Buying a reconditioned head:
Doing it yourself (with the machining done at your local machine shop):
Tips: Degrease the engine thoroughly before starting. Gunk and an old toothbrush are a real help. After disconnecting the oil feed tube from the head put a plastic bag over it with a rubber band to keep the dirt out.
Place a deep well socket on the valve spring collar & tap with a hammer to break the collets free before compressing the valve springs.
Use a bottom tap to clean the head bolt threads in the block. Smear a little grease in the flutes to catch the crud. Do this 3 times for each or until they come out clean. A can of brake parts cleaner will make cleaning the tap a snap. Roll a small paper towel into the size of a pencil and feed it down the bolt holes into the block to soak up any oil or water. There must be NO liquid in the bolt holes. As liquid is non-compressible the best that can happen is that you get a false torque reading due to the pressure of the liquid while torquing the head bolts. The worst that can happen is that the pressure on the liquid causes the block to crack. Ouch!
Check your head before ordering the top freeze plugs. They come in different types and sizes. These figures are for a 76 Series III.
I must confess that I did not replace the valve springs. My reasoning is that they all gave equal and stiff resistance when compressed, the mild cam profile taxes them less than most engines, the second spring should keep you going should the other break, and they are fairly easy to change without removing the head if you can borrow an air compressor and an air fitting spark plug adapter.
Have fun.
Bill Maloney
88 IIA & 109 Wagon
W-201 428-3491
H-201 835-1796
wmalon@cbnewsl.att.com
AT&T Rm. CC24
4 Woodhollow Rd.
Parsippany, NJ 07054
This document was translated to html on Wednesday, May 25, 1994 15:08:27