Puffwagon Trust me bro... Gold Donating Members 16,056 Member For: 9y 11m 16d Gender: Male Location: South Australia Posted 26/07/23 04:48 AM Share Posted 26/07/23 04:48 AM Haha let it leak and save your money An MLS gasket needs near perfect surfaces. I'd get the head checked and decked and also spend a lot of time hand finishing the block to get it spot on. Apart from that the rest is pretty much personal preference and will be fine either way. Yeah better is better but good enough is good enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Andrew Gold Donating Members 2,036 Member For: 9y 8m 23d Gender: Male Location: Canberra ACT Posted 26/07/23 05:08 AM Author Share Posted 26/07/23 05:08 AM Cool thanks. I'll look into but might go factory style if that is easier to seal.If I get the head checked they can probably do the springs and save me buying a tool I'll never use again.Leak is enough to be making a decent mess wherever I park. Maybe I should cable tie a rag in there and just change it once a week Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puffwagon Trust me bro... Gold Donating Members 16,056 Member For: 9y 11m 16d Gender: Male Location: South Australia Posted 26/07/23 05:33 AM Share Posted 26/07/23 05:33 AM A factory gasket is no better at sealing, all steel gaskets need a near perfect finish. For the $150 it cost to deck the head, it's a no brainer. You should google mls gasket finish to see what's involved. Just hire a valve spring tool, I borrowed one from Mace years ago, was about $50. Atomic might still hire them out and there might be other places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Andrew Gold Donating Members 2,036 Member For: 9y 8m 23d Gender: Male Location: Canberra ACT Posted 26/07/23 05:37 AM Author Share Posted 26/07/23 05:37 AM Thanks. Actually BCW have a good video about resealing a Barra and he goes through the block prep process. I should be able to use any old valve spring tool given I won't be doing it in the car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puffwagon Trust me bro... Gold Donating Members 16,056 Member For: 9y 11m 16d Gender: Male Location: South Australia Posted 26/07/23 05:45 AM Share Posted 26/07/23 05:45 AM Yeah man I've used my single spring tool a bunch of times with steel retainers. Mod it with a couple of nuts locked together so you can use your electric drill, then you can drill it in and out a million times quicker than hand winding it. Be very careful you don't get it hooked onto the cam journal, it will want to grab it. Give the retainers a smack with a hammer first to loosen the collets otherwise you will bend your tool when you try to wind it in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Andrew Gold Donating Members 2,036 Member For: 9y 8m 23d Gender: Male Location: Canberra ACT Posted 26/07/23 06:27 AM Author Share Posted 26/07/23 06:27 AM Awesome - thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Andrew Gold Donating Members 2,036 Member For: 9y 8m 23d Gender: Male Location: Canberra ACT Posted 05/08/23 07:31 AM Author Share Posted 05/08/23 07:31 AM Small update: some more info today. Not conclusive but a step in the right direction.A mate's brother in law is a mechanic and so we put the car on his hoist today and poked around with the inspection camera for a while. Definitely lots of oil around the head gasket, however we DID find some oil up higher leaking around the inlet manifold. So I'm hoping that the rocker cover is leaking, running either side of an intake runner on the manifold and then settling a bit where the head gasket stocks out and spreading from there. Still might be both! I've got a minor leak on the other side above the power steering pump from the rocker cover gasket and I wouldn't mind painting my rocker cover, so I reckon I'll tackle that, clean everything up and see what happens. Only costs me a rocker cover gasket to try.Unfortunately we also saw the rear main was leaking. That was replaced earlier this year so should be a warranty job but have to go back to someone and break the news that they have to remove and refit the transmission for no charge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Andrew Gold Donating Members 2,036 Member For: 9y 8m 23d Gender: Male Location: Canberra ACT Posted 07/09/23 03:41 AM Author Share Posted 07/09/23 03:41 AM Still no progress on this one - having one usable hand for a while isn't going to get it done! In the meantime I've bought a raw rocker cover and will get it powder coated. Can't decide what colour.Then I either wait until my hand has healed, pay someone or supervise the 12 year old to do it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hjtrbo Bronze Donating Members 320 Member For: 13y 11m 26d Posted 07/09/23 01:18 PM Share Posted 07/09/23 01:18 PM oil leaks, built motor talk and 1 useable hand @Puffwagon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puffwagon Trust me bro... Gold Donating Members 16,056 Member For: 9y 11m 16d Gender: Male Location: South Australia Posted 07/09/23 09:13 PM Share Posted 07/09/23 09:13 PM Just barra things Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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