Voila! The head is now off the TR3A and, sho 'nuff, the gasket was damaged
at the left rear corner of number 4 cylinder. The wash of water and
anti-freeze through the cylinder appears to have cleaned up the top of that
piston
nicely.
I've cleaned up the head and block surfaces by careful scraping and wiping.
Now comes the next barrage of questions:
1. Can I clean the carbon off the piston crowns with them in the
cylinders? If so, what's the right treatment?
2. Same question for the valve faces and cylinder head. How best to get
the carbon off?
3. What is the thread size of the coarse end of the head bolts entering
the block? How about the studs for the manifold?
4. What's the right approach on reinstalling the head bolts? Just lube
with motor oil or use a threadlocker? It seemed that some type of goo was on
my head bolts as they came out.
5. Any other cleaning tips while I have the head on the bench?
The good news is that the cylinder head measures flat across the board. I'm
attributing the blown head gasket to several bouts of overheating during the
past year. The day before all hell broke loose two weeks ago found me in
stop and go traffic for an hour. That may have been the heat that broke the
levee.
For what it's worth, here's how I got the head off. After taking off the
head bolt nuts, I applied penetrant to each bolt until it was no longer
absorbed. I then removed all but three of the head bolts. I then loosened
the
remaining three bolts just a tad to be sure they were no longer binding
against
the holes in the head. The head then came straight up and out guided on the
remaining three head bolts.
Not official procedure, but it seemed to work slick. That head was not
moving with ten bolts through it.
Many thanks to everyone on the list who provided invaluable guidance.
Bill Stagg
1960 TR3A
Indianapolis
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