Question for the group, should I pull the heads, check things out, then reinstall or leave well enough alone?

Ok, here is what I'm up to. It's time to clean this engine. Turns out the oil filter was too loose, a number of pushrod tubes leaked, and the previous owner lived 4 miles off a dirt road. All of this equals a very nasty dirty oily engine. Time to clean it up and install new seals throughout, along with a long list of other parts.

This is the state of the longblock tonight.

Click to view attachment

Testing all the head studs/nuts tonight, they are all still holding the proper torque. The engine is a 2.0 liter with stock F.I. that runs strong and has not given me any problems except running a bit hot (Gee, I wonder why?). I've started cleaning very slowly and carefully with a brush and am being very careful about where the degreaser goes. My original plan was to pull the heads and retorque after it's all clean, but figured I'd ask the experts first.

Oh, FYI - I have not cleaned the head in the picture. That is how clean both were once I pulled the tins and valve covers off.

If it ain't broke don't fix it!

I would not pull the heads without cause.

Jim

!!!

Clean the case, don't open it unless you want another potentially expensive can of worms.

Zach

The answer depends on what you hope to get out of the engine going forward. Are you hitting the road with it? Doing track days and/or "spirited driving" (and I don't mean back and forth to church LOL)?

You say it's running strong, but didn't mention how many miles it has on it.

Aside from the oil leaks, was it burning oil?

I clearly understand the idea that if it's running good, leave it alone. It is pretty sound advise. But remember, the cheapest engine to rebuild is the one that is running good. And the greatest peace of mind comes from a well built, fresh engine.

I would at lease do a leakdown test on it.

Guys,

Thanks for the input. I'm just going to finish cleaning averything and leave the heads alone.

Len - the engine has approx 70K miles on it and does not appear to be burning oil. Unfortunately, the previous owner was sparce with info from when the engine was rebuilt. I did talk to the shop that did the job and the fellow that did the job had retired. Best they could do was give me a listing of what was replaced and the price paid. No real good details. So, I've just been driving it.

I plan on rebuilding within the next year to 18 months. This is for my own piece of mind and to know exactly where things are at. Right now, I just want to get it back on the road for the rest of the season and fall. The majority of my driving will be around town and back and forth to work, a 20 mile round trip. No track driving or anything like that. I'll do a leak down test and see what the results are.

Thanks,

Doug