remove of rocker shaft

[Richard Williams]

cam follower hieght

This is s photo of the offending follower . Am i worrying about nothing?

 

[Richard Williams]

Offer Of That Gasket

Hi, thanks Mr Reno man but I have a full set of them for this job, but helpful comments re the coolant and cam followerswould be good

 

[angel]

As the job of a cam follower is to follow the cam motion, don't you think that it is normal for a follower to sit higher (because the cam lifted it)? Common sense!
"...On removal of the cylinder head I was surprised to see coolant filling the various spaces between the bores,...". Where else did you expect to see coolant??!!!
If you didn't drain the block from its plug, it is normal that water has found its way in the tappet chest and inside the cylinders as you lifted the head.
Cam followers are easier to remove and replace than in other engines but it isn't necessary for this job.
What is the condition of the bores like? Wear, scratches, rust etc?

 

[Richard Williams]

Coolant in tappet chest

Thanks Angel, yes I'm sure it was obvious to you but this is the first head I've taken off. Could you say whether you think I have done any damage, or whether I have to now strip the whole engine? My plan was to clean the head and reassemble.
The condition of the bores was as I had expected( see my post re fibreoptic examination of bores prior to head removal under the heading of siezed engine) The bore have a very light amount of rust that is not all over , you can feel the roughness of the areas but looks easy to polish out.There is absolutly no scoreing of the bores.
The pistions had a very large amount of flaked carbon deposits sitting on them(most loose but some attached. The combustion chambers have a little carbonisation and the valves likewise, I have noticed that two cylinders are a little rusty here too which leads me to think that in the 15 years that it stood a valve in thise cyliders was in the open postion (remember our humidity )

If I lifted the cam followers to dry out the bottom of them would I do any damage or causemyself more work?
thank you for your advice

 

[bantamallan]

Any water in the oilways will drain into the sump, but give it a squirt of Wd40 or similar. When you finish the engine run it for a while on some cheap oil then drain and refill with whatever you use then anything nasty in the engine will be flushed out.
Allan

 

[malcolm]

If it were me with the head already off on an engine that has been a bit stuck I'd be inclined to dismantle further.

I'd have 2 main worries. Firstly the clean up operation on the bores (tidy all the rust off with 250 grit sand paper would be my thought) would leave grit in all the wrong places.

Secondly with the head off a wet liner engine there's danger of disturbing the seals at the bottom of the cylinder liners which could lead to water in the oil when the whole thing is back together. The manual recommends sticking the head studs back in with big washers to hold the liners in place while you clean them, but I've had problems in the past.

Thirdly (OK, so I have 3 main worries) if the engine had been standing the piston rings could be a bit seized in the pistons. No way to find out apart from pulling the pistons out. Seized rings would cause bore damage and compression problems. Unseizing rings needs to be done after soaking in diesel otherwise they break when you try to persuade them.

Forthly (and I do worry a lot) pulling the liners out would allow you to properly clean up all the sludge from inside the waterways. That'll improve cooling, or at least reduce the risk of cooling trouble.

I'm assuming new seals are available for the bottom of the liners. Worth contacting Renault or following suggestions from other people about how to get hold of them. Piston and liner kits should cone in less than £100 so might be a thought.

These are just thoughts from me - I've not done the job before, so others might be able to add or question some of these ideas.

 

[Richard Williams]

B and Q sometimes has what you want

I tend to work on the premise that Band Q demand such a low selling price that manufacturers nearly always are forced to compromise on quality and so it is rarely worth buying anything there. But today is an exception, as you can see from the photograph they sell a selection of large washers and curtain rails that convert well into cylinder retainers.

Thanks to all who have helped me, I feel that this will be a job that needs to be done increasingly often, as the supply of salvageable R4s drys up to those that have been left standing for years. What do you think about the condition of the pistons?

 

[angel]

I agree with Clementine and Bantamallan. The top of the pistons does not say much about their condition, it's the rings/grooves that matter.
You can remove the cam followers by just pulling them up but put them in their original positions afterwards. Do not use abrasives to clean them!