[Healeys] Oil Under the Head Gasket - and damn Rodents!

[Bob Spidell]

As an aside, rodent poop scares the crap out of me (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hantavirus ) 

Wear a good respirator. 

Bob 


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Bob Spidell - San Jose, CA 


Pulled the head off the BT7 today. After I'd undone all the bolts I was 
set for the usual assault with the rubber mallet to break the head free 
from the block. However, a quick, slight test pry and it separated from 
the block easily. Cool, I thought. When I puled the head off I found oil 
under the head gasket (some on top, but not so much). The oil appears to 
have come down the holes for the head bolts and gotten between the block 
and the gasket. I've never seen this before with a head removal. Is this 
normal or is the head cracked (I understand both can be true)? 

To the rodents. We live in the middle of the woods, so mice are a 
constant. In disassembling the beast I've gotten more or less used to 
cleaning up after them (yuck)!). It was too much though when I pulled the 
exhaust manifold and noticed something in the exhaust port - four or five 
whole acorns tucked neatly around the valve stem, and they had stared to 
sprout! 
Cheers, 
Mike Tobin 
Pepperell, Mass 
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