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June 10, 2002: I Break out the JB Weld
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The gasket surface was pitted so badly, that I wound up applying a thin coat of JB Weld to the entire gasket area. |
I mixed up some JB Weld and began filling pits using the tip of a "Stim-u-dent" tooth pick. I found that the sloped edge of the pick lent itself admirably to spreading a smooth coat of epoxy over the area I was working on.
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I utilized a safety razor blade (single edged) to further smooth the JB Weld on the gasket surface, although this did not appear to significantly improve the surface beyond what I was able to achieve using the Stim-U-Dent by itself.
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A section of the prepared surface is shown in the photo to the left. Next step is to allow it to cure overnight, then begin smoothing with fine grade emery paper. |
June 12, 2002: More Work On the Head
These have been busy times for us. Our daughter and her family have purchased another home and we have been busy helping them with the move. We're also preparing for an upcoming reunion of Dille (pronounced "DIL-lie") first cousins on my mother's side of the family. Jean is writing a history of the Dilles for the reunion attendees and has been researching family geneaology day and night. I've been collecting photos from the family, scanning them, and will be making CDs for distribution at the event. So I grab what few minutes I can when I can to work on the Westy. Top priority is getting that engine sealed up before it is affected by the rain and high humidity we've experienced recently.
I affixed a piece of fine grade emery paper to a sanding block and began work on the JB Weld. I had allowed the JB to set for nearly two days; still, it sanded easily down to a smooth surface. The sanding block helped me to assure a more uniformly flat surface on the gasket face. |
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The next job was the lip around the water jacket and cylinder sleeves. I sprayed it with carburetor cleaner and wiped it down with a shop towel. Then I used a piece of very fine grade emery paper to lightly sand off any corrosion I spotted. The lip was not as bad as I had suspected, so this job went fairly fast. |
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Right: After spraying the sealing ring seats with (you guessed it!) carb cleaner and wiping them dry, I polished them up with the wire brush on my Dremel to remove any corrosion that remained. |
Left: After the gasket surfaces were sufficiently smooth, I returned to the head and pried out the old head sealing rings with a small screwdriver, taking care not to scratch the inside surface of the combustion chamber.
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... Now for something completely different --
Above: The broken stud for the lower alternator bracket has been removed!
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Fanfare:
The stud is out!!!
I had a devil of a time getting straight in on this stud with the drill. The plan was to drill a hole in the stud (which had been broken off about 1/4 inch inside the hole), insert an "easy-out," and back out the broken fastener. Instead of going straight in, I tried coming in at an angle, first from the right, then from the left. I was able to make a small indentation in the stud... at least the drill was not slipping around....but could not get the drill to go any further into this hard metal. I finally went to the local hardware store and told them to "give me a 7/64 drill bit that will drill through the hardest substance known to man." After giving me a blank look, the clerk led me to the drill bit aisle and I selected a cobalt honey that said it was ideal for drilling through stainless steel. I took it home, put it on my Dremel's flexible extension, and was able to come straight in on the broken stud. The shavings flew! Unfortunately, the one screw remover I had was too small, so off I went to the auto parts store for the "deluxe" selection of various sizes. Cost me $10, but I brought them home, selected the appropriate size, stuck that sucker into the hole in the stud, cranked it about two times with a small vice grips, and turned the stud out the rest of the way by hand.
I feel good!
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