Club 80-90 Forums

Morning all
I have black wet soot coming out of my exhaust pipe, coupled with a coolant loss. I don't have milky oil, so I have so far diagnosed a head gasket between water jacket and cylinder. Does that sound reasonable? The water stops spouting after a few minutes, which I take to be the cylinder expanding and filling the gap
How big a job are the cylinder head gaskets? I'm happy with spanners but wary of snapping the studs. I'd want to replace them too, how do you get them out of the block?
Thanks.

You do get condensation dripping out of exhausts until the engine is hot, you see it all the time driving behind other cars. Coolant has a smell to it, I would have a smell of the soot if it has that weird sweet coolant smell then you may be on to something.

How much coolant are you loosing? I would have thought you would get some white smoke too if that were the issue.

To get studs out you put two nuts on the end of the stud and wind one onto the other, you can then put a socket on them and undo them as if it were a bolt.

Wbx head studs won't come out that easily! L

Usually a full strip down job, split the case, heat up with a big propane torch and then clamp the case down and extract with a ½" drive self-tightening chuck.

IF it goes well. Which it often doesn't.

check the water isnt just condensation, its pretty rare for water to run out of the exhaust 

pierce wrote:
To get studs out you put two nuts on the end of the stud and wind one onto the other, you can then put a socket on them and undo them as if it were a bolt.

Ooohhhhhh if only! This is the Disney version of how it should go. Reality is often a horrible nightmare version. Lots of heat, swearing, hammering, soaking, heating again, 1/2" rattle gun on the new self-tightening chuck, destroy the chuck, order another and soak studs in plusgas whilst awaiting delivery, reheat case with big propane torch, much hotter this time (until smoking). Try rattle gun again, and if you're very lucky the stud will finally come out. If you're not so lucky it'll snap off near the bottom. Then weld a nut on stump, and use impact socket and long extension to break it off again. Repeat six or more times before giving up and scrapping the case. But you might find they come out easily...

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Disney version

Yeah.. Im still twitchy about my headstuds that the local machine shop buggered up drilling out and helicoiled my case... 

Sadly all my vehicles are old, and I have yet to see that particular Disney feature for myself.

Especially on the van - I cannot think how many studs I have sheared, drilled and tapped, with the odd helicoil thread repair thrown in for good measure.

Tired 40 year old nuts, bolts and studs are totally poo to work on.

"Tired" translation in this case: Rotten, embrittled. Not fit for service.