Club 80-90 Forums

You really don't need an engine stand
Just rest the engine on one rocker cover or on the exhaust if early and prop it up against a block of wood under the edge of the sump
The weight holds it there nicely
You then just need a stool to save your knees and back

Thanks for the thought Alex, but it's not just the "gear", where I live now I have no place that would be "cool" to pull the engine and no place to do the work.

Anyway, it seems you don't need an engine stand for other reasons than Itchy's solution, look what I got back of our American friend =

John asked:- "Do you ever do the head seal job with the engine in situ?"

Ken replied:- "Yes I normally do the head gaskets with the engine still installed in the van. I used an engine that was removed for the video just so it would be easier to video"

Plus Ken is in the process of creating a log in and will be along soon to tell us more about his views on this job (and other stuff he does I hope )

T25Convert wrote:Ben in Canada....... does however replace the bottom seal, but without removing the pistons...

I read about doing that on here years ago, again with the engine in situ. Doing it that way obviously makes the job a lot faster. I wonder what the downside is (other than needing it up on a ramp, wouldn't fancy doing that on my back in the cold dark and wet on the roadside )

Doing it in the van is going to be a bitch of a job without having a vehicle lift
Easier if you are into bodging and don't remove the liners of course but there is no way you can claim liners have not moved when gravity is on them horizontally

Doing the seal without removing the liner is also a total bodge as you will never get in to clean the mating surfaces

You could remove liners from pistons but the risk of breaking rings is not worth it imo

Good of you to post all that ken after so many of us have seen your vid. Nice to hear from someone that has been doing this job for years with no problems, seams to be the holy grail of work on these engines, all a bit black magic and mumbo jumbo.
It's given me hope for mine as they are dripping a bit at the moment and can't afford to have the job done.

Welcome to the forum Ken & as Dazco says, cheers for putting up such a detailed post

Mmm, so ghosts engine failed as the lower seals were not changed and i just bought a second hand engine for parts which had mayo in the sump becuase a garage didnt change the lower seals and you say it never happens.

They do fail i have read about it many times and probably becase somebody didnt change them before, maybe you have the right knack but to tell people not to bother is risky advice imo.

Vanagain does say it's dependent on mileage to be fair

Hi Ken, glad you made it here

I foresee some interesting dialogue

There is nothing like lots of real hands on experience

ghost123uk wrote:
There is nothing like lots of real hands on experience

And you have hands on experience of lower seal failure because it wasnt changed when the head was removed.

itchyfeet wrote:

ghost123uk wrote:
There is nothing like lots of real hands on experience

And you have hands on experience of lower seal failure because it wasnt changed when the head was removed.

I think I can see the Love triangle forming...

ermie571 wrote:Here's your hug ((((hugs)))) and yep I have a spare dg engine. ...but it mixes oil and water

https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=129273" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Such a common "issue" isn't it and one that seems to usually result in either a "my DG re-build" thread or a "Should I buy an Elite engine or a Vege one" thread. If a garage can successfully do it, for around £300, a lot of folk will be happy

For now, my "drip" seems to have stopped Maybe the K-Seal took it's time to work. Anyway, it's ticking bomb so I will still be going ahead after Bustypes show in April to get Elite to do it, and obviously will report back. The worst that can happen is that :- A) a stud breaks. or :-B) the lower seal fails. Either way I will then be back to getting them to fit another motor, which is the usual option in the scenario anyway (up to now).

in my opinion many people refit the water jacket seals with Dirko on one face as is shown in Haynes, certainly the three engines I have stripped have all been that way
that may have worked from the factory with new heads but once they become pitted that's not going to last, I refitted mine with DirKo on both sides of the seal.

I've just popped to the shed to check the lower o ring seals from my engine that I removed when I rebuilt it. The engine had done 114000 miles roughly and they are in remarkably good condition, they still have some give in them and are round in profile. I reckon they would have resealed if no dirt got in during the process. The top seals were another story. They still had a bit of give but were caked with rusty sludgy deposits and were flattened in places these would have been a dead loss. There must be more heat near the top seals which doesn't help. I have to change one of my head on my recently rebuilt engine as one of the reused heads has cracked slightly causing steam in the number 2 exhaust port and valve guide. I will not be changing the lower seals and will be changing it with the engine in the bus. fingers crossed!!