cliff.b

Ok, cylinder head reinstalled with mini style flanged nuts. I discovered these need a 14mm socket and not 9/16 🙄 After I have refitted everything else and got it running, should I warm it up on the drive then re-torque or should I drive it around for a few miles before doing so? Or should I do both?

Ok, thanks.

Is the anything safe to use to free up carbon deposits or is it just a matter of scraping?

All studs out and head off. Not a pretty sight at the moment 😒

The studs I have got out so far required quite a lot of effort, then a "click" and after that they are coming easily. Another 4 to go so hopefully will be the same🤞 I assumed the studs would end up being torqued to whatever the nuts were torqued to.

I have just made a thin nut by sawing a spare one in half and used that on the shorter studs which leaves enough threads for a full size nut on top. Have to get the top nut on very tight or they both unscrew together, but have successfully removed a further 4 studs this morning 👍

I have found one of these now and ordered it. I also just tried and succeeded removing the longer 2 studs by double nutting them and I had trouble removing one of them from the head even when it was fully unscrewed, so that was no doubt not helping with the head removal.

Do these need to be the exact size to match the stud? Had a quick look online but only seeing metric ones so far. The corner of the head that is being extra stubborn is where the engine lifting eye is fitted and so longer studs. Should be able to "double nut" those ones if not the others.

I've never used one of those. Will that damage/destroy the studs? I have eventually managed to get it to lift a fraction most of the way round but it is still sticking in the corner where the loose bolt is.

Don't like the look of the old washers at all. For one thing they are different sizes. However, before I removed any nuts I tried tested them for tightness and all were torqued ok apart from number 7 at the rear which probably explains the problem with cylinder 4. I turned it over a quarter of a turn and still not up to correct torque. My next problem is convincing the head to come off as it is being stubborn 😒

Having satisfied myself that I have a leak I have ordered parts and will strip down today. The last cylinder head I removed was a Ford X flow in about 1979, due to a burnt out exhaust valve, and as I was broke I reused everything, including the head gasket and I didn't have a torque wrench 🙄. Surprisingly, it held out for at least another year until I sold the car. Also, I removed that head with manifolds attached to save work and was wondering if, other than weight, there is any compelling reason not to do the same now? Apart from that, I believe some people use an appropriate sealant when fitting a head gasket but is this really a good idea? I assume they were designed not to need any but interested in opinions. And finally, I have read that using later Mini flanged nuts is a good idea. I have seen some advertised as CAM4545 suitable for the A+ engine sold singly instead of 9 for a Mini and wondered if anyone can confirm if that is what's required?

In fact the only supplier I can find with any head gaskets in stock is Rimmer's who offer both a Payen one and a cheaper one.

Seems reasonable at £18.95 but on checking further says out of stock 🙄

Yes, just looking now. Looks like there is only one type of head gaskets for the 1500 but suppliers prices seem to vary quite a lot. No idea if that reflects quality or if they all come from the same manufacturer.

The oil looks fine and no increase in oil level. Engine appears to run as normal when driving and temp not increasing. Only seeing the symptoms at tickover or at low engine speed. I emptied the expansion bottle back into the rad and it was almost full again so not really losing much coolant, just pushing it into the bottle. Any recommendations for head gasket supplier. Spit 1500.

Things have moved on. The problem re-occurred and realised the smoke is white and a lot of my coolant is in the expansion tank. Started with rad cap off and when I revved the engine, coolant erupted out if it. Seemed to run ok on the way home but did a compression test and cylinder 4 is a little lower but steam coming out of radiator on each compression and steam out of plug hole when tester removed. I'm presuming head gasket 😒

Out attending a classic car event and car was running nicely then, on entering the parking area seemed to be running on 3 cylinders and lots of smoke from exhaust. Found plug 4 was oily and smoke from plug hole. Replaced plugs, restarted engine and now running fine. Would welcome any thoughts on this?

Hmm, interestingly the rear box I have fitted has 2 outlets at either end and both are about 30mm dia but have a length of 50mm pipe spot welded on to their ends, allowing an airflow gap between the pipes. I was assuming this was for a similar reason and understand the thinking behind it but would that be beneficial to performance, even if it worked? I have now blocked the forward facing aperture with steel wool and fitted the dB killer in the rearward facing aperture.

I searched eBay for "Exhaust DB killer" and a variety of similar products in various sizes appeared. Some were more expensive than others but impossible to know if they are any better.

Decided to try a couple of these on my Spitfire as the non standard, two tailpipe exhaust is annoying me on longer journeys. Bought the cheapest I could find at £7.95 the pair 😊 Initially fitted with the back pressure adjuster in place and definitely quieter, but maybe too quiet. No edge to the exhaust note but didn't seem to affect performance though. Then removed the plug and the deeper noises were reduced, but nice higher "raspy" noises were back when revving hard or down changing. Also, I was surprised that mid range pull seemed stronger as well, still pulling well when I changed up at 5500. Could that be something to do with increased back pressure 🤔 I will need to test further lol

The current new minis are obese compared with the earlier new minis and those ones were fairly obese compared to the originals 🙄

And less chance of damage from other people's doors 👍

I was thinking if trying the Hydrate 80 as I am already using the Dynax 50 & UC. Are you happy with it?

Yes, that's another possibility I was considering. Various parts of the suspension were painted when I bought the car but now coming away in places with rust underneath. Don't know what paint was used or what prep had been done, but want to do a better job of it.