Vt series 1 - 1998 head bolts long and short - which go where?

[aarb]

I am ready to bolt up my head gasket after many days of preparation, however I want to confirm which bolts go in which holes. My new bolts have 4 short and 4 long bolts per side. Do the long bolts all go inbetween the rockers and the short bolts outside the rocker cover adjacent to the exhaust manifold?

It a 98 berlina wagon with cast iron heads - series 1

Cheers.

 

[VS-S-PACK]

Long ones on the top and short on the bottom did them today! Use a torque wrench ! And do them in sequence !

 

[VS-S-PACK]

So long ones next to the rockers haha

 

[aarb]

head gasket change over and bolts

Long ones on the top and short on the bottom did them today! Use a torque wrench ! And do them in sequence !

That's the way I did them - long on top where the head is a bit thicker and short on the lower side where the head is thinner. The shorter bolts can be seen below the exhaust manifold when the engine is assembled.

Completed the job last night. Tested the motor without the spark plugs in to ensure it rolled over. Then tested it with the spark plugs in but no leads connected and heard a nice chug from the compression. Next I plugged the leads in and turned it over - The noise from the motor, which did not have the exhaust connected was horrendously loud (even scared me a bit). So bolted the exhaust on and tried again - Broom, it sounded very sweet! Idle was a bit rough because a couple of the emission vacuum hoses were not plugged on - particularly the purge hose on from throttle body. Plugged it in and the idle was smooth.

Maybe I was lucky, but everything worked out very well. If anyone is interested I could post some pictures of the gasket change over taken during the job.

cheers.

 

[VS-S-PACK]

That's the way I did them - long on top where the head is a bit thicker and short on the lower side where the head is thinner. The shorter bolts can be seen below the exhaust manifold when the engine is assembled.

Completed the job last night. Tested the motor without the spark plugs in to ensure it rolled over. Then tested it with the spark plugs in but no leads connected and heard a nice chug from the compression. Next I plugged the leads in and turned it over - The noise from the motor, which did not have the exhaust connected was horrendously loud (even scared me a bit). So bolted the exhaust on and tried again - Broom, it sounded very sweet! Idle was a bit rough because a couple of the emission vacuum hoses were not plugged on - particularly the purge hose on from throttle body. Plugged it in and the idle was smooth.

Maybe I was lucky, but everything worked out very well. If anyone is interested I could post some pictures of the gasket change over taken during the job.

cheers.

haha post them up! did you torque the bolts?

 

[Sabbath']

haha post them up! did you torque the bolts?

:hmmm: Hope so...torque specs arent really optional.

 

[VK SL 3800]

:hmmm: Hope so...torque specs arent really optional.

Tell that to my rattle gun mwuhahaha

 

[aarb]

Head Gasket Job

haha post them up! did you torque the bolts?

Definitely torqued the bolts to 90nm in sequence as specified. Used new bolts of course which already had loctite applied to them.

I cleaned the the block with a very soft brass brush and 800 wet and dry paper. The pistons I polished up with acetone, kero and paint thinners to remove all traces of carbon. Didn't use any metals doing that job.

The heads, I had serviced by a fellow in East Bentleigh, Melbourne. He machined them flat and did a full valve job. He was a good operator and charged about $450 for both heads, and $200 for the VRS gasket set and new bolts.

I also cleaned up the plenum, air intake manifold and most importantly thoroughly cleaned the throttle body.

Once assembled I flushed and changed the oil, filter and water, fixed all the old vacuum hoses. I had already replaced the radiator, water pump, heater tap and all water hoses!

It's running very nicely, but it's not a job I want to do again in a hurry. All up it took a week to sort out and a few days for head servicing - and a lot of elbow grease.

See the photos below showing how it progressed.

Cheers

The manifold gaskets were cracked and blown

The bottom of the plenum was very ugly!

The rockers were full of milkshake oil

The head had gaskets had rust and oil on them but no obvious blowouts. However I think they had swollen in places with rust.

The pistons had a lot of carbon (15 years worth!). And the deck looked pretty grim. The water jackets are full of rust and sludge.

Here starts the cleanup. Polished pistons with acetone. Cleaned and block deck and bolt holes.

New gaskets in place and ready to remount heads. Looking so much cleaner!

Heads machined and services by a bloke in South Eastern Melbourne - highly recommended - contact me if you want his details.

Both heads torqued and ready to fit all the other components on.

Cleaned the throttle body thoroughly - inside and out.

Now the old girl is happy again!

cheers