Hi Ted,
When you say that the surfaces "seem" to be flat, are you absolutely sure that
a straight
edge laid at right angles to the head & across the cylinder to cylinder joint
surfaces
will not pass a .001" feeler gage?
Permatex "might" seal a water leak, but is no where near strong enough to seal
any
combustion pressure leaks between cylinders.
Don't minimize the need for very good cylinder head studs & nuts. They might be
costly but
are really needed. You can see the studs, nuts, & washers here. Also the
expensive steel
head gasket.
http://www.bighealey.co.uk/section.php?id=1
Check the cylinder head deck thickness. If it is less than about 0.200" thick,
due to
previous milling, it's not likely to hold a gasket very well under any
conditions.
You might investigate the shim rings that Dave Porter mentions. I have used
.030" wide
grooves cut around the cylinder bores with steel wire rings in the grooves to
seal high
pressure turbocharged engines, but not on an engine with so little space
between the
bores. In my opinion, on the Healey, it would be very costly & might not
produce the
desired result.
In the end, I personally used a DW aluminum head which has a much thicker deck
surface.
The push rod is likely only stuck by the oil seal in the joint. You could
probably dribble
some brake cleaner down the push rod & with enough rod rotating, light pulling,
side to
side wiggling, get the joint to come loose.
Regards,
Dave Russell
Ted Schroeder wrote:
> Dave,
>
> Thanks for the reply. I did check the head and block surfaces with a straight
>edge and
> feeler guage just as you suggested. They both seem to be flat. This engine
>was built
> up not that long ago.
>
> What about using Permatex as Norman Nock suggests in his Tech Tips book?
>
> Also, I forgot to ask about another problem. One pushrod is stuck in the
>lifter. I'm
> afraid if I just yank it out the lifter will come out of it's hole and get
>crossed up.
> I'd like to avoid removing the side cover if possible. Any thoughts?
>
> Thanks again, Ted
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