1y with cracks between valves.and cam pulley without keyway

[oldiguana]

yo ducks....forget the eber now.....had a s*******e" of a job getting the head off,including drillin a rounded off headbolt......now on closer inspection there are cracks between the valves on all 4 cylinders and a couple of hairline cracks near to the injector holes.........the cracks between the valves seem to be in the head not the valve seats...so all advice gratefully recieved.................
also took the cam pulley off and there is no keyway in it,theres a keyway in the end of the cam but non in the pulley.....me thinks its goin to be a t**t ti time up...so could i buy a pulley with said keyway in to save any grief...........................................................help me obi-wan-kenobi,you are my only hope!!!

[mrhutch]

now then marra... no key should be in the CAM pulley, only the crank, force of bold holding pulley on keeps it tight... makes doing the timing easier as well. I have seen hairline (1mm) cracks on quite a few 1Y/aaz/jx heads, if in doubt get it skimmed and tested, it's off now anyway.

good luck

[oldiguana]

ah duck cheerz for that...i had an astra diesel years ago and the head had cracks on every valve,but was told its perfectly fine...but ive never stripped one of these before so dont really know the pros n cons ovum.....bein a bit brassy now im a lil' reluctant to have it pressure tested unless its imperitive i do so(£50 for a pressure test!!).....i know its got to be done..jus tryin to save a few bob on the way

[mrhutch]

know what you mean, my bus is a daily driver and a mobile office... it's no westy and usually has our 3 springer spaniels in it covered in mud. Bang the head back on, new stretch bolts and a 3 spot gasket. clean the head up careful like and then forget about it !

I've stripped a fair few Aircooled in my time and all had cracks between valves. BTW mine is a 1Y but with JX turbo and AAZ pump and injectors... go on, blow it !

[Oldiebut goodie]

ah duck cheerz for that...i had an astra diesel years ago and the head had cracks on every valve,but was told its perfectly fine...but ive never stripped one of these before so dont really know the pros n cons ovum.....bein a bit brassy now im a lil' reluctant to have it pressure tested unless its imperitive i do so(£50 for a pressure test!!).....i know its got to be done..jus tryin to save a few bob on the way

The cracks are considered normal to most people - they don't affect the valves so ignore them. I had them on my 1.6d engine, a bit disconcerting when you first see them but don't seem to enlarge or cause any ill effect.

[oldiguana]

cheerz owducks,arv gor enuff yesses nar to av a gew.........ordered 10 new ed bowts tho jus be ont'safe side.....cheerz agen