Oh yeah, head work time
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Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 3,410
Likes: 143
From: Palm Desert,CA
Quick update,
Back in business, there's a pretty great Indy shop not even 2 miles from where I work. Super cool owner, I stopped by when I first moved out here and introduced myself. Showed up at his door today with the heads in hand to see if he maybe had the time to swap the compression releases into the new heads. Even though he was really packed up he worked it into his schedule and got them done with new sealant, etc. I never asked if they were front and rear cylinder specific but imagine that he would have done them right!
Unfortunately I have to travel for a couple of days tomorrow so I hope to install the heads tonight (I have some Seafoam soaked rags on the pistons right now and I'll scrape when I get home. I installed the Rocker Lockers already so I'll try to get the top end buttoned up and then do the cams and reassembly this weekend.
Back in business, there's a pretty great Indy shop not even 2 miles from where I work. Super cool owner, I stopped by when I first moved out here and introduced myself. Showed up at his door today with the heads in hand to see if he maybe had the time to swap the compression releases into the new heads. Even though he was really packed up he worked it into his schedule and got them done with new sealant, etc. I never asked if they were front and rear cylinder specific but imagine that he would have done them right!
Unfortunately I have to travel for a couple of days tomorrow so I hope to install the heads tonight (I have some Seafoam soaked rags on the pistons right now and I'll scrape when I get home. I installed the Rocker Lockers already so I'll try to get the top end buttoned up and then do the cams and reassembly this weekend.
Thread Starter
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Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 3,410
Likes: 143
From: Palm Desert,CA
Oh there will be blood...
Couldn't sleep last night and I travel the next couple of days so decided to do some midnight wrenching. Got the heads re-installed although I still have to put the rockers back in. Stupidly, I didn't heed the advice of ADM and bolt the cylinders down while the heads were off, so when I started to move the pistons up and down to clean them the cylinders came up as well... hopefully that doesn't bite me in the ***. At any rate as soon as they came up I popped them down again and got the heads on. Couple of easy lessons learned, I had mixed up all my bolts due to lack of space and had to measure them to make sure I had the right ones in the right place. Thankfully the service manual had a good listing on the diagram when they put "long bolt" or "short bolt" by putting the size as well.
Sadly I forgot to take pictures except this one, since we all like to show our battle scars. This is what happens when you try to pry a metal gasket off the lower rocker boxes with your bare hands!
Couldn't sleep last night and I travel the next couple of days so decided to do some midnight wrenching. Got the heads re-installed although I still have to put the rockers back in. Stupidly, I didn't heed the advice of ADM and bolt the cylinders down while the heads were off, so when I started to move the pistons up and down to clean them the cylinders came up as well... hopefully that doesn't bite me in the ***. At any rate as soon as they came up I popped them down again and got the heads on. Couple of easy lessons learned, I had mixed up all my bolts due to lack of space and had to measure them to make sure I had the right ones in the right place. Thankfully the service manual had a good listing on the diagram when they put "long bolt" or "short bolt" by putting the size as well.
Sadly I forgot to take pictures except this one, since we all like to show our battle scars. This is what happens when you try to pry a metal gasket off the lower rocker boxes with your bare hands!
Last edited by robbyville; Feb 17, 2016 at 01:20 PM.
Thread Starter
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Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 3,410
Likes: 143
From: Palm Desert,CA
Thanks I like them!
Hey question for anyone that can answer. I realized when I was installing the rocker boxes that my service manual mentioned that the HD head gaskets have an orientation on them for front and rear cylinder.
I used Cometic gaskets and did not see any markings or differentiators, so I just lined them up with the holes and put the heads on (there were also these tiny brass rivets of sorts on each side but they didn't interfere with anything since the heads are stock). I did follow the Cometic torque sequence and specs, but should there have been an "up or down" side or "front or rear" cylinder?
Hey question for anyone that can answer. I realized when I was installing the rocker boxes that my service manual mentioned that the HD head gaskets have an orientation on them for front and rear cylinder.
I used Cometic gaskets and did not see any markings or differentiators, so I just lined them up with the holes and put the heads on (there were also these tiny brass rivets of sorts on each side but they didn't interfere with anything since the heads are stock). I did follow the Cometic torque sequence and specs, but should there have been an "up or down" side or "front or rear" cylinder?
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 5,809
Likes: 2,549
From: UK
Best as I could tell Robby, the Cometic gaskets have no up or down orientation. They basically only fit one way, so you can't really f**k it up.
I put mine on using the Cometic torque specs (which are wildly different from the HD ones) and they are fine. I did leave everything overnight and then recheck the torque in the morning just to make sure, but that's probably not necessary.
The one that is important to get right though is the lower rocker box gasket - you need to make sure that covers the breather channel - but it's pretty bloody obvious and is detailed well in the service manual.
I put mine on using the Cometic torque specs (which are wildly different from the HD ones) and they are fine. I did leave everything overnight and then recheck the torque in the morning just to make sure, but that's probably not necessary.
The one that is important to get right though is the lower rocker box gasket - you need to make sure that covers the breather channel - but it's pretty bloody obvious and is detailed well in the service manual.
Thread Starter
|
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 3,410
Likes: 143
From: Palm Desert,CA
Best as I could tell Robby, the Cometic gaskets have no up or down orientation. They basically only fit one way, so you can't really f**k it up.
I put mine on using the Cometic torque specs (which are wildly different from the HD ones) and they are fine. I did leave everything overnight and then recheck the torque in the morning just to make sure, but that's probably not necessary.
The one that is important to get right though is the lower rocker box gasket - you need to make sure that covers the breather channel - but it's pretty bloody obvious and is detailed well in the service manual.
I put mine on using the Cometic torque specs (which are wildly different from the HD ones) and they are fine. I did leave everything overnight and then recheck the torque in the morning just to make sure, but that's probably not necessary.
The one that is important to get right though is the lower rocker box gasket - you need to make sure that covers the breather channel - but it's pretty bloody obvious and is detailed well in the service manual.
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and still waiting for my crankcase and crank to be trued and welded