Learn how to diagnose and repair a cracked cylinder head using the tips and techniques offered by our expert custom-car mechanic in this free auto-maintenance video series on car restoration.
Series Summary
Whether or not you are a mechanic, you most likely have experienced that feeling of hopelessness when the body-shop manager breaks the news to you. What you had hoped would be a hole in the muffler or a bit of water in the gas turns out to be a repair costing hundreds--if not thousands--of dollars. At least that’s what the body shop manager tells you. The hours tick past as you wait for your ride to get fixed, and you start to wonder if perhaps this particular business might have exaggerated their estimate just a bit, maybe enough for a new stereo or a trip to Cancun. But how can you be sure? The solution is to know more about your car and what can go wrong with it. In this free auto repair series, Expert Village examines one of the costliest car repairs, so watch and learn what to look for so you don’t get taken advantage of next time at the repair shop.Doug Jenkins has seen many a cracked cylinder head in his time. Damaged cylinder heads are a constant risk in the hot rods that his body shop specializes in: Push a car to the limit on the race track and it may show signs of stress and strain. Doug tells you what signs to look for if you think you might have a cracked head. Does the antifreeze level go down too fast? Notice anything unusual about the oil color or hose pressure? Check all of the warning signs first because actually getting to the cylinder head is a very complicated process, which involves removing everything from the v-belt and AC compressor to the intake manifold and headers. But Expert Village takes you every step of the way.
Drain the oil on the motor, catching it in a pan without pouring it down a drain when repairing a cracked cylinder head; learn how in this free auto-restoration video.
Disconnect and remove battery and alternator by starting with the negative pole of the battery; learn how in this free auto-restoration video on cracked cylinder head repair.
Remove v-belt from the air compressor when diagnosing a cracked cylinder head in an engine; learn how in this free auto-restoration video.
Test oil color when looking for coolant problems, making sure that the oil is clear, brown or black, not green; learn more in this free auto-restoration video on diagnosing a cracked cylinder.
Drain the coolant using an allan wrench to fit the drain passage to avoid mess during cracked cylinder head repair; learn how in this free auto-restoration video.
Remove the air filter when pulling the motor apart to diagnose a cracked cylinder head; learn how in this free auto-restoration video.
Pressurize a cylinder with a suspected problem with an air compressor to check for bubbles in the radiator to diagnose a cracked cylinder head; learn how in this free auto-restoration video.
Remove the intake manifold, making sure to get the seal between the intake manifold and the cylinder heads and cylinder block to break loose; learn how in this free auto-restoration video.
Learn what to do when coolant and oil are mixing when diagnosing a cracked cylinder head; our expert mechanic explains more in this free auto-restoration video.
Remove hoses, from the upper radiator hose to the heater hose, to the vacuum hose, which supplies the power brakes; learn how in this free auto-restoration video.
Remove the rockers and pull out the push rod so you can get to the cylinder head to determine if there's a crack in the cylinder; learn how in this free auto-restoration video.
Remove the flex plate from the back of the motor using an impact gun to take out the six bolts during cracked cylinder head repair; learn how in this free auto-restoration video.
Use good jack stands for safety during cracked cylinder head repair to ensure the car doesn't fall while working under it; our expert explains the importance of jack stands in this free auto-restoration video.
Compare performance to fuel injection installation and motor specifications based on how it's running; learn how in this free auto-restoration video.
Test hose pressure to see if those has warmed to optimal temperature when the engine is running, which might indicate combustion problems; learn how in this free auto-restoration video.
Add coolant to an engine to determine and diagnose a cracked cylinder; learn how from our expert mechanic in this free auto-restoration video.
Loosen the torqueconverter bolts by removing the dust shield to access the torque converter bolts when removing a motor from a car; learn how in this free auto-restoration video on cracked cylinder head repair.
Analyze test drive results to diagnose a cracked cylinder head to look for clouds of coolant being burned; learn how in this free auto-restoration video.
Check spark plugs when diagnosing a cracked cylinder head by removing them or pulling them out to inspect their color; learn how in this free auto-restoration video.
Remove the front pulley, getting the accessory drive pulley off of the crank when repairing a cracked cylinder head; learn more in this free auto-restoration video.
Determine if a cylinder has a crack by looking at fluid leaks and looking for cracks on the side of the cylinder, possibly concealed by the piston; learn how in this free auto-restoration video.
Remove the hood to get it out of the way when trying to diagnose a cracked cylinder head; learn how in this free auto-restoration video.
Inspect the motor mounts to make sure their rubber sleeves are in good shape when repairing a cracked cylinder head; learn how in this free auto-restoration video.
Pressurize a coolant system with a pressure tester to see if you can get steam out of a spark-plug holder; learn how in this free auto-restoration video.
Remove the motor mount bolts, the two mount bolts that hold an engine and transmission in place; learn how in this free auto-restoration video on cracked cylinder head repair.