Ben,
This may seem a little far fetched, but is it possible some of the
carbon you scraped off went down into the engine, possibly blocking a
cooling passage, or an oil passage to the rocker arms?
Are you absolutely sure the head gasket went on the right way? Could
there be cooling and oil passages blocked by a "flopped" installation?
Did you have an overheating problem before the decoke? Did you have
tappet noise before?
You may want to pull the head one more time and check.
Good luck,
Charlie B.
>
> Help, I'm not sure if I'm getting paranoid. Here's the history -
>
> I decoked my the engine of my Herald 1,300 miles ago including new gaskets. I
>was completely crusty and
> subsequently ran much more smoothly. However, tappet-type noise increased
>despite checking the valve
> clearances.
>
> Over the last two weeks it has overheated twice - the first time through a
>faulty thermostat, the second due to a
> leaky hose.
>
> I changed the oil and flushed the rad this morning and hoped that that would
>be the end of it. Having then driven
> the 30 odd miles into work, the engine seems to still be running hot (I have
>no temp gauge fitted yet) and there is an
> occasional whiff of hot oil. The tappet noise is definately louder and idling
>is a bit lumpy. No loss of power or
> knocking noises, no water on the dip stick, apparently no evidence of leaks.
>
> Am I being paranoid? Perhaps the smell is just spilt oil burning off, perhaps
>I need to recheck the valve clearances.
>
> Does anyone have any words of wisdom. How do I flush entire the cooling
>system to make sure there are no
> blockages? Could I have done a duff head reassembly and have a blown gasket?
>
> I would be very grateful of any suggested checks which I could do when I
>return home.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Ben
> Herald 1200 / Dolomite 1500 eng.
|