96 Bentley Turbo R Head Gasket Job
Discussion
I thought I'd start a thread on this to spur me on.
At the end of last year, my Turbo R started running slightly lumpy, then became a steam generator with clouds of steam from the exhaust. Head gasket gone!
I have been doing a bit of research and also considered sending it off for a specialist to do but after getting quotes almost as much as the car is worth, I decided to do it myself.
Research suggested that the Introcar gasket kit was the way to go and last month I finally took the plunge and ordered the kit. The car had never overheated so I'm hoping there is no lasting damage to the engine.
Yesterday I started stripping the top end (with a mate who is an experienced mechanic) as I am not a complete stranger to engines and head gaskets, although this is pretty daunting.
If there is interest, I'll post progress and pics.
Wish me luck!
At the end of last year, my Turbo R started running slightly lumpy, then became a steam generator with clouds of steam from the exhaust. Head gasket gone!
I have been doing a bit of research and also considered sending it off for a specialist to do but after getting quotes almost as much as the car is worth, I decided to do it myself.
Research suggested that the Introcar gasket kit was the way to go and last month I finally took the plunge and ordered the kit. The car had never overheated so I'm hoping there is no lasting damage to the engine.
Yesterday I started stripping the top end (with a mate who is an experienced mechanic) as I am not a complete stranger to engines and head gaskets, although this is pretty daunting.
If there is interest, I'll post progress and pics.
Wish me luck!
It's one of those jobs that "If you are taking it so far apart, you best change X, Y, Z, while you are in there as some components are not accessible easily" so the quotes included replacing lots of parts that are, well nearly 30 years old. Thermostat, Injector "O" rings, Valve Stem Seals e.t.c. Dismantling all the gubbins around the plenum, belts are all time consuming so lot's of labour involved too.
I was interested to see your thread, particularly as the engine's a V8. A quick google threw up this, from 2019, suggesting the engine may be prone to head gasket failure,
"Turbo R's are prone to head gasket failure if put under pressure before the engine has fully warmed, apparently the original gaskets were not of a good standard but a later upgraded version is available and is reportedly more robust. Hopefully your engine hasn't been damaged or the head hasn't become warped and you will be up and running again soon."
In light of the comment about quality of the original gaskets I'm wondering whether it might be worth doing both sides while you're in there?
"Turbo R's are prone to head gasket failure if put under pressure before the engine has fully warmed, apparently the original gaskets were not of a good standard but a later upgraded version is available and is reportedly more robust. Hopefully your engine hasn't been damaged or the head hasn't become warped and you will be up and running again soon."
In light of the comment about quality of the original gaskets I'm wondering whether it might be worth doing both sides while you're in there?
I've done a head gasket on a Corniche and taken a Continental R down to the heads to replace some fuel lines. Somehow the boys at Crewe were successful at making a pushrod engine super complicated. Once you get the intercooler off, you'll find that there are individual intake runners. There's a sequence to removing them that requires you to start at the front by removing the thermostat housing. You're going to need to replace all the plastic gaskets for the intake and also plan on replacing the o-rings on the fuel rail and probably the injectors while you're at it. The o-rings on the rail are exactly the same as the injector o rings, but were likely sourced from a difference suppler and fail sooner which is a major fire hazard.
These cars usually need a head gasket every 60k miles. There's a newer version of the head gasket that's just been released which is supposed to solve this. As it's new, the jury is out. Honestly, this job is like peeling an onion so replace as much as you can so that you don't have to go in again for any other reason.
These cars usually need a head gasket every 60k miles. There's a newer version of the head gasket that's just been released which is supposed to solve this. As it's new, the jury is out. Honestly, this job is like peeling an onion so replace as much as you can so that you don't have to go in again for any other reason.
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