Heads, core plugs, overheating etc. What's happening?

[dasadrew]

Thanks Edd, I also went to the local heated Jetwash with the heads in the boot and gave them a good blast! Have you ever noticed that, whatever hole you point the jetwash into, the jet will always exit into your face?

Drew

[Kithmo]

thanks edd, i also went to the local heated jetwash with the heads in the boot and gave them a good blast! Have you ever noticed that, whatever hole you point the jetwash into, the jet will always exit into your face?

Drew

r.o.f.l.

[Ctwidle]

Drew, I have a petrol powered pressure washer that claims to put out up to 4000psi. It does a great job in blasting out Mansfield Red casting sand residue! (Why didn’t they have one at the factory in the 70s?) If the return jet doesn’t hit you in the face it usually goes up the leg of your shorts. It’s sometimes hard to see just what is coming out with the water as it tends to end up in the neighbour’s yard.
Someone on here suggested that it’s a good idea to remove the plug in the oilway near rear of the camshafts while the heads are off as that is one place where the sand accumulates. I was unable to get mine out but think that the pressure washer was the next best thing.
i have just been where you are with both heads off. Probably beginners luck but, thanks mainly to the forum, I have had few problems. I still have a very slight weep from the rh head between 3 and 5 but everything else (chains, refurbished water pump etc) is working well and I am hoping that may even heal up when I retorque the heads after a few more heat cycles.
That first nervous drive after reassembly has been replaced by the grin of satisfaction that topless driving with a wonderful soundtrack is supposed to give.
Chris

[dasadrew]

Drew, I have a petrol powered pressure washer that claims to put out up to 4000psi. It does a great job in blasting out Mansfield Red casting sand residue! (Why didn’t they have one at the factory in the 70s?) If the return jet doesn’t hit you in the face it usually goes up the leg of your shorts. It’s sometimes hard to see just what is coming out with the water as it tends to end up in the neighbour’s yard......
Chris

Sounds like a Man-Kaercher! I would strogly advise against propping up Austin 1300 chrome hub caps against a wall and trying to jetwash the inside. I'll just say "parabolic reflector" in this context.

Drew

PS: hope all goes well for your Stag - I'm itching to get mine on the road but the first circuits will probably be around the house and with the wife following in the service barge!

[Ctwidle]

Ditto for my MG radiator! I strayed briefly off the frame onto the fins and they didn’t look pretty! Luckily only cosmetic damage but I wouldn’t have wanted to run across my toes with it,

[Roger M]

... So, I've now cleaned up the head holes so they're squeaky clean with no burrs etc., made mandrels which sit in the plug but which work by pressing on the rim, I've smeared them with Loctite 648 which is a sealant/adhesive for press fit cylindrical metal parts, and I've hammered them in so they are just a midge further in than the head surface. ...

Drew

Thanks for this thread, guys, especially for Drew's first mention and Edd's endorsement of Loctite 648. I hadn't heard of it before, but now (in my freezing garage!) I'll be relying on it when it comes to fitting a new 1.125" core plug. That is, of course, assuming I can avoid all those pitfalls removing the old one.

(Isn't ignorance blissful? For 140,000 miles, I've got away with driving my Stag without giving the core plugs a second thought!)

Roger M