good luck so far

[69tr]

I pulled the head on my TR6 and did not break or strip any bolts.

I pulled the head to change the head gasket because oil was leaking between the head and the block. I am going to have the head surfaced and pressure tested. Is there anything else that I should have done to it while I have it off?

Would I gain anything by having the head milled a little or would it be a waste of money? The engine is stock at this time and I do not have the money or inclination to make it otherwise.

#3 and #6 intake valves are sooty. All the rest of the valves have a nice gray/tan color. Is the and indication of something I should be concerned about?

Some of you guys gave me some good information about the oil
leak in question. I changed the PCV valve (twice) and tried to seal it with form-a-gasket. It seemed to slow the leak down, but it is still there. That is why I wondered about the head gasket. Most of the oil seemed to becoming from the center of the head. When I get all back together I will tell more about the crankcase ventilation.

Sorry this is so long and rambling. Thanks for any and all help.

Pete

 

[poolboy]

When ypu say it was leaking around the center of the head, was that on the driver's side just outboard of the pushrod galleries ?

 

[69tr]

Poolboy,

Yes that is where the leak was located. I cleaned the side of the engine good and used foot powder to find where the leak was.

Just dropped the head off at the machine shop. Looks like it will also need a valve job.

 

[poolboy]

That's a good idea, Pete and I bet the reconditioned head will add a little spunk to the engine. If your piston rings are worn, it may also increase the crankcase pressure, though.
That location of the oil leak is a pretty good sign that there's still a build up of crankcase pressure. There's no oil pressure on that side of the engine, at least not from the oil pump.
I'm not saying that a new head gasket won't help, but as long as there is high crankcase pressure, oil is likely to be forced out of that seam.
Anyway, good luck and keep us posted; there are alternatives to the way the 69 models relieved the build up of crankcase pressure.

 

[69tr]

If there was high crankcase pressure would there not be some blow back from the dip stick hole?

I did try venting the rocker cover to atmosphere. There was still seepage at the same place. What are the other alternatives? I will try anything (well almost anything).

Thanks

 

[poolboy]

When I had that problem, there was some coming out the dipstick, but that was after a high speed run of about 20 miles. But that wasn't the only place. Right where you described and the oil filler cap as well.
A lot depends upon how fast you drive and how much relief you are getting.
So it's all a matter of degree.
Venting to the atmosphere is not enough, though I can tell you that, unless you make something like a "road draft" tube where the air passing over the end of the tube creates a suction on the tube, like the venturi effect, air passing over your carb's jet drawing the fuel from the float chamber. Same principle.
If you look at the 70-76 models you'll see that Triumph abandoned the method of relieving crankcase pressure found on the TR250 and 69 TR6.
I'd say if your PCV valve was in top shape and well sealed it should still work until the Valve clogged up or the seal began to leak again.
Short of that, you'd either have to try extending the Valve Cover vent hose down below the motor into the air flow as in the road draft tube method, or utilize the carb air cleaner and allow the carbs to suck on the vent hose, or perhaps simplest of all, use the Goodparts PCV kit which uses the brake servo's vacuum line to evacuate the crankcase pressure.
All those would also necessitate plugging the hole in your manifold where your PCV valve now sits.
That's my thoughts on the deal, Pete.

 

[AltaKnight]

When you describe the #3 and #6 intake valves as sooty, do you mean dry soot or is there any oil(iness) on there?
If it's just dry soot then that's usually a carb/mixture issue; since it's the rearmost cylinder on each bank of carbs then I wouldn't get too worried about it, maybe try leaning out the mixtre a small amount on each carb.
If it's oily at all then that's a sign of some mechanical problem ie rings or valve guides.