[Amc-list] Off with it's head!

[Tom Jennings <tomj@xxxxxxx>]

I've had a hell week -- father in a nursing home last Sun
(that's good, under the circumstances) but one brother almost
went postal, police involved; meetings with dad's lawyer,
but it ended up mostly OK.  I recall why I moved 2700 miles away.

Then I had a conference in Monterey Wed -- Fri, it was fine,
but it was 48 straight hours of nerdfest, bad coffee, cheap
wine, and sugary snacks, bracketed by a really nice drive out
through the Temblor Range (between 101 and I5).

I'm a bit fried.

'nuff said.

Took the head off'n the little American yesterday. Whew! Very
clean, and all cylinder show crosshatch, no gouges, etc. One
cyl had an un-feelable stain in the shape of the oil control
ring.  Cleaned spotlessly could not feel it with fingertip or
fingernail. Ship it.

Combustion chamber surfaces have light coke-y buildup, not
thick, including valves. Looks like a few 10K miles. it's
most definitely not original. The block, head are grease-free,
and different colors, the block has a REBUILT metal tag.

Valve stem seals leaking; stiff stem seals.

Head on bench, pressed tips with palm (soft springs! ain't no
6000 rpm V8 here!) Six of them moved freely, the other six
stuck. One moved, then stuck down 1/8"! That's clearly the
pushrod problem.

No visible sign of head cracking, but I assume they're not always
visible. I have little experience with real engine-failure
subtleties.  Any tips here? Zero sign of water, black lines,
seep cracks, etc.

I will pull all the valves. I hope it's just burned on crud
and not rust, but will deal with what I find. Gotta buy a valve
compression tool. New umbrella seals obviously, at a minimum.

This coming weekend I drop the pan to look at bearings and
clean out the pan.

I have very little experience with diagnosing possible problems
with bearings, eg. acid stains from old oil, or really subtle
wear stuff. I know what bad ones look and feel like. Any tips?

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