Hi David:
I believe that your diagnosis is correct. I would advise that when you pull
the cyl head, that you also pull all of the head studs. check the top of
the block for flat. You might want to conseder countersinking each stud
hole, as this has a tendicy to lift. this will make it immposible to obtain
the proper torque. also, give the head gasket two or three coats of either
silver or aluminum paint, out of a spray can. this works very well, and
will prevent further head gasket leaks. I hope this will help you with your
current problem. Cheers::::::
Skip..............At 12:28 PM 4/21/97 GMT, David M. Proffitt wrote:
>Hello All
>
>I seem to have blown the head gasket on my 1970 MGBGT
>
>I had some starting problems on Saturday and when cleaning the plugs
>noticed that No.1 was oiled - For a while now I've been getting a
>small amount of white smoke when idling (but not under load) so I
>assumed I was burning oil and was pondering whether this was worn
>valve guides or piston rings
>
>Last night I was driving back through the wilds of Essex when the
>water temp started climbing rapidly (it was a very un-springlike cold
>night) I was starting to look out for a convenient place to stop and
>investigate when I suddenly got vast clouds of white smoke from the
>exhaust so I stopped where I was
>
>The dipstick showed what looked like water in the oil so it looks like
>the head gasket has gone (if nothing worse?)
>
>I'll take the head off next weekend for a proper look
>
>Is the gasket blowing something that just happens or should I be
>looking for some underlying cause?
>
>One thing that occurs to me is that this is the first run since
>replacing the radiator pressure cap - the original had a big chunk
>missing from the seal and as I was getting through a lot of water I
>assumed that it was probably slowly bleeding out all the time - Is
>it possible that upping the cooling system to the correct pressure
>could have pushed an existing weakness to the point of failure?
>
>TIA for any thoughts
>
>David
>
>MG photos at:
>http://www.mds.qmw.ac.uk/csd/staff/david-mg.html
>
>
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