W460 280GE Head removal
Evening all,
Just a quick one: I've got a bit of a weeping head on a 280GE. Though it has never been a problem, I thought i'd take it off and get it skimmed, replace the gasket etc. to see if it sorts it.
It looks like a fairly straight forward job that even I (with limited knowledge) can do. But, things are rarely as straight forward as they seem - are there any unforseen gremlins lurking around the corner or anything to watch out for/advice.
Cheers
Hi ED
If its not broke don't fix it ( old adage rings very true with the M110 / 280ge engine )..where is the leak? and what volume of water do you lose ?
Hi Alan
so you are getting water in the oil! not oil in the radiator? or both and it runs rich with lots of black smoke! does it overheat?( pointer at the centre or slightly to the left on the temp guage) how long has it run like this??
No,no, its running at normal temp. and no smoke. No oil in the radiator or water in the oil.
We mean to say that the gasket seems to leak a wee bit and oil can be seen on the outside of the block. Hence the plan for me to take the head off, get it skimmed, put a new head gasket in and see if it makes a difference. i'll put up a picture when my memory card stops playing up.
Hi ED
the 280ge engine is built with lower compression than the car equivelent. your leak is common and cause by the head gasket which has a very narrow interface with the block at the outer edges..might look a lttle messy but doing no harm as long as the water system still pressurises when hot ---leave it alone....... you could generate more problems """shearing exhaust manifold studs etc ""..if you do not like the mess wash it of with "Gunk" now and again...
rgds Peter
FixWin - I think you are right. Clean and top up with oil every now and then. Ed has bought a K reg Defender 110 van top for a reasonable (ish) £2700. All he now has to do is replace rotten doors all round and the bulkhead to boot. The G issues methinks are going to be left to me! But here is a question: is a 1983 460 280GEL worth restoring? The body is suffering but mechanically she has never let me down (rear diff lock siezed at the moment). How easy is it to deal with rust on wheel arches, rear door and very little left of the body under the tail lights! Alan
Is it worth restoring? It all depends on how important it is to you and your use of a 4 X 4. As to a projected value of the vehicle considering restoration costs, you may never achieve premium price for it, so in my opinion, if you do restore it, it will for the love of it rather than commercial value.
How easy is it to repair? Any competant body shop has the capability to do the work, depending on the rot, the panel could be treated or replaced. Replacement wheel arches, rear quarter panels are available, the rear door-bottom panel can be easily fabricated by a basic body shop.
Thank you for your objective comments! Fond of her I am, so a labour of love maybe. That way the 460 does the hard work and the 463 remains in good condition!
One question - there is a lot of discussion about skocks and springs ... the 463 wallows most horribly, she will be 50/50 road and track, with very little reall off road exercise. What shocks and spring combination would be best? SImply MB replacements or XYZ springs and Koni/Bilstien shocks?
Alan
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FixWin - we are talking cylinder head. It has wept ever since we have had the beast. A good way of replacing engine oil maybe? But again she does not use that much. What would be good though would be to get her running smoothly and starting easily without having to have a rich mixture that makes her a petrol drinker of 10 MPG! Alan & Son