Headcase

[superstator]

Got the head off my 2.25d this weekend, and in to a local machine shop this morning. Which is good, and I'm optimistic this will solve some of my bigger outstanding issues with the engine...

Question is, am I stupid to not pull the pistons and look at rings and bearings while I've got the head off? On the one hand it seems like a simple no brainer thing to do if I'm this far along, but on the other hand I'm on a very tight budget at the moment. The engine was rebuilt about 15 years ago, including resleeving the bores, and they don't seem too worn at this point - there's a little lip, just enough I can start to catch my fingernail on it, but not huge. There doesn't seem to be any significant blow-by either, though I worry that tight new head might change that...

This is the deepest I've been in an engine since high school auto shop, so I'm making things up as I go

[gudjeon]

If you are this far, and can afford it, I would go for a re-ring and new shells on the con rods at the minimum. The Hastings website has a comprehensive ring listing that includes the L/R 2.25.

http://www.hastingsmfg.com/

I don't mean to put off our host, but Hastings rings are hard to beat for quality.

[thixon]

Gudj,

Its up to you (great friggin answer huh?). Did you do a compression or leak down test before you pulled the head off? Sorry, I don't remember why you yanked the head to begin with. Also, how many miles since that rebuild 15 years ago? Drop the pan, and inspect the bottom end if its really bugging you. All it'll cost you is a pan gasket, and it may set your mind at ease if you see everything looks good.

[superstator]

I pulled it because there were large amounts of oil in two of the intake galleries, and a godawful noise coming from the intake manifold. My assumption is that the guides are shot, and the crud buildup is letting the intake valves leak a little during the power stroke. Don't know how many miles since the rebuild, just years - it's had several owners since then, but they kept pretty good records. No compression test either - I was under the impression you need some pretty specialized gear to do one on a diesel anyway...

[thixon]

Sorry for the late reply, been out of town.

You do need a specific type of tester to do a compression test on a diesel. Sorry I missed the deisel cue in your first post. Guess I need to pay better attention.

If it were me, I'd drop the pan, and inspect everything I could. Since you have the head off, you can do a half arse leak down test just by filling the bores with oil and checking to make sure you don't have a cylinder that just flat out leaks past the rings right away.

I admittedly have a tendency to be a bit more loosy goosy than a lot of people on this board so take what I say how ever you like. If it were me, I'd inspect everything after dropping the pan. If it looked good, I probably bolt it back together and run it. Again, thats me. I've had bad luck in the past with the classic re-ring, new bearing overhaul. I've had better luck when I've rebuilt the head and left the bottom end alone (provided everything checked out). When things did'nt check out I went full rebuild on the bottom end.

My 2 cents.