To remove the head, I put a folded blanket on the right fender and lay a piece of plywood on top of that. Then sit in the middle of the windshield and straddle the engine with your legs. Lift the head up and over to the piece of plywood and let the head sit there while you climb down on the left side of the car. It's not too bad if you have everything disconnected. The head is aluminum, so it's not as heavy as you might think, but it's not light either.

Let us know how it goes!

Cheers,

Don

 

Got the cylinder head out of the car using the windshield method. Don't know how I'm going put it back in though! What do you guys think about the condition? To me everything looks relatively good, there are some coolant passages that are clogged solid though! (does this explain my coolant tank staying pressurized?) Also the head gasket is blue, I've only seen red colored head gasket on the pictures online. I'm assuming my leak was only from the rear cover. The exhaust valves looked "steam cleaned"? If someone can explain my findings that would be great!

 

There was a TSB long ago about using EPOXY RESIN to fill the corrosion holes and sandblock it FLAT.
I cannot find it in my .pdf folders. (it might have been a PAPER document not converted to digital?)

 

Use a small screwdriver or mechanic's pick to carefully clean the coolant jackets. Drill bits can be used like files to help clean away the residue. Carefully inspect the head gasket surface for any corroded areas between a coolant jacket and combustion chamber or oil passage.

Per Bob's reference, I have used JB Weld to fill corroded recesses after cleaning all the corrosion out of them. I used a small scraper or Formica sample chip to smooth the JB Weld, then after it cured I used a safety razor blade to very carefully scrape the excess epoxy until it was perfectly level with the head surface.

Also, I recommend using the Permatex copper Spray-a-Gasket on both sides of your new head gasket since it helps fill in minor imperfections in the head and block.

One other thing you should do is to lay a good straightedge along both diagonal lengths of the head gasket surface to check for warpage. Two or three thousandths of an inch of gap in the middle of the straightedge should be no problem. Much more and you may need to have it resurfaced by a machine shop.

To reinstall the head, just sit it on your plywood blanket on the right fender, then climb back up onto the windshield from the left side and straddle the engine again. Install your gasket with copper sealant onto the engine, then lift the head into place. One trick I use from time to time is to securely tie a length of strong braided rope onto points at each end of the head to serve has a handle if the cams are difficult to grasp. If the rope is the thickness of a clothesline, I'll twist it over itself several times to create a more comfortable handle.

Cheers,

Don

 

Here are some more detailed pictures after a very light wipe down. Honestly I don't know what the heck I am looking at! These are close up of the corrosion/pitting I saw. Are these fixable or should I try to source a different engine?

Are these suppose to be opened like the other coolant passages or is the small circle normal?? The "orange/yellow" coloring also seemed raised a little

Pitting/corrosion, are these fixable? Or should I find a replacement engine? lower engine block

Pitting, are these fixable? Or should I find a replacement engine? lower engine block

Pitting, are these fixable? Or should I find a replacement engine? lower engine block

 

If those little holes in the head correspond with similar holes in the head gasket, they may be fine, but test with a pick to see if the area around the small hole is coolant residue.

The corrosion around your coolant jackets is a little worse than any I've dealt with, but not by much. I think JB Weld two-part epoxy may just do the trick if you're patient and careful. I would suggest beginning by carefully picking out as much of the residue as you can from the corroded areas, then clean them by applying CLR (Calcium Lime Rust) from the kitchen or plumbing department of your local home store with a Q-tip swab / cotton bud. Allow the CLR to eat away the corrosion for a few minutes, then flush with distilled water. Dry, then thoroughly de-grease with a strong solvent like acetone or lacquer thinner. Mix the JB Weld in small amounts and spread into the corroded areas applying pressure with a plastic scraper or Formica countertop laminate sample chip. Don't worry if your first coat doesn't come all the way up to the surface. You can apply a second coat. Don't leave the JB Weld too proud of the head surface or you'll have a lot of leveling to do. When the epoxy begins to firm up, you can use a safety razor blade to careful slice the excess away using the head surface as your guide. Once the epoxy is fully cured, use the safety razor blade to very carefully scrape the JB Weld down, using the surface of the head as a guide to get the epoxy perfectly level.

Obviously, you don't want to leave any epoxy inside the coolant jackets, oil passages, or cylinders.

Cheers,

Don

 

Whats weird is from pictures I could find online all the coolant jackets should be uniform and opened. Trying to figure out why mine is different and If I should try to open it up to look like these photos below. Thanks for the instruction on how to fill in the corrosion with JB Weld, will more then likely go that route however there is a used engine here locally for $150, can't verify the condition of it though. The rest of my XJ40 is pristine

edit: after closer examination, my cylinder head corresponds with the picture I found on welshnet (the first photo below). I wonder what the difference is