Hi guys, I decided to delve a bit deeper into my supposedly knackered 2lt engine from the 1999 GLS that I bought the other week. The story was that they thought it had been run low on oil with lots off knocking noises and a blown head gasket. I whipped the balance shafts off and inspected all the crank bearings and conrod bearings. All looked to be in good condition in keeping with a 98k mile engine. definitely not starved of oil then
The piston bores are also excellent and there is no piston slap either. Then I turned my attention to the cylinder head. have a look at this pic!
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l193/mijfife/head003.jpg I can only assume that the gasket had gone and the car has been driven for quite a while as I've never seen a breach like this before! Id also assume that this was the cause of the knocking noises??
So the dilema is, do I go with my original block, and source another head? I assume a cylinder head from an earlier 2ltr will fit okay? The Haynes manual says to renew the big end cap bolts and cylinder head bolts, do they stretch when fitted?
I'd be interested in what you think.
Cheers Jim