[arun1100]

Originally Posted by SPIKE ARRESTOR

@Samsag12 well said

Spike

Sir,
what else suggestions can you give?

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Dear Arun - PLEASE REPLACE THE CYLINDER HEAD. MAKESHIFT REPAIR WILL NEVER WORK.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[arun1100]

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

Dear Arun - PLEASE REPLACE THE CYLINDER HEAD. MAKESHIFT REPAIR WILL NEVER WORK.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

Sir!

This is how the HEAD looks after the aluminum welding work was done.

BEFORE:
The problem was : One of the threading of where Spark Plug fits, was worn out. No other issues.




AFTER:
Four new adapters for fixing the spark plug was fixed.
Some Aluminum welding was done as the water passing holes were rusted and was reaching the cylinder.

[arun1100]

Behram Sir,

What do you feel looking at the pics??

Is a new HEAD available? Only HEAD available is from SENATOR which you say is not good. So what should I do?

Buying a HEAD from scrapyard is difficult as nobody here gives only HEAD. And I feel all such HEADs will be in similar condition only.

[CrackedHead]

Like Mr Behram said, the correct solution would have been to get a new head (well, new or from the scrapyard). You say that the water channels were corroded badly - that tells me that the head is on its last legs and the welding will not really help. It could soon leak from somewhere else.

And I see that there is a lot of discussion about coolant, etc. Coolant does help in reducing corrosion but the old open radiator system works well enough. We have covered more than 600 km's a day(non stop) at speeds of 80-90 km/hr on the highway without facing any overheating with the open type radiator filled with only water - And this was in peak summers in Rajasthan.

If your car is overheating, the problem is likely to be somewhere else and converting to a sealed type radiator will not help.

[funkykar]

Whats the best solution here about the heads. Are nw original PA heads available anywhere in India? It isn't available in Bangalore. Only other head we know of is Senator and I believe that too isn't available in Bangalore. We have heard that Senator heads have issues like getting the head gasket blown frequently and quality not up to the mark.

Also, as Arun said, just the head along to get in Bangalore from Scrap yard is almost impossible,. If any engine is good, they sell it as a whole to Mumbai. They dismantle any engine only if it is badly screwed engine. And chances are head too would be screwed in such a case.

[gururaj r]

I have driven my Premier padmini for more than 1000 kms in a day - from Mumbai to Bangalore - not once but at least 8 times - I never had any problem with the engine overheating or the necessity to add coolant - even after making this 1000 kms in a day - the next day morning it may not hold more than 100 ml of water - absolutely no problem - of course my vehicle is not airconditioned. If the engine overheats the problem should lie somewhere and not in the radiator. have you checked up you water pump assembly?

[adheesh]

Originally Posted by arun1100

Behram Sir,

What do you feel looking at the pics??

Is a new HEAD available? Only HEAD available is from SENATOR which you say is not good. So what should I do?

Buying a HEAD from scrapyard is difficult as nobody here gives only HEAD. And I feel all such HEADs will be in similar condition only.

How much has the car run ? Cylinder number 2 and 3 do not seem to be very encouraging. Had the car overheated anytime ? Also the black soot on the valves signify a very rich running engine . Please try to locate a new or a reasonably good cylinder head. Since I have my board exams going on right now I can guide you in total detail after Wednesday when they would be over.

Regards,
Adheesh Parelkar

[arun1100]

Originally Posted by adheesh

How much has the car run ? Cylinder number 2 and 3 do not seem to be very encouraging. Had the car overheated anytime ? Also the black soot on the valves signify a very rich running engine . Please try to locate a new or a reasonably good cylinder head. Since I have my board exams going on right now I can guide you in total detail after Wednesday when they would be over.

Regards,
Adheesh Parelkar

The car has genuinely run 40,600kms. This is not my dad's car. This is the car I recently bought from a 80yr old man(the gray 1990 Padmini).

Now the car is running very fine now after the repair. Anyways, I am searching for a good head.

I guessed you might be busy with exams so did not PM you. Good luck for the exams.

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Dear Arun - if only one spark plug hole had a problem, why did you put 4 adaptors? (typical of repair shops, their profit increases, your worry increases). Anyways, the whole thing is hotch potch and does not make any sense to me. You said you have assembled the head and are using the car, so fine till it lasts, look for a good head in the meantime and keep it ready.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[manishalive]

Also Arun you said Something like Head Crack(Leaking of coolant/ water)???. In that case one has for sure replace the head there is no other go. The cause of Head cracking is overheating.

As for the coolant discussion, the first suspect is the radiator pr. cap, if that ain't working then the water will boil soon and will not take away heat. The cap increases the pr and so the boiling point of water so as to enable it to carry more heat. Replace and see if it works.

[arun1100]

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

Dear Arun - if only one spark plug hole had a problem, why did you put 4 adaptors? (typical of repair shops, their profit increases, your worry increases).

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

The first and the last sparkplug hole threading too were little weak.. So put the adaptors.

After searching for two days in scrapyard, I got three very decent condition heads.

I will use the car with the repaired itself so that I can learn how efficiently a repaired head works. I am using he repaired head as it was certified ok by my 80 yr old mechanic.

Originally Posted by manishalive

Also Arun you said Something like Head Crack(Leaking of coolant/ water)???.

Did I say the head had cracked/leaking??

As for the coolant discussion, the first suspect is the radiator pr. cap, if that ain't working then the water will boil soon and will not take away heat. The cap increases the pr and so the boiling point of water so as to enable it to carry more heat. Replace and see if it works.

The car was not overheating, but was heating up soon. The problem is solved now.

Aal izz wel.

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Dear Arun - I never said it will not work, 99 out of 100 taxies in Mumbai work like this only, I just meant to say that this is not the technically correct solution. There is only one way to do a job and that is the only correct way. This is ingrained in me for the last 33 years. Everybody knows it now. Ask Adheesh (after 10 March, his exams are going on now), he will tell you what all nonsense was there in his carburettor and how we solved it. It is a classic case of the so-called "garageization" syndrome which I will never forget.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[arun1100]

The best solution was to change away the head. This is literally common sense.

But sometimes situations arise such that we need to live with whatever we have!!! And that was the reason I had posted the HEAD problem here.

[arun1100]

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

Dear Arun - I never said it will not work, 99 out of 100 taxies in Mumbai work like this only, I just meant to say that this is not the technically correct solution. There is only one way to do a job and that is the only correct way. This is ingrained in me for the last 33 years. Everybody knows it now. Ask Adheesh (after 10 March, his exams are going on now), he will tell you what all nonsense was there in his carburettor and how we solved it. It is a classic case of the so-called "garageization" syndrome which I will never forget.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

Yes Sir. I got your point.

I will speak to Adheesh on Wednesday.