Today I had to do a head gasket on my A4. About a week and a half ago noted a small leak under the Tstat area and poked a bit of epoxy in there. Was working on another A4 for a friend, so had him order me a couple of head gaskets when he was ordering his parts. We got his engine going over the weekend and today I started on my head gasket job.
Total time was 2 hrs and 15 minutes. I did it with the boat in the water and took a small genset down to run a vacuum. Head came off without difficulty and I cleaned up the surfaces and ports...things weren't too bad at all.
Took a pic of the engine right after I pulled the head. My exhaust valves are all whitish and no major carbon buildup. No gunk etc on the head and passages were pretty clean. She is a clean running engine. Been running NGK XR4 plugs for over 12 years and those exhaust valves aren't burnt...it is a well tuned engine. I wasn't making a career out of this head gasket change so didn't take many pics. Running 2 hours and 15 minutes after I started.
Nice easy job, no complications. I needed a break.
EDIT: I'd like to clarify why I use NGK XR4 plugs. This isn't a regular thing for engines with a T-stat, but I've run like this for 12 years now. I do not run a T-stat. It was removed when I got the boat and I put in a by-valve that I keep open about 1/2 way. This keeps the top end cooler, the engine runs cooler but I use a hotter plug that I think compensates for the cooler head temp and keeps my plugs and valves from fouling. I could spin every valve there with my finger tips...smooth as silk.
2nd EDIT:...that's dirt on the pistons etc. I sort of jiggled the gasket to remove it prior to taking a pic, hence the mess. Snapping a pic was an afterthought and I just vacuumed it out and kept the vacuum going as I used a sharp wood chisel to clean the surfaces. It wasn't long after that pic was taken the new gaskets and head were on.
Total time was 2 hrs and 15 minutes. I did it with the boat in the water and took a small genset down to run a vacuum. Head came off without difficulty and I cleaned up the surfaces and ports...things weren't too bad at all.
Took a pic of the engine right after I pulled the head. My exhaust valves are all whitish and no major carbon buildup. No gunk etc on the head and passages were pretty clean. She is a clean running engine. Been running NGK XR4 plugs for over 12 years and those exhaust valves aren't burnt...it is a well tuned engine. I wasn't making a career out of this head gasket change so didn't take many pics. Running 2 hours and 15 minutes after I started.
Nice easy job, no complications. I needed a break.
EDIT: I'd like to clarify why I use NGK XR4 plugs. This isn't a regular thing for engines with a T-stat, but I've run like this for 12 years now. I do not run a T-stat. It was removed when I got the boat and I put in a by-valve that I keep open about 1/2 way. This keeps the top end cooler, the engine runs cooler but I use a hotter plug that I think compensates for the cooler head temp and keeps my plugs and valves from fouling. I could spin every valve there with my finger tips...smooth as silk.
2nd EDIT:...that's dirt on the pistons etc. I sort of jiggled the gasket to remove it prior to taking a pic, hence the mess. Snapping a pic was an afterthought and I just vacuumed it out and kept the vacuum going as I used a sharp wood chisel to clean the surfaces. It wasn't long after that pic was taken the new gaskets and head were on.
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