I had a puff of oil after extended idling a couple weeks ago. So, instead of just doing valve stem seals, I figured I'd just pull the heads and have them freshened. When I got the DS head off, it looked like dogsh!t set on fire... wanted to puke. Is it as bad as it looks?

















In one of the pics I think I can see the egg shape of the cylinder wall that Frank speaks of. Dammit. So, clean it up, redo the heads and rock on? Or do it right, pull it and completely go through it?

All depends on your time to money ratio. Ive always been a big fan of doing things right the 1st time. But nowadays it's the money that holds me back from doing things at all :-)

Ah man Larry you're in big dodo. Sell it and get a Gen II.5 like us big boys. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />
I know I'm no help, but I figure you're smart enough to know what to do. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Well, Michael, first of all I'm not a Dodo <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> They're extinct...But, at your age, I can understand if you still remember them.... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/ignore.gif" alt="" />
And maybe it's sooo bad that you need to just come put me out of my misery and swap with me.... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/nana.gif" alt="" />

A GenII.5 is on the horizon for wifey. She prefers driving my truck to her 07 CRV with all the bells and accoutrements. I'll have a fleet of Monty's before it's all said and done. I have 10 and 12yo boys that both wants trucks JUST like mine.

Larry, my children have laid claim to two of the Monteros here; you'd better look out. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Larry -

That one's on borrowed time. Even if you do the heads, you've got what looks like a fairly well clogged up water jacket area. In the picture of the head, is that a chunk I see missing around the edge of the combustion chamber? If so, the heads are toast if your goal is a good engine.

My offer still stands.

Frank

it does look bad to me. i would pull the whole engine and rebuild it proper. it may be better to start with a whole new core engine and replace what you got. either way it will be fun.

looks like methanol fuel to me the hatch marks look good in the cylinders did you do a leakdown test before you poped the heads ??? i would do the heads and drive it another 200,000 miles

I agree that the walls look OK. Unless you measure them its hard to say if they have a problem or not. I can see some wear on the thrust side of the bore, but that does not automatically require a rebuild. What matters is do the rings still seal? What cant be seen is the rings and the ring grooves in the pistons.

As Mikey points out a leakdown test would let you know if there is a problem.

I agree that it looks like a mess, but it will look a lot better after the parts are cleaned up. There is rust in the jacket that indicates the block might need cleaning, but most motors are very tolerant of deposits at the bottom of the jacket. Assuming your has been running without an overheating problem I don't think that requires an overhaul just based the jacket.

If I saw some serious pitting in the deck that prevented the fire ring from sealing or allowed coolant out of the motor or into the oil I would be concerned.

Short summary: You have an oil huffing problem. It could be valve guides and seals or rings and perhaps both.

There is no sure way to tell with the heads off if you have a problem with the rings.

One indicator would be how much oil were you using? I don't see a lot of washing over the tops of the pistons indicating a severe oil problem.

If your valve seals and guides are shot then a top end freshen up should help.

Remember your symptom is a huff of oil after extended idling. Unless you have a more severe problem to solve and assuming your guides and seals are shot, just doing the heads is all you need.

That assumes that the deck cleans up OK and you did not have a sever oil usage problem before hand.

Another question is what are your long term goals? With fresh heads the motor could easily get you a several years of driving. If you plan on keeping the Montero for longer than that once the heads are back on you could do a fresh motor at you leisure.

Kevin

I saw the clogged water passages, what kind of anti-freeze was being used? I don't think I want to use it.