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K Series Head Gasket


Hulie Biasion

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Started the 7 today after 6 month's hibernation, thought it was a bit smokey but put it down to the new exhaust. When it didn't clear I noticed coolant dripping from the exhaust collector. And a lack of coolant in the header tank. Not what I was expecting, just supposed to be preflight checks before taxing next week. 
I have asked Redline for a list of parts required and will get on with changing it next weekend. 
Any hints and tips required for changing  a K Series head gasket would be appreciated. 

Thanks

Julian

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Did you take the water rail off? I'd check that for leaks first. They can be tricky to seal as the forward support fixing can sometimes be away from the block when the flange is bolted up. When the forward fixing is tightened it can break the seal. A washer underneath the forward fixing solves it.

Flange bolts can also bottom out so the seal isnt clamped fully.

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If it is a HG failure, you need to sort out the root cause, rather than just replacing the gasket.  Many people have changed a K-series head gasket, only to find the problem reoccurs.  IIRC, there can be various causes, from the dowels used between block and head, head porosity, the head being warped and needing remachining etc.

Dave Andrews (oilyhands on here) is a mine of information and I thought he had a web page specifically about this problem, but cannot find it now.  Maybe someone else has a link?

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But wasn't there also a specific page for head gasket failures for the K?  I remember reading a long web article years ago about the various failure causes, I'm pretty sure it was on the DVA Power website but I might be mistaken.

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I definitely have water getting into no.4 bore. In the article provided by Jonathan it mentions the seal going on the inlet manifold and letting coolant into the cylinders. In the past couple of weeks before I started the car I noticed coolant droplets on the bottom of the sump and on the off side engine mounting bracket. I could not find the source but possibly from the inlet manifold.

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I have just removed the inlet manifold and the o ring gasket is discoloured and flat on cyl 4. Also on the inlet of the head on no. 4 the port is very clean where the other ports have a slight green tinge. There was also some signs of coolant inside the manifold on no.4. I am going to change this gasket first and run the car up again before attacking the head gasket. 
I will let you know the outcome, thanks for your advice.

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Update - The inlet manifold gasket was the culprit. Once changed for new and run up the smoke cleared from the exhaust after 5 min, just had to burn off the coolant in the bottom of the silencer. Run up to temperature and all good. 
Now ready for the season. Thanks to everybody for the advice. It was the K Series article that led me to the cause and stopped me from taking the head off. 
 

Thanks Julian.

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  • 1 month later...

It is a sad fact that head gasket failure is misunderstood by a number of Caterham specialists.  I should know, three head gaskets later I found an old school specialist who identified the issue.  His diagnosis, subsequently confirmed by the former k-series production manager at Rover.  Simply, no.1 cylinder runs hot, if engine overheats, no.1 cylinder liner drops into support shelf within block .   No new head gasket will resolve this as it now sits below the other liners. 

My advice, before replacing a head gasket,  check height of liners is within Rover tolerance.

New Rover block and repositioned header tank solved my problem.

Chris

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It is a sad fact that head gasket failure is misunderstood by a number of Caterham specialists.  I should know, three head gaskets later I found an old school specialist who identified the issue.  His diagnosis, subsequently confirmed by the former k-series production manager at Rover.  Simply, no.1 cylinder runs hot, if engine overheats, no.1 cylinder liner drops into support shelf within block .   No new head gasket will resolve this as it now sits below the other liners. 

My advice, before replacing a head gasket,  check height of liners is within Rover tolerance.

New Rover block and repositioned header tank solved my problem.

Chris

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It is a sad fact that head gasket failure is misunderstood by a number of Caterham specialists.  I should know, three head gaskets later I found an old school specialist who identified the issue.  His diagnosis, subsequently confirmed by the former k-series production manager at Rover.  Simply, no.1 cylinder runs hot, if engine overheats, no.1 cylinder liner drops into support shelf within block .   No new head gasket will resolve this as it now sits below the other liners. 

My advice, before replacing a head gasket,  check height of liners is within Rover tolerance.

New Rover block and repositioned header tank solved my problem.

Chris

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It is a sad fact that head gasket failure is misunderstood by a number of Caterham specialists.  I should know, three head gaskets later I found an old school specialist who identified the issue.  His diagnosis, subsequently confirmed by the former k-series production manager at Rover.  Simply, no.1 cylinder runs hot, if engine overheats, no.1 cylinder liner drops into support shelf within block .   No new head gasket will resolve this as it now sits below the other liners. 

My advice, before replacing a head gasket,  check height of liners is within Rover tolerance.

New Rover block and repositioned header tank solved my problem.

Chris

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