new head needed!

[morrmorr]

me yet again
the krypton tune guy has just informed me that theres a prob with my valve seats ie no compression, i can do the work my self apart from the skimming and stuff, what i wanted to know was what heads will go on a 2 litre petrol 1990 pinto? my plan is to do the work on the replacment, then it will be a bolt off bolt on job to replace, and hopefully the van shouldnt be off the road for ages that way.
any thoughts all knowing people?
ps anything to look out for when taking head off?

[rover]

me yet again
the krypton tune guy has just informed me that theres a prob with my valve seats ie no compression, i can do the work my self apart from the skimming and stuff, what i wanted to know was what heads will go on a 2 litre petrol 1990 pinto? my plan is to do the work on the replacment, then it will be a bolt off bolt on job to replace, and hopefully the van shouldnt be off the road for ages that way.
any thoughts all knowing people?
ps anything to look out for when taking head off?

You can get the head from ... Sierra,Cortina,Capri,Granada, etc..or another Transit of course, its a very simple job when you consider todays engines!

Main things to look out for, when stripping down make sure to mark the position of the Idler pulley that controls the distributor, that way you wont have to mess around setting up the timing too much.

Be sure to have the correct order of tightening for the head bolts.

Personally I always get a head set rather than just a gasket, you can then change all the oil seals and valve stem seals at the same time.


So, why does the bloke say you valve seats are knackered? Usually a lack of compression without the glaringly obvious blu smoke of 'Piston Rings' is down to a little seat regression causings badly adjusted tappets..


Rover.

[morrmorr]

you reckon that simply doing the tappits might sort me out? i am so chuffed if thats the case,
i thought the springs on the tappits brought the valve back to the seats or am i mad? not ever seen inside the rocker cover on a ohc mind so please excuse my ingnorrance

[jay]

dont bother with a transit head...get a sierra or granny one...the transit one apparently has slightlt smaller valves and lower profile cam...get a car one for a bit more performance.along with the carb

[rover]

Hahaha, no you're not mad mate.

What happens is that if the seats start to reccess then the valve would sit higher...with me? ok, so if the valve sits higher then the top of it is going to be closer to the tappet yes? and when it gets so far the tappet will not let the valve close fully, and therefore uneven running and a lack of compression will ensue, still with me? So before you decide to strip it all down I suggest you reset all the tappets and see if that cures the problem, I'm not gauranteeing anything but its got to be worth a shot before going and replacing the head.


Rover.

[morrmorr]

christ i accually understand yes lol excelant thank you very much .............i was thinking also would the regression be down to unleaded fuel or were the pintos ok for unleaded?.......................1 more thing, is the cam belt tensioner and automatic adjust type affair or can i nip it up a bit tighter as i think its coming into contact with the cowl!!!!!!!!! ..............i realy need to sort my van out, but its a camper and i am a surfer and winter the swell is good lol

[madmark]

has the tappets been ajusted attal that you know of????? as rover says these engines are very funny with tight tappets ,is she lumpy on idle???? is she cammy????? whats the milage on the engine ,these pinto,s were made to run unleaded so if the engine is lowish milage it probly isnt you guides!

[bazw]

go to your local library and look at a haynes manual for a sierra,granada or cortina have a good read of the section on the engine (ohc /pinto)
this will tell you how to do the work and how to refit it all
if you have it too bits to do the valves (they may be able to be reground [with a rubber sucker on a stick and some grinding paste] )
have a good look at the cam for wear as theyare prone to it , as its the time to change it when you have the head off
at the very least change the oil feed pipe to the cams as they block up with sludge

[Nighthawk]

There shouldn't be any need to mark the aux pulley, if you time the engine up using the marks on the crank pulley and the pointer on the cam pulley, the dissy should be right on the mark too.

Take off the dissy cap and push the little plastic shield out of the way, you'll see a line scribed into the alloy of the dissy body, that lines up nicely with the center of the rotor arm.

The valves should be the first place to start, the OHC engine likes a good engine vacuum, especialy if you have the Ford VV carb.

[morrmorr]

has the tappets been ajusted attal that you know of????? as rover says these engines are very funny with tight tappets ,is she lumpy on idle???? is she cammy????? whats the milage on the engine ,these pinto,s were made to run unleaded so if the engine is lowish milage it probly isnt you guides!

she is 54 thou on the clock belived to be true.................it idles very lumpy theres no poke in her and she drinks like 10 fish. she doesnt blow blue smoke she also has a new webber on her,dont know if tappets have been done.

[rover]

Like I said before, cant say for sure but the more I hear the more I suspect its just tappets.

Re the Cam belt, take a look at it, if it looks like its been replaced recently(which it may have if the tappets have also been messed with) then it may just need tweaking, I usually go with the 'turn the belt through 90 degrees' principal to make sure its tight enough but not over tight.

I'm sure some smart A$$ will tell you the exact up and down play from horizontal there should be


Rover.

[morrmorr]

thanks all .................we should have a meet in the summer and ill buy the beers, beer count to date is 5 per helper............probably will get higher by the summer

[Nighthawk]

I'm sure some smart A$$ will tell you the exact up and down play from horizontal there should be


Rover.

LOL, is that where I come in
If so, I could explain the exact procedure involving 2 revoultions of the crank and then turning it back 60degrees and checking with the belt tension gauge........but it works out almost exactly the same as a 90degree twist of the belt...

[rover]

Hahaha........I knew there would be a 'Proper' procedure for it


If anyone knows about Transits Nighthawk its you, so without wanting to sound mean.....Yeah it was you that I thought of


Rover.

[Nighthawk]

Good job my self confidence isn't as fragile as a MK6 transit then

I can quote the facts and figures all day, but the best bit about me is.........there's nothing I can't do on a Transit with a spanner either and what gets the van back on the road, isn't always what uncle Henry put in the book