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[Nick W]

I've been getting on with the head(s):


dismantled the spare head(which had a number of bent valves from a broken timing belt) so I had a full set of valves, undamaged VVC mechanism, and a replacement cam followers for the ones that failed this test


 


cleaned the valves





mildly ported the head; blended the short side to a radius, unshrouded the valve to chamber, removed the machining step into the chamber for the seat inserts, tapered the valve guide bosses, opened the exhaust ports to better match the aftermarket manifold, removed the casting flash from the water jacket into the combustion chamber jacket and lapped in the valves -





after jet washing everything I refitted the valves with new stem seals








flipped it over and put the cam followers in, then laid out the intake cam apparatus:





which was much easier than I expected
All assembled, rear timing belt installed, front cam aligned and waiting for a new pulley:





collected by the owner to fit at the weekend.

[dave the builder]

nice work 
it's been a while since i had to do a head , thankfully   
I have fat fingers and valve collets are hard to find when the spring goes ping and fires them across the room 

[Nick W]

nice work 
it's been a while since i had to do a head , thankfully   
I have fat fingers and valve collets are hard to find when the spring goes ping and fires them across the room 

blob of grease on the end of the valve stem. Stick the collet to a small screwdriver with a tiny blob of grease. Push the collet on to the valve stem, and do the same with the other half. Squeeze the collets together with tweezers. Let off the spring compressor slowly -  a screw type is better as you can watch what's going on, and correct it. K-series parts are tiny, compared to Lycoming ones....


I keep telling myself that when I do grow another pair of hands, they'll be small girly ones

[dave the builder]

I keep telling myself that when I do grow another pair of hands, they'll be small girly ones

NO 
the CPU and operating system is problematic/temperamental at best ,devoid of any logic ,unable to follow the simplest of instruction 

[amba]

And normally high maintenance costs 

[dave the builder]

And normally high maintenance costs 

oh dear , someone who obviously looks at his bank statements and does the maths
that's a slippery slide 

[amba]

Trouble with having too many females in the family.....Wife/Daughters/Grand Children....its all a very slippery slope 

[Doctor Gollum]

Trouble with having too many females in the family.....Wife/Daughters/Grand Children....its all a very slippery slope 

The first two are self inflicted. Grandchildren are an obvious side effect of the first two

[Nick W]

Had some parts left over, a welder and was bored:





knocked up a carbon fibre base and a plaque







producing a 'Fingy'  ornament 

[dave the builder]

something to hang all your spring hose clamps on so you don't loose any   

[Nick W]

This was unexpected:





which is a cooling system pressure test set.


I didn't buy it, a friend had bought one that was supplied with an adapter that leaked. That was the adapter he bought it for, so complained to the supplier. We could have fixed the leak(the QR fitting into the adapter), but it was brand new. Instead of replacing the faulty adapter they made a couple of derisory offers of £2 and £3 refunds. After some justified whinging, they just sent  him a complete new set.


Except they sent two new sets, so I've gained a useful new tool and he has spares   We both wish he'd ordered the one that vacuum bleeds an empty cooling system......

[Doctor Gollum]

You can't have everything 

Vac filled systems seem to be more prevalent 

[Nick W]

You can't have everything 

Vac filled systems seem to be more prevalent 

Just think how much time you've spent groping Omega hoses following the OOF recommended procedure. Then there are difficult(and critical) to bleed systems like MGFs, where knowing that half a dozen stokes of a pump and turning a knob would do 95% of the job in seconds.

[Nick W]

I didn't expect to use the pressure tester so soon.
My sister turned up with the Focus to take Mum shopping, with the complaint that the heater doesn't work and there's a funny smell.


A quick pump on the tool(and empty coolant bottle ) showed a hairline crack on one of the small plastic coolant pipes.


As a temporary repair I'd hoped to slip a bit of hose over it, but both the pipe and T-piece were really brittle:





That T-piece comes complete with the both hoses and the plastic pipe complete with QR fittings, and I can't get one until the end of the week.


So £1 acquired this better sized bit of hose and the correct size clamps:





A few minutes on the lathe:





my last piece of silver solder, must get some more and practice a bit:





and the completed repair:







I've just got back from road testing it, no leaks and the heater works. So that's good for now; I'll still order a new hose, as I have doubts about the rest of the plastic pipe.

[dave the builder]

Tidy 
I've "temporarily fixed *" many coolant and Vac pipe leaks with stock plumbing fittings i carry

* temporary fix = i'll get round to a proper fix IF  * fails before car gets sold/scrapped