1979-1993 & 94 Conv [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
The head came off today with nary a hitch. It took two people to properly finagle(hah, never tried to spell that before!) it to keep t-chain guides intact. What did I find?
1) Missing power steering tensioner equipment. The idler pulley flange was just bolted *tightly* to the head to maintain belt tension.
2) A broken exhaust stud. Just left dangling by a thread after some mechanic got lazy.
3) The big one. All but 3 of the water jackets were completely plugged at the head gasket!! I have been running over 25 psi at times, unregulated by APC, and my pistons look nice and intact. Not even a whole lot of carbon, thanks to Aquamist. This is testament to the legendary stoutness of the SAAB bottom end. The valves did not look bad either. This is also good reason to change/flush your coolant regularly. I would have guessed the motor would be toast after this kind of abuse/neglect!
Above are good reasons to DIY everything you can. You save money, learn, and you know if something got screwed up along the way!
So I ask...
1) Some of the crap that was clogging the water jackets ended up in them. How do I get it out? Will a flush work, or do I have to get more precise? Its not a lot, but I certainly don't want it in there.
2) I used a towel to remedy the (mostly) inevitable "coolant in cylinders" effect of pulling the head. Some crap is left around the lower side of the ring land/bore gap. Will this go away with some fire and pressure, or do I have to get more precise?
Thanks guys! Sorry for the noob qs, but I REALLY don't want to do this again!
Andy
91 SPG
posted by 198.11.17...
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