Adrian and Randall,
The "rope-down-the-plug-hole" trick, is a less preferred means to
remove the head from a wet linered engine because you have not
anchored the liners and you are spinning the engine. If one of
the liners shifts, you have the possibility of having coolant/oil
leak at the figure-of-eight gaskets.
Adrian, if the engine has been together for many years, you will
most likely be OK, but there is the possibility that one or more
of the liners may have shifted in it's bore. Unfortunately there
is no way of knowing without either disassembling and redoing, or
ignoring it and putting it all back together and hoping for the
best.
I would suspect there was no liner movement and that your engine
will be fine, especially if the engine has been together for a
while because the liners get locked in place by the accumulation
of rust, dirt and other cr*p over the years. I know I had to
beat the liners out of the engine I rebuilt last year with a 5
huge block of oak and a 5 pound hammer and that was after soaking
them in penetrating oil for several days.
For anyone else pulling a wet linered engine head, THE
"ROPE-DOWN-THE-PLUG-HOLE" TRICK, IS DEFINITELY NOT THE PREFERRED
SOLUTION FOR REMOVING THE HEAD OF A WET LINERED ENGINE. Wood
wedges work great; it just takes a while.
Regards,
Jack Brooks
Hillsdale, NJ
1960 TR3A TS69032LO
1974 Norton 850 Commando Roadster
> Hi folks,
> Well, the head is off and lying on the garage floor. Phew!
>
> The easy bit was getting everything out the way,
> thanks to Randall's tip to
> leave the carbs connected.
>
> The tough part was actually lifting the head off. After the
> "rope-down-the-plug-hole" trick, I then resorted to
> tapping in small
> wooden wedges (from some clothes pegs), eventually
> leading up to a 2x4
> lever.
>
> The gasket actually had broken along that thin strip
> from #3 hole to the
> water hole (next to #2). This jives with the #3 plug
> being visibly soaked
> with coolant when I first became aware of the
> problem. Also, there is a
> slight deposit here on the liner that is not present
> anywhere else.
>
> Should I just clean up as best I can and put in a new
> gasket, or should I
> take the head to a shop and have them clean it and
> check it out? If so,
> whats the proper ettiquette - can I leave it all oily
> and horrible in a
> plastic garbage bag or should I make some attempt at
> cleaning it up before
> bringing it to the shop?
>
> Many Thanks, Adrian (That head is quite heavy, isn't it!)
>
>
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