R8 216 Head Gasket change

[stevlee]

Hi all, just had a go at changing the head gasket (milk shake in oil) on a R8 216 honda engine on the weekend. I need some advise/direction on how to remove the 3 bolts on the bottom of the exhaust manifold and 2 on the manifold support bracket. As per Hayes I need to loosen or remove these bolts before I can move the head. I am finding it exteremly difficult to loosen those bolts ! Even the tool snapped. I have since taken out the radiator to make way for some more room, but still no joy. Any advise is highly appreciated !

[shufti]

What are you using to undo the bolts? and is it a case of them being too tight? A surface drive 6 point socket and a long bar should shift them after a liberal dose of wd40.
Don't take the manifolds off the head at this point, it's easier to lift the head off with the manifolds still attached. Unless the head needs skimming or the gaskets are leaking I would leave the manifolds alone.

[stevlee]

These manifolds are the ones on the front of the engine, just behind the radiator on the bottom of the heat shield. Cant see how I can get to the head gasket without loosen up manifold bolts. Tried to use WD40, but the bolts are rusted, so keeps slipping.

[shufti]

If you've rounded the heads on the downpipe to manifold bolts then get the next size down impact socket and hammer it on, should come off then.

Alternatively remove the manifold support bracket bolts and pipe support fixings. Then remove the manifold to head nuts and pull the the manifold away from the head. There should be enough play in the exhaust system to allow this. Do not use 12 point sockets as they round off the heads on tight bolts.

[stevlee]

Thx matey, I will give it a go this wkend, hope the weather holds up. Taking me weeks to do my first head gasket change.

[stevlee]

I have given up trying to open the bolt, instead ending up asking a local garage in Dartford for help. They were going to charge me 40 quid for all the bolts on the intake exhaust maniford, after some negotiation. They will now change the head gasket + water pump and thermostat all for 150 quid with me supplying the parts, so total it is under 200 for a 216. The guy managed to pull the head gasket off on Sat in 30min flat, amazing. Cylinder 1 and 2 gaskets are both broken. Picking it back up on Mon. Will see if this R8 lives another day on Mon.

Incidentally why do garages hates Rovers? Before I tried to do this head myself, no garage around my area wants to take on the job. Most replies are simply scrap it or charge me an arm and a leg just to getting it done, more than what the car is worth.

[stevlee]

just got the R8 back from the garage, so far so good. Tempreture not rising despite the mechanic keeps reving it for 15min. Should i still be concerned, there was a lot of white smoke initially, but seems to be less white smoke now that i have driven home. Just very paranoia !

Question to you all, the mechanic just put water into the radiator, no anti freeze. Should i keep the cooling system run like this for a few weeks before I flush it and top it up with anti-freeze?

[Rusty Bullet]

Originally Posted by stevlee

Incidentally why do garages hates Rovers? Before I tried to do this head myself, no garage around my area wants to take on the job. Most replies are simply scrap it or charge me an arm and a leg just to getting it done, more than what the car is worth.

The head is often softened by over heating and sometimes will ping another gasket after changing the first one. Some bolts can be murder to shift also, so they would budget for having problems with, say, the cam-belt tensioner pulley bolt for instance. I've changed two cam-belts and this bolt hasn't posed a problem for me yet. Another point is that the reason for the gasket being breached needs to be found (often due to water loss). This makes for lots of arguments over the guarantee.

Originally Posted by stevlee

Question to you all, the mechanic just put water into the radiator, no anti freeze. Should i keep the cooling system run like this for a few weeks before I flush it and top it up with anti-freeze?

It's your call, anti-freeze does more than just prevent freezing. It has rust inhibitors and has agents that actually help prevent over-heating in hot weather. I'd get anti-freeze in as soon as practically possible. When you change the coolant take big care to not create an airlock (no internal heater is a give a way clue).