pulled the head - cause for concern??

[malibuolds]

well i finally got around to pulling the head off of my T2 engine today. found that the head gasket was blown around the #1 cylinder. not real bad looking, but the gasket looked 'cracked' a little and the metal ring around the cylinder was squished out just a little - kind of looked like someone over-torqued it. this engine hasn't run in about a year & 3 months but ran and sounded great before i pulled it out. it definately had good power.

however, the #4 cylinder has me a little concerned. there was quite alot of surface rust all up and down the cylinder and it was rather difficult to turn the engine over by hand at first. after i rotated the engine it got ALOT easier, and almost all of the surface rust disappeared. this was only after maybe 2 rotations. the motor spins really nice and easy now, and the cylinder looks good. the very upper part still has some surface rust, but i found that even my fingernail was enough to scrape it off, revealing a clean cylinder wall. all of the pistons look fine, as well as the head and combustion chambers. the camshaft looks excellent and the rest of the engine looks nice and clean - hardly any sludge anywhere not even the oil pan. i had only put maybe 5 miles on this engine after i bought my GTS, and man it ran really good and sounded great before i pulled the motor out! i was surprised to find the blown head gasket really. i think maybe some water/coolant may have gotten into the the #4 cylinder and caused the surface rust? should i be concerned? it all came off easy and the motor practically feels like it 'glides' when i turn it by hand now. all of the pistons feel like they are snug in their bores. should i just clean it up and put a new head gasket in? should i have the head checked for flatness first? should the block deck be ok?


any feedback welcome,
thanks

[ravenc]

that happened to me too i believe the surface rust was caused by an open valve jus wd 40 on the rough side of a kitchen sponge worked for me jus go slow do it like 10 times and all will be good rotate the cylinders a few times make sure its all gone

[LancerShelby]

Put on a new MP gasket and call it good.

[malibuolds]

Quote:

Originally posted by LancerShelby Put on a new MP gasket and call it good.

cool, thanks for the replies. i ordered a new Melling HV oil pump and lower gasket set from FWDP last week and should have the lower end sealed back up when that gets here. i will be ordering an upper end gasket set and a few other things next week and finish sealing it up when all of that comes in.

[turbovanman]

You don't need the Melling HV pump, waste of money and sucks HP, a stock pump is all you need!
Make sure to coat the bores with oil or WD40 etc, install new head gasket and good to go!

[BLASINTEBO]

How much hp do you think it would suck at near stock levels? I have one haven't put it in, was it a waste of money? No benefits at all?

[Chadxton]

I have one too. I thought it was the MP number that sucked an extra 7 HP according to dodgegarage. It never said anything about Melling at all, unless Melling happens to be MP.

[turbovanman]

Melling is an aftermarket oil pump maker, It could make the OEM pump, you never know. The stock oiling system is quite good from what I have read. I am running a rebuilt stock pump and have awesome oil pressure. If you are going for cheap and maximum power, take it back and just get a stock pump!

[Chadxton]

Quote:

If you are going for cheap and maximum power, take it back and just get a stock pump!

You know, saying things like that make me wonder why your van isn't running 13's.

[turbovanman]

Quote:

Originally posted by Chadxton You know, saying things like that make me wonder why your van isn't running 13's.

Hmmmm, whos drag racing and whos bench racing????

[malibuolds]

another follow up i took some pics while i was resealing my T2 last week with iTurbo. you can see the bore with the rust here:

http://www.turbosedan.com/lebaron/DSC01184.JPG
http://www.turbosedan.com/lebaron/DSC01185.JPG
http://www.turbosedan.com/lebaron/DSC01186.JPG
http://www.turbosedan.com/lebaron/DSC01187.JPG
http://www.turbosedan.com/lebaron/DSC01188.JPG
http://www.turbosedan.com/lebaron/DSC01189.JPG
http://www.turbosedan.com/lebaron/DSC01190.JPG
http://www.turbosedan.com/lebaron/DSC01191.JPG

__________________
Joshua Mitchell
'89 Lebaron GTS - Intercooled 2.2 T2 / g-valved @ 12psi / 2.5" JRB exhaust / 1g DSM BOV / A555
'91 Cutlass Supreme sedan - 3.1 Intercooled Turbo / Getrag 282 5spd / lowered w/ adj. coilovers

[malibuolds]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ravenc that happened to me too i believe the surface rust was caused by an open valve jus wd 40 on the rough side of a kitchen sponge worked for me jus go slow do it like 10 times and all will be good rotate the cylinders a few times make sure its all gone

is an SOS pad too abrasive or? i just want to be sure before i try it. i would like to get this cleaned up a little more before i bolt the head back on. i've had the cylinder bores coated in WD-40 since disassembly - about 2 months now.

thanks again
__________________
Joshua Mitchell
'89 Lebaron GTS - Intercooled 2.2 T2 / g-valved @ 12psi / 2.5" JRB exhaust / 1g DSM BOV / A555
'91 Cutlass Supreme sedan - 3.1 Intercooled Turbo / Getrag 282 5spd / lowered w/ adj. coilovers

[turbovanman]

Just use some fine sandpaper or use Roloc discs on a die grinder, there plastic wheels and don't remove metal-unless of course you hold it there for ever, lol.
Engine looks good but open up you oil pump pickup, think of sucking up through a small straw! :thumbs up