Rusted tappets!

[StagManiac]

Many of the parts I have took off my 1975 Stag have been in storage ever since - some 20 years! About that time, I also bought a pair of secondhand cylinder heads - Mk. 2 to match the engine and the rest of the car. They were stored on the floor of the garage, upside down so they sat on the camshaft bearing cap retaining studs rather than the valves and cylinder head mating surfaces.Going through the parts in the past year, I noticed that the camshafts and tappets had deteriorated badly, so decided to strip the heads down. I removed the camshafts without difficulty and think they may be usable, although I am by no means certain. The tappets, however, have rusted in place.I managed to free one or two of them off and removed them but is there a way I could persuade the remainder to leave the cylinder heads? I have tried persuading them fairly gently using the valves to dislodge them but no joy.The whole car will be restored by me in the next few years, so there is no tearing hurry. The cylinder head castings seem otherwise to be in reasonable shape, so I'd like to strip them down completely in preparation for the restoration to begin in earnest.Any ideas as to how I could shift the rusty tappets?By the way, I have been a lurker - sometimes poster - on here for a while and think this forum is one of the very best I have come across. THANK YOU! Paul

[mjheathcote]

The worry would be if the buckets have rusted in position, has the alloy head been damaged after they have come out?
you can get oversize buckets though, if not too damaged.
i would soak the heads in WD40, you can buy it in 5lt's.
Cheers
Mike

[StagManiac]

That is my concern too. If that has happened, would it be a realistic option to sleeve the tappet bores with bronze liners? Expensive, I guess but if the heads are otherwise in good condition, I guess it could be worthwhile. Or perhaps the bores would clean up okay and I could go with some oversize tappets, as you say.I shall try some penetrating oil again. I tried about a year ago but only a couple of times. I'll give 'em a good soaking over the coming days or weeks.Cheers.Paul

[V Mad]

Soak them in Plus Gas/diesel?WD40 whatever for a couple of weeks then tap them down against the pring pressure. Then if necessary tap the end of the valves to close the valves. Eventually they will release. I would be surprised if the bores were damaged and needed work.

[alan_thomas]

I had a similar problem with a couple of heads I bought. In the end I had to MIG a thick 3/4 washer to the top of a
couple of buckets this allowed me to use a small slide hammer to pull them out. Replacements don't cost much.
Give them a good long soak in Plusgas first though. - Alan

[StagManiac]

Thank you, guys. You have put my mind at rest a little more.

I took some pictures of the cylinder heads.

Rusty tappets.



Closer shot.



Some corrosion to the water way in this head. It will probably need to be welded up before the head can be used, I'd have thought.



The other head. I managed to remove the four middle tappets without difficulty a year or so ago, when I first started fiddling with these heads.



The mating faces.





These heads are not the original ones from my engine. A friend who was helping with my restoration work over 20 years ago was storing the engine for me and managed to 'lose' them! Anyway, I'd already bought another pair in case the originals got damaged in removal. Lucky I did!

At some point, I'll start a thread about my Stag. The shell is at my parent's house about 15 miles away. Some day, I'll drag it over here but not until I can store the shell safely and in the dry. But I'll get some pictures of it.

EDIT - I forgot to mention, that's a great idea about welding a washer to the tappets. They're beyond reuse anyway. I might give that a go. The thermal shock might help too.

Paul