving the coin for an LS stroker conversion in a few years.
My motor is in fantastic condition, absolutely no lifter noise or oil consumption. Plan was originally to just do the Welch plugs and put it back in. I'm going to do the head gaskets because I've noticed the passenger side head has either a loose bolt or two, or the gasket on the front outer edge is gone. I can see a flutter with the engine running from underneath. Nothing major but it's another bird with the same stone. Same for the rear main and a low-stall torque converter (if I can find one).
I'll inspect the cam, if it's looking sad I'll replace it (and the lifters), and probably go into valve stem seals and valve cleanup then too.
I'll definitely do the cam sensor too. Crank sensor is only 1yr old so I'll leave that. Will change the coil packs though, probably plugs and leads too.
Thanks for the advice on the Elring gasket set, plus metal valley gasket, definitely a good idea and I'll do that. My motor has 240,000km and I think it had a rebuild before I got it (200,000km on the odo when I got it). Even Paul commented on how smooth my motor is when I passed through for a "coffee-come-beer"!
If the cam needs replacement I'll opt for a towing cam to get some more low-rpm torque from the big girl.
As for the 179 days tool kit... If it was 7/16 it fit! Could do a complete rebuild with one spanner on that motor!
Cheers
Keithy