FT’s Patrol Project

[Flying Torquewrench]

Thats fair enough Rick. The guy I deal with does it as a hobby. He normally gives me two prices, one delivered directly and another one with a 5-6 week wait.

Like my head gasket, if I wanted it shipped tomorrow then it would cost $240AUD or he could get it straight from Japan for $150AUD but it takes 5-6 weeks. Got a few things coming for which time is not of the essence so happily wait 5-6 weeks to get them half price..

With the head gasket I don’t want to wait two months and the UK dealer was only £10 dearer after shipping from Oz so a bit of a no brainer.

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

First parts have started to arrive. A set of new head bolts arrived today. :thumb2

I am hoping that all parts are in by the end of the week so that I can get it sorted over the weekend. Otherwise it will be the second half of next week as I am working the first few days.

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

It is a shame but the head gasket hasn’t arrived yet. It was a tall order to get it here before the weekend but there was hope. Oh well, the weather is staying nice for the next week so at least that works in my favour.

A new rocker cover seal has arrived. I am planning on reusing the old (2 weeks) seal but ordered a new one just in case. Would be a shame if a £15 seal would delay me even longer. Especially as the valve clearance needs to be measured occasionally, a new seal will come in useful one day.

 

[solarman216]

Have you got the head off? why was it leaking? Rick

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

No, the head is still on. I am waiting to get all the parts in so that I can keep the engine “open” for as short as time possible. Shouldn’t take more then a day or day and a half to get her back up and running.

I am expecting it to be a low quality aftermarket head gasket resulting in a leak. Now I am getting a genuine head gasket that is one notch thicker (0.08mm).

My plan is to remove the exhaust/inlet manifolds first, as the leak is somewhere around that area. Then lightly pressurise the cooling system and watch if I can see where the leak is coming from. At least that should give me a specific area to check when the head is off.

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

Today started with a trip to the workplace of my other half to place an order for 55 railway sleepers. Our garden slopes significantly and initially we had planned to build a few walls. On second thought this would lead to too much stone in the garden which detracts from the “cottage garden”.

As we are registered to keep farm animals we can still legally buy proper creosote. This was bought a few weeks ago and the parts of the sleepers that touch the soil will be liberally coated in creosote. Followed by a breathable membrane and these sleepers should last a long time.

When we got back I started stripping everything out of the engine bay. Currently I have just the bare block, including cylinder head and radiator. I have slightly pressurised the cooling system and so far it is all dry. The mystery deepens.

I am now thinking that the leak may have been somewhere else and the coolant has just made its way along the block to the back. (Lowest point) At the front of the cylinder head is a coolant connection from the top of the radiator to the head. This bit of pipe is attached to the head with two nuts onto studs and has a seal which needs to be made with sealant. This pipe needs to come off as underneath it is a bolt to keep the cylinder head on the block.

I had a leak here after putting everything back together. So this could be the reason why the coolant was appearing at the back of the block. I have temporarily made a seal out of an old wheelbarrow inner tube while testing for leaks. If it stays dry now then I think I found the source of the coolant.

Next will be the decision if I am still go ahead and replace the head gasket with a genuine one or if I put it with the rest of my spares. We will see what tomorrow brings.

 

[solarman216]

I would very much doubt that you coolant leak is from your head gasket, so yes look at other stuff, Rick

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

There are two leaks earlier. One on the Turbo and one on the coolant pile as described above. Due to the location of the Turbo this can under no circumstance lead to coolant dripping of the block.

Hence it can only be the pipe on the head or the head gasket. Since sealing the leak on the coolant pipe the block has been dry. (Haven’t checked this morning yet after leaving it overnight).

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

This morning all was dry under the engine so I decided to leave the head gasket as is. I drained the coolant so that I could change gasket on the turbo oil/coolant return.

Instead of just replacing the gasket I removed the whole drain tube from the engine, 1 coolant pipe and 2 oil pipes. When I checked the gasket in good light it was obvious that it was the wrong way around. Difficult to see when under the car in less then ideal light conditions. It was only 0.5mm out but just enough to leak. New gasket installed in the right orientation. :thumb2

The coolant pipe is resealed onto the cylinder head. Hopefully this solves all my leaks. I have stopped now so that the sealant can go off in good time. The forecast for tomorrow is rain for most of the day but I have to be able to fit the top coolant pipe, intercooler and fill her up again with coolant. Battery is fully charged (it’s on its way out) and go to go to start her up again. Fingers crossed. :bow

 

[solarman216]

Moderate success then FT, told you it would not be the head gasket, and easy to miss a small 3 hole gasket that is offset, Rick

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

I didn’t really expect a small leak at the front of the engine to be visible at the back on the opposite side. But then looking at the engine orientation it does actually makes sense.

Having a few extra spare parts is always useful. :doh

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

She is back up and running. She ran rough initially until I noticed that I had a fuel leak from the fuel pump output side. I didn’t tighten a union sufficiently so that was quickly sorted.

At the moment I can’t see any leaks. :thumb2 If this is still the same in the morning then I will fit the bumper/lights/grill etc and take her for a spin. Will be good to have her back on the road as it has taken just over 3 months.

 

[solarman216]

Wo hoo up and running at last, well done mate, will see you good for a long time to come, Rick

ps, latest on my head, had notification that it has been shipped so looking good for 10th August but now that mine is running well the pressure is off, but am very keen to see what difference the 10mm plunger will make over the existing 9mm

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

Thanks Rick, I hope that she will see me through now. Once a I change the running in oil for normal oil (25hours/250miles) I will check valve clearances again and do another compression test to see how she is performing.

Hopefully you get your head by the 10th of August. I take it that it is coming by sea? It will be interesting to see what effect the bigger plunger has.

 

[solarman216]

Hopefully you get your head by the 10th of August. I take it that it is coming by sea? It will be interesting to see what effect the bigger plunger has.

No think it is air freight, last one came via Singapore in around 15 days from shipping, sea is around 30 days plus, 10mm plunger should mean i can back off the fuel screw a fair bit so reducing tensions on the control springs giving more precise throttle control, Rick

 

[Fez_uk]

Glad to hear it's running again!

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

Air freight shouldn’t be too bad. When I ordered from Oz it sat around at the airport for a bit but this was due to the severely limited amount of flights to Oz. China sees more flights as they haven’t got a quota for people coming in.

Thanks Fez_uk. :thumb2 Took her on a short journey yesterday and she runs beautifully.

At the moment there is an unfamiliar noise coming from under the bonnet. Haven’t figured out what it is but my suspicion is the alternator belts. Once I got my sleepers in I will investigate.

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

Never expected to say this but it is nice to be eating aircraft food again at 37.000ft. On our way to Larnaca at just under 574mph due to a 78mph tailwind.
Here we are flying over Hungary with Budapest (LHBP) at our 10 o’clock at 120 nautical miles.

 

[solarman216]

What plane you in? Rick

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

That particular one is an Airbus A320 but I also fly the Airbus A350.

Unfortunately life has changed since Covid hit. I used to fly part time and work as an engineer on my off blocks. With the impact of Covid I have now temporarily (hopefully) gone back to only flying.