Help! Water in cylinders!

[charliemeyer007]

I don't think welding cast iron is a good plan. Its drilled, so tap it to the next up sized hole if its thick enough for at least 5 or 6 threads. Use the adjustment screw on a die and cut an oversize thread to screw into the the tapped hole with some permeant thread sealer/locker. If the area is too thin, then a high temp silver solder would be my choice.

 

[3_puppies]

did you check the hole where you drilled?
is there a drilled hole thru the head into the intake?

 

[Chicagomax]

ok- got the head off! Really wasn’t that bad, though I’m sure it’s 10x harder to get it back on.
Now that it’s off, I have a good picture of the issue(attached). My plan is to take it to a few different machine shops and see what they think about repairing/plugging it- really would hope that’s possible so I don’t have to spend the $$ on a new head, transfer everything over to the new head, but let’s see what they say.

Open to any thoughts/suggestions, otherwise stay tuned!

Max

 

[erics]

Hopefully that hole is the worst of your concerns, but once addressed I'd be concerned about potential issues in engine arising from shavings/coolant having been ingested into cylinder and possible damage when you were turning it over. Hoping the best for you...

 

[Chicagomax]

Hopefully that hole is the worst of your concerns, but once addressed I'd be concerned about potential issues in engine arising from shavings/coolant having been ingested into cylinder and possible damage when you were turning it over. Hoping the best for you...

Thanks- the cylinders all look very good, very similar across them all. There is a lot of coolant everywhere, but I’m hoping with the head work and of course oil change(then maybe another oil change soon after?)/coolant flush, I’ll be in the clear. Any other suggestions?

Max

 

[brian]

you sure connecting rods are not bent?

 

[charliemeyer007]

Easy enough to check that the pistons all come up to the same height at each TDC. Straight edge across the bore and a dial caliper would work nicely. Looks like enough meat to tap in a plug.

 

[Chicagomax]

Thanks all- quick update: I took the head to a machine shop, they called back and- after a good laugh- told me they were able to repair it! I’ll share pics when I pick it up later this week, in the meantime i want to ensure I have all supplies to put the head back together. I looked on the forum and it seems consensus is to put the head gasket on dry, but is that the same for the exhaust/intake gasket? It looks like the PO put some kind of rtv-stuff on, so not sure if that’s needed? I didn’t take off thermostat or water pump, so not messing with those gaskets. Also: I found the torque setting for the bolts that hold the rocker assembly to the head, but is there a torque setting for the nut that adjusts the rockers?

Thanks and hope to make some good progress thus weekend- stay tuned!

Max

 

[charliemeyer007]

I soak any gasket I can in warm water for like a half an hour to soften them up so the high spots can easily sink into the material. Torque in proper sequence, I usually do it in thirds such as 30, 60, 90. Tight - I just hold the wrench close to the locking nut and pull as hard as I can, done.

How did they fix it?

 

[3_puppies]

good they were able to fix/repair it for you

clean surfaces and dry gasket, no sealant needed, I prefer OEM head and intake/exhaust gaskets

intake/exhaust, It takes me a week to get it torqued, heat cycle, torque the next day, I'll do that all week until no more movement

I'll check the head gasket torque also after a few days

 

[Chicagomax]

Thanks all! And I’m as interested as you to see the repair- it was explained to me over the phone and sounded like a bunch of different steps(some of which were hard to follow). What was important was he was confident in the repair; I’ll post more pics/details when I receive it…

 

[igotta40]

Pictures please!

 

[Chicagomax]

Finally getting to put it back together, was just waiting on new gaskets that JUST arrived, compared to the head gasket I took off and there are some notable differences. The new one is from cruiser corps and is supposed to fit a 75+ 2f(mines a 77), and god knows where the prior one is from, but before I put it on can someone confirm the new one is correct?

Just afraid to put the wrong one on for obvious reasons!

 

[73FJ40]

Finally getting to put it back together, was just waiting on new gaskets that JUST arrived, compared to the head gasket I took off and there are some notable differences. The new one is from cruiser corps and is supposed to fit a 75+ 2f(mines a 77), and god knows where the prior one is from, but before I put it on can someone confirm the new one is correct?

Just afraid to put the wrong one on for obvious reasons!

View attachment 3559947

Appears to be missing water jacket passages between cylinders on the manifold side?

 

[brian]

oem or fel pro is the way to go

 

[MDH33]

Flip the original gasket top to bottom, looks the same

 

[Chicagomax]

Ok all- here’s a big update. In case I lose some readers, let me ask a question upfront: does anyone have the bolt dimensions for the 2 bolts that hold the thermostat housing together?

For the update: I received the fixed head back, and the shop did a seemingly nice job of “plugging” the hole I accidentally created(pics below). I was able to put the engine back together, and everything went relatively smoothly until I put the pushrods on and one sunk all the way to the bottom. After wondering how this could happen, I stuck a magnet down the pushrod hole and could sense something metal(and not small) was down there. Without any other option, I removed the side panel of the engine to discover one of the lifters had lifted out of its cylinder when I was pulling the pushrods(due to suction) and was sitting sideways! It was an easy fix, but pro tip: pull your pushrods out very slowly, especially if you sense you are creating suction!

Anyway, after assembling the engine, flushing the coolant completely out and refilling it, I started the engine and was incredibly pleased to say it started as soon as fuel made its way back to the carb!

I took a victory lap around the neighborhood and upon return, found coolant leaking pretty heavily from the thermostat housing(which I didn’t remove during the head change). The only thing I can think is that it was “tweaked” as the housing was used as a handle sometimes when moving the head around. Of course when I went to remove it and replace the gaskets, the bolts snapped and I couldn’t get them out…so a new housing is on its way.

Fun fact: I wouldn’t have known my fj didn’t actually have a thermostat in the housing if this didn’t happen (I took it off the block and could see its hollow)!

Thanks all and hope to be fully on the road soon- just need to adjust the rockers for it to run as smoothly as before!

Max

 

[igotta40]

All things considered, it sounds like a big win to me!

 

[charliemeyer007]

Looks like a working bolt plug with sealant to me. A pipe tap with a taper fit would be a good choice. An over sized regular thread that had a shoulder to seat against would be a good choice too. Anyway likely to last for years anyway.

You should check the head bolts for torque again after a few heat cycles.

Old in place bolts. Kroil/PB blaster applied every day for a few days to have time to soak down the thread. Some gentle heat several time will help it soak. Impact the head of the bolt with a hammer and punch can help shock the chemical bond loose. Proper fitting socket and a rattle gun can do the same thing. Anti-seize compound on the new bolts will help prevent an issue next time. I try and buy stainless steel replacement bolts/nuts when I can.

 

[wolfbak]

Ok all- here’s a big update. In case I lose some readers, let me ask a question upfront: does anyone have the bolt dimensions for the 2 bolts that hold the thermostat housing together?

For the update: I received the fixed head back, and the shop did a seemingly nice job of “plugging” the hole I accidentally created(pics below). I was able to put the engine back together, and everything went relatively smoothly until I put the pushrods on and one sunk all the way to the bottom. After wondering how this could happen, I stuck a magnet down the pushrod hole and could sense something metal(and not small) was down there. Without any other option, I removed the side panel of the engine to discover one of the lifters had lifted out of its cylinder when I was pulling the pushrods(due to suction) and was sitting sideways! It was an easy fix, but pro tip: pull your pushrods out very slowly, especially if you sense you are creating suction!

Anyway, after assembling the engine, flushing the coolant completely out and refilling it, I started the engine and was incredibly pleased to say it started as soon as fuel made its way back to the carb!

I took a victory lap around the neighborhood and upon return, found coolant leaking pretty heavily from the thermostat housing(which I didn’t remove during the head change). The only thing I can think is that it was “tweaked” as the housing was used as a handle sometimes when moving the head around. Of course when I went to remove it and replace the gaskets, the bolts snapped and I couldn’t get them out…so a new housing is on its way.

Fun fact: I wouldn’t have known my fj didn’t actually have a thermostat in the housing if this didn’t happen (I took it off the block and could see its hollow)!

Thanks all and hope to be fully on the road soon- just need to adjust the rockers for it to run as smoothly as before!

Max

View attachment 3562947

I have a couple tips on the thermostat housing bolts.

First: The bolts can get really nasty over time and using anti-seize will help, but someone on MUD recommended using carb studs instead of bolts, which I did. They are the right threads and length. Now I just have 2 nuts and washers on top to remove when I want to change out the thermostat. It's a great option!

Second: Get an Aisin OEM thermostat. City Racer and others sell them, and be sure you use a correctly seated thick upper gasket and an OEM housing gasket. Why? Because they sell a lot of aftermarket housing gaskets from thin paper, to thick rubber. The OEM gasket is the correct thickness and material. You need a good seal on the upper gasket between the top of the thermostat and the housing or the engine won't come up to the right temp. My upper gasket got twisted a bit on an earlier install and the engine ran too cold - I also had no heat in the cab. The next time I installed it, I put a couple dabs of sealer to hold the gasket on the top of the thermostat and put the cover on carefully. All good!

And I'm very happy to hear how this potential nightmare turned out! Buy some lottery tickets...