199 Sucking Oil

[farna@xxxxxxx]

>A: Redoing the head on a high mileage engine isn't the best thing to do. I
agree on doing >seals w/o taking the head off tho. Air pressure or soft rope
down the plug hole.

I've heard it, and did it anyway. Oil consumption has always gone DOWN for me! I alway drain the coolant before taking the head off, why wouldn't you? There will be some in the block, but not enough (at least on an I-6) to get in the bores. If a little does a quick swipe with a rag takes care of it. Might be a problem with a V-8 engine -- just drain the block too, there's a plug on the side for that... each side?? 

The only valid sounding reason I've ever been given for not rebuilding a head on a high mileage engine is the added compression will cause increased strain on worn bearings and rings. That could cause increased pressure in the crankcase due to compression leaking around the rings and speed up wear of already worn bearings. If there is a noticeable power increase a happy driver might drive a bit harder also, which tends to wear it faster. I've never had a big problem with any of the above, though I did get added crankcase pressure in one engine. I drove it for about a year before building the bottom end -- but that was the second time that head had been built and the bottom end was overdue with about 160K on it. It hadn't led a pampered life -- a couple teenage girls who ran it hot several times, then me driving it like it was a newer car for many years... 


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