Head gasket replacement

[dasadrew]

And NEITHER of them warn you to stuff a rag down the timing chain covers to catch that wayward bolt/nut/lock tab that WILL fall down into the sump if you don't........

To quote Blackadder, you need a degree from the University of Life, A Levels from the school of hard knocks, and 3 Gold Stars from the Kindergarten of getting the $hit kicked out of you.

[new to this]

Looks like your need to remove the timing cover to get to the tensioner,but deal with one problem at a time,with the chain off the head you can try to remove the head,as you dont know the history of the engine may be a good idea to replace the timing chains,but get the heads off first

Dave

[HQentity]

Thanks for the help all.

Just for reference, the sprocket was already on the bracket when it came away from the camshaft, but despite this, the chain seems to have tensioned up too much. I spent the best part of 2 hours trying to undo the main nut holding the pulley wheels on behind the fan, but even standing on it and jumping up and down didn't help! So I moved on to the inlet manifold and will work towards the head gasket, and ask a garage to set up the timing instead I expect. I think it is all out of time anyway now, I just hope there hasn't been any contact inside the cylinders. What a nightmare!

[new to this]

If your worried out contact inside the cylinders, undo the camshaft mounting bolts then the valve will be closed

[brian0443]

Kyle you said the sprocket was already on the bracket.
Last year when we did my heads and got to the 'slide the sprocket onto the camshaft' we hit the problem you encountered. No way could we get the RH sprocket onto the camshaft. Two hours later, and being sure we had followed instructions we decided to try the LHS to see if we had the same problem. It just slipped on in a few seconds.
Back to RHS to have another look and it just went on. You may have the same luck as we had, so as some folk have said, don't strip back to the chains just yet.
Brian

[HQentity]

Ok, thank you for the ray of light and hope there! Maybe I will also be lucky.

how can I check the timing is all correct for both the pistons and the cams please in that case?

Many thanks!

[jbuckl]

The crank timing can be reset when the heads are off....which may be some hours away!
remove the cams as previously mentioned.
on Facebook there is a R.O.M. Under files in the triumph stag fans group.
the crank pulley bolt is easily undone using a 24mm or 15/16” combination spanner ‘chocked’ & a flick of the starter.
Be careful doing it that way though.
No need for a puller to remove the pulley, they usually just break the pulley flanges.
just lever the pulley and tap the slacked bolt head & the pulley will ‘walk’ off the crank nose.

[HQentity]

Here you go! All 10 studs out and heads off!! Can’t see any obvious damage to the gaskets but overall lots of residue and blockages!

[marshman]

Nice job Kyle. Just goes to show that not that some Stag head do come off without too much struggle.

[HQentity]

Hello all,

I've sent the heads off to get checked over by "Automotive machining services" in Ditchling, and should get a report in the next few days. I've got the timing cover off, too. How do I find TDC please?

[flying farmer]

Ideally you need a dial gauge with a magnetic base which are available quite cheaply on ebay.

Otherwise a steel ruler across the top of piston no 2 and try and find the point where it reaches the highest point in the bore. Looks like you have +40 pistons which tend to have quite a low height in relation to the top of the block, so they may reach TDC either above or below the top of the block.
When measuring align the ruler with the gudgeon pins as the piston rocks as it goes over TDC, and use feeler gauges to find the highest point of the stroke

Neil

[dasadrew]

As TDC is at the "top of the curve" and moving extremely little for a degree of crankshaft movement it's sometimes easier to measure the piston at, say, 20mm down the cylinder on the way up and down and mark the two points, then take the middle point. Without a DTI it's easier to get the accuracy,