HELP!!!!! calling all wise men

[iron dragon]

Pics of the carnage

Well I expected the worst and that's what I got. The screw was lodged in the head. Do you guys think this head can be saved?

another angle

The evil screw

Later, David

 

[stick004]

ouch!! although it looks bad. I'd reuse it in my opinion. clean up the edges with a small die grinder and get anything loose off of it.

it doesn't look like it touched any valves.

what does the piston look like?

 

[Falcon67]

ouch!! although it looks bad. I'd reuse it in my opinion. clean up the edges with a small die grinder and get anything loose off of it.

it doesn't look like it touched any valves.

what does the piston look like?

What he said - I'd use the head gasket to mark the sealing ring inside, then do a little cleanup with a die grinder. If the piston look OK or can be cleaned up with a bit of buffing or light sanding with wet/dry and WD-40, do that - clean it up- and put it back together. Look for any damage that could become a hit spot and fix/smooth as required. That cylinder will have a tiny less compression, not enough to make it a problem. As long as there are no chunks to fall off and the gasket seals, you should be good to go.

That's a tough break but it could be much worse. I've seen stuff bigger than that pass right through a motor and never hurt anything. Iron head stuff though.

 

[iron dragon]

Oh sorry forgot to post the piston picture.

 

[ddawg16]

That is not bad at all.....as noted by the other guys....clean it up and you should be good to go....

 

[mmg440]

How did the cylinder wall do is it scratched and how bad? The piston is worry me a a bit. the head should be ok is cleaned up. I would pull out a a couple valve and check the seats and see if the valves are not bent at all. I put a couple notes on your photos showing my concerns.

 

[iron dragon]

Thanks MMG440. The cylinder walls are perfect, I can't find a scratch on them. I can get a new piston for $65 so I will go ahead and replace that along with the rings. It's the head I am most concerned about because they are quite pricey. I wish I had more cash right now. There are several low mileage engines in the local salvage yard. I won't have enough $$ to buy one for another month or two. I may clean this head up as best I can and take my chances driving it for a few months.

 

[timewarp]

As long as all 4 valves in that cylinder will open and close easily then as has been posted clean up the head and it will be fine, I also agree that the dents in the top of the piston near the edges might be really bad, I would replace the piston but the head will be fine.

 

[GeorgiaHybrid]

The head can be welded up with a TIG welder and machined back to specs if you are concerned about it. Any good machine shop in your area can handle something like that.

 

[jsaw]

I saw the same thing happen once on a 4 cylinder. We put it back together & it was fine.
Just make sure that you smooth out sharp spots where the damage occured to both the piston & the head, if you don't, the rough spots wont dissipate heat they will become "hot spots" during the combustion cycle in the cylinder.

 

[Elroy]

The damage to the combustion chamber is minor. Grind out the rough edges and go on.

The important thing is the sealing surface for the head gasket is untouched.

You'll loose a little bit of quench in the chamber and it may have a tendency to fuel knock. Pour some thinner into the ports and see how well the valves seal. If they weep you would be well advised to pull them out and check for a bent valve or nicked seat.

The piston is going to be a different issue. If the ring is pinched in the land it may not last long. Elroy would recommend getting a piece of feeler gauge stock and cutting a notch into it. Snake it down between the the wall and piston. If you can snag the ring gap and rotate the ring in the groove, you're golden.

If the ring is pinched it should come apart. Or you could just run it and see what happens. Elroy would probably just run it as is. I've seen a hell of a lot worse run just fine. But if it's pinched it'll score the wall or worse.

 

[ruby76]

I don't think this is as bad as it looks, grind/smooth out the burs - check the rings on the piston, and put her back together. Good Luck!!

 

[tcianci]

If you do end up taking the thing apart, I would re-use the rings on the new piston, note the orientation, they are already seated to that bore. Otherwise you will need to re-machine that bore with a hone to give you a surface that will seat the new rings. If you install new rings without the proper cross hatch on the surface of the bore, the rings may never seat correctly.

 

[ruby76]

If you do end up taking the thing apart, I would re-use the rings on the new piston, note the orientation, they are already seated to that bore. Otherwise you will need to re-machine that bore with a hone to give you a surface that will seat the new rings. If you install new rings without the proper cross hatch on the surface of the bore, the rings may never seat correctly.

VERY good advice.