Alfa Pages

Corin · Alfasud Joined: 28 Aug 2005 Posts: 55

Have had a bit of a mare with the ole sportwagon lately, after buying a 33 saloon with snapped cambelt so that i could replace rear stub and bearing Confused

(it made sense at the time), then swapping over the recaro interior and zender alloys, The head gasket has gone on the wagon, leaking water into the cylinder and jamming the engine...
Crying or Very sad

, Having struggled (unsuccessfully so far) to even get plugs out, i'm beginning to suspect that head changing is a bit of a problematic job.

So my question is this, is it easier or feasible to jack car in air then swing engine down? Is it an engine out job? Have had integrale engine out for over a year now so if i need to take this one out i may as well put lancia together first? After changing the head gasket on my g/f's rover 114 first, oh the joy of it all.

Corin (dreaming of going to alfaday on 23rd in something italian...)

johnboy · Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2006 1:55 pm Post subject: Re: 'Doing' the head gasket...

Hi Corin

no you dont have to take the engine out to do the gasket.ive done both of mine in the car.this was done in the road outside my parents house. you just have to undo the front crossmember mount so you can move the engine over abit to get to the bottom t55 bolt.this was on my 16v engine.hope this helps. p.s. what grale have you got.always wanted one.i had the hf turbo.that was great fun Wink

regards john
_________________
WODA WE NEED? MORE POWER!!

Alfa gt jtdm blackline
1990 S2 16v veloce sleeping!
2002 ts gtv the wifes now
1997 seadoo gsx 800
1999 freestyle superjet

Guest · Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2006 9:34 pm Post subject:

Cheers John, will have alook over that this weekend, weather permitting.... Have not yet established which head gasket gone, is it feasible then to undo crossmember and swing engine either way to remove plugs? seems they may be easier this way, tho to be fair when i last tried was on a cold evening after a long day outside my mates house, whilst his wife grumped inside....

Have an 8Valve integrale, much loved but capable of haemoraaging money, destroyed crank and bearings not checking oil frequently enough, gutted.... have since spent over £1000 parts only building a standard (but strong!) lump to replace. cant wait to have it back, reminds me of being 17 and finding driving to be a thrill all over again only more so!!! Very Happy

Corin · Alfasud Joined: 28 Aug 2005 Posts: 55

Ordered a head gasket set through a friend who reckoned he got discount at local motor factors, came back with a price of £99 for the set!!!! S**t the bed!!! Is this normal? Anyone know a reasonably priced supplier? That is twice the price of the integrale gasket set. That dont seem right.

markgp4 · Posted: Thu Apr 06, 2006 10:53 pm Post subject:

Hello,
alfashop in norwich (01603 426277), h/gasket set for my 16v last month was £55 +the vat. and the postage.
best of luck with it.
Mark
_________________
make it go faster Smile

bobbber · Posted: Tue Apr 11, 2006 8:58 pm Post subject:

Hey Corin,

There's a section about "doing stuff with the engine in", in this little lot :

http://www.alfa-restoration.co.uk/16valve.zip

Bob
_________________
Fiat Bravo 165 Sport

Corin · Alfasud Joined: 28 Aug 2005 Posts: 55

Cheers there bobbber, spent an evening perusing the doc you linked, very helpful. Have practiced on the 'spare' alfa by preparing the engine for removal and getting a feeling for how it all connects together.

One thing i did find which interested me was that the breaker hadnt suffered from a snapped cambelt, but a collapsed bearing, which appeared to be a plastic hub over a metal bearing, is this normal? seems like an incredibly cheap and shoddy way to do it. replaced all cam and balnce belt bearings on lancia at a cost of around 100 quid, still prefer to spend that on bearings that will last the course. Will now probably look over my belt bearings and pump etc when doing my alfa, more expense!

johnboy · Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 8:32 pm Post subject:

Hi Corin

Yes they do look cheap and are,but hey the mighty Grale is back and bad Twisted Evil

just show no fear to the boxer and your be fine!!

regards john
_________________
WODA WE NEED? MORE POWER!!

Alfa gt jtdm blackline
1990 S2 16v veloce sleeping!
2002 ts gtv the wifes now
1997 seadoo gsx 800
1999 freestyle superjet

Admin · Posted: Tue May 09, 2006 1:28 pm Post subject:

Hi

Done the head gaskets on an 8V with the engine in the car without any problems. There is a special tool for removing the head studs on the 16V I think (but you should be able to use an equivalent torx bit). Think you will struggle to get the head bolts out, but that doesn't matter as with them most of the way out the head can be removed.

All the best

Keith

johnboy · Posted: Tue May 09, 2006 4:06 pm Post subject:

Hi Keith

its a torx bit.a T55 bit for the head bolts.

regards john
_________________
WODA WE NEED? MORE POWER!!

Alfa gt jtdm blackline
1990 S2 16v veloce sleeping!
2002 ts gtv the wifes now
1997 seadoo gsx 800
1999 freestyle superjet

Admin · Posted: Wed May 10, 2006 12:53 am Post subject:

Yep, but remember the head torque quoted in the manual might well assume the Alfa tool is used. Being about 3" long this will affect the torque reading.

The tool should make it easier to get at the head bolts with the engine in place (the one for the 8V certainly does, although only really an advantage when torqueing the heads up).

All the best

Keith