I recently collected my engine block and cylinder head from the company who made a superb job of cleaning them using their rust and grease busting dipping process.
Typically for a TR engine, there are issues to address. It would seem exhaust valve seats have been fitted but there are visible cracks on three of the combustion chambers between the inlet/exhaust seat faces.
And of course the two coolant holes between 2 and 3 have cracked and began merging.
Anyone had similar issues with their engine?
Will inlet seat inserts solve the cracks on the seat faces?
Can the crack between 2&3 be left or enlarged?
Until it's measured, I have no idea if the head has ever been skimmed, but given the crank is 30thou under, it likely has.
I've read up on the available info online, which proves sketchy and largely inconclusive.
You might get away with the water jacket, but the valve seat crack is probably terminal.
I know it's possible to patch/coldstitch cast Iron, but that's for irreplaceable museum pieces. This reinforces why the spares fund was, and still is, such a good idea.
Thanks mikerf, I saw that engine too. I want to keep my engine and chassis numbers together, assuming the engine is original. The trouble with the heads is that 50 per cent are cracked anyway so it would still be a case of buying the unknown and potentially finding the same problem. I've spoken to a company who are looking at the head next week and they also put me onto another company who have a special technique for sealing the casting. Fascinating stuff.
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Rust Never Sleeps - Cavity Wax and Valium Should Do It
Report back from the engineering firm: the head is not cracked nor is it leaking. The hairline cracks are heat related. The fitted exhaust valve seats are cast iron.
In short, it should repair with their TLC! Fingers crossed!
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Rust Never Sleeps - Cavity Wax and Valium Should Do It
I keep a set of aerosols in the shed for when I'm working with critical components like cranks or front suspension uprights.
Essentially you clean the component, spray the penetrating dye, clean it again, and then spray the detector. Any dye left in the crack quickly shows in the white detector. Somebody used to make a mini-aerosol version that was dead handy for taking to auto jumbles.
Tell me more Nigel, and I'll ask. I visited them again this morning to drop off the very tired valves and they talked me through how they will approach the repair if I want to proceed. I was absorbed listening to and seeing their expertise.
I'll reveal all once I know how/when the repair will progress.
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Rust Never Sleeps - Cavity Wax and Valium Should Do It