R500D head gasket replacement

[Waitey]

Hi All,

Can anyone suggest a good place to take my R500D for a head gasket replacement?

Thanks

[Mossy7]

Try Stuart at Premier Power. You never know he may help you find a few more horses too!

[Waitey]

Already at 305!

He wants it out of the chassis though and that’s a bit of a bind as I need it for an event soon.

[mic]

Definitely does not need to be out of the car, unless the engine has got really overheated. Do you know why it went?

Edited by mic on Saturday 21st July 20:49

[Mr MXT]

Can’t post on the other forum as my membership has lapsed - (met you at Blyton) - it’s really not that hard to do yourself in situ, it’s impossible to get the timing wrong, the crank locks with a special tool...

Other than that, you could try Andrew @ AP racing engines in Mansfield.

[sfaulds]

Mr MXT said:

it’s impossible to get the timing wrong, the crank locks with a special tool...

That's quite a statement! I'd strongly suggest you ignore it.

[mic]

Mr MXT said:

it’s impossible to get the timing wrong, the crank locks with a special tool...

Not sure that's true !

[SKC]

It's not just a case of changing the gasket, you need to understand why the current one has failed. Need to ensure both the head and block faces are flat before fitting the new gasket.

Regards SKC

[Mr MXT]

Re the timing - the crank has a pin that locks it in place through the side of the block, and the cams have a flat on the end, which again will only go in one position using the special tool (ie bit of flat bar)

If I'm missing something obvious, please tell me because I'm replacing a head gasket next week!

[mic]

Your missing quite a lot, cams need to be timed using a dial gauge. If its a standard engine you can use a bar to time it, but an R500 requires setting the cams at different angles.

Edited by mic on Saturday 21st July 21:47

[Mr MXT]

What’s a few degrees amongst friends?

Fair point, I don’t have verniers so I don’t have any adjustability there.

[mic]

If its a Duratec the sprockets are completely adjustable, there are no keyways.

[SKC]

As soon as you undo the crank damper pulley bolt, it's bye bye cam timing. Needs to be measured accurately but someone who knows what they are doing. Also if the original settings are lost, this could cause issues with the ECU calibration as cams might end up being reset on different settings. So get this wrong, worse case is cam timing reset, new unlocked ECU and a remapping session on the rollers. Worse still, get something wrong with cam timing and suffer piston to valve contact. Now it is starting to get expensive.

Regards SKC

[Waitey]

To answe some of the questions;

Not sure why it went, it just started pressurising the coolant heavily. Head lift at 9000rpm could be a possibility, it has ARP head studs though, so you’d assume it wasn’t that!

It has an arrow keywayed crank, so the crank timing is pretty much set.

Cam timing would be a worry.

It’s already on Omex so map changes aren’t the end of the world.

[Dave J]

assume the basics like a dodgy coolant cap have been checked ?

[mic]

Which head gasket is fitted?

[Waitey]

Dave J said:

assume the basics like a dodgy coolant cap have been checked ?

Yeah new expansion tank and cap which have been tested.