For the love of a tractor engine: The life and times of the 18R-G

[sillycar chick]

Ok ladies and gents...just been down the shed and had a good poke at the new slipper ... chain guide thingy. It's way softer than a old used 18r one...and about the same as the very top one from my 18rgu (that is not worn so will reuse) When i dropped it in to this place the dude got a dial gauge thingy to measure the hardness...he said no probs...maybe my old one was hard from being old ???

Yeah they go hard with age, and worn ... you have to consider though, everyone else that is replacing these guides are all replacing original factory ones that have lasted 25-30 years.... Cost me $500 for a 2TG set from Steward Wilkins, but Im not complaining, even the aftermarket ones would have to last at least 10 to 15 years if the factory ones last 25-30.... so its a reasonable price to pay...

And if you can get them done cheaper like Leso did and the quality is good, then why not! Gotta be better than having old crappy hard ones in there!

[Spectre]

ill get a rubber mallet to it tomorrow avo and see what happens

tried the mallet - got no love...

shall call in a few favours hopefully this weekend and try and get someone with a block and tackle or similar to try and pry it off.

[o_man_ra23]

Yeah, 18RG has 10 head bolts (17mm socket), and two timing cover bolts (12mm head). Check and make sure all is off. Rubber mallet with a good whack at each corner... aside from that, try and find a pry point that isnt a mating surface. I think at the front right of the block, near where the timing cover bolts on.

Cheers, Owen

[Spectre]

ok, with some minor prying from around the front of the timing cover, and then a couple more good whacks with the rubber mallet, the head came loose.

This is what I found, dosn't seem that bad, but I can see where coolant has gotten into the second and third bores.







So im going to get the head put in for crack and pressure testing, checked for warping, get the galleries flushed, if its all ok get the head surface skimmed.

Do i need to get anything done to the block other than removing the old gasket and making sure the surface is clean and straight.

Cheers,

Bryce

[Steve M]

Usually you'll find that coolant goes into the bores when the head comes off anyway so definately check everywhere.

The last BHG we had actually leaked through the gasket, the steel reinforcement split, the gasket got hit by the piston a few times so there was a bit of a mess there.

I would recommend getting ACL rubber coated 18RG head gasket. They are so easy to clean off again if somethings else goes wrong and they seal great. KP ones are also rubber coated.
Graphite ones are supposed to repell water and oil, but I recon rubber would seal pretty well too. Graphite ones are harder to scrape off.

[Spectre]

Usually you'll find that coolant goes into the bores when the head comes off anyway so definately check everywhere.

The last BHG we had actually leaked through the gasket, the steel reinforcement split, the gasket got hit by the piston a few times so there was a bit of a mess there.

I would recommend getting ACL rubber coated 18RG head gasket. They are so easy to clean off again if somethings else goes wrong and they seal great. KP ones are also rubber coated.
Graphite ones are supposed to repell water and oil, but I recon rubber would seal pretty well too. Graphite ones are harder to scrape off.

The head gasket dosn't look damaged at all here. Ive got a full 18RGEU gasket kit, the head gasket in that kit looks similar to the original one.

[leso]

...a bit more info on the rebonded guides... found the reciept in the ute on the weekend, it said they used the ebonite that steve m mentioned, so it will be hard. Probably will wear the chain out..

cheers leso

[Steve M]

My concern with hard guides is based on observations of the genuine ones.

While they are soft they don't wear much but when they turn hard they chip out really badly and wear much faster.

I plan to send a sample brand new (aftermarket) 18RC guide to the company to compare it to their compound.
It would be even better if someone in QLD could deliver one.

[leso]

need a valve spring compressor...my ordinary one would work on the RG...so here's a custom one i made..it works way better than i thought it would.. anyone in my area can borrow it anytime..

[RAd28]

hey all, i'm kinda new to he 18RG fan club, just wondering if anyone has an (aftermarket) electronic ignition setup sorted for these things? i've had a quick look around, but can't find anything... only had a weekend with my 18RG so far, but so far, it's alot of fun...

[o_man_ra23]

Same one for the 18RC mate. 21RC dizzy guts, coil and ignitor... all has been covered in the Tech section.

Cheers, Owen

[Norbie]

hey all, i'm kinda new to he 18RG fan club, just wondering if anyone has an (aftermarket) electronic ignition setup sorted for these things?

I was using an 18R-GU electronic dizzy, but now it's all controlled (somewhat erratically) by the Haltech. If you can get your hands on the GU/GEU dizzy that's the easiest way to go, otherwise mix-n-match 21R/22R bits as above.

[RAd28]

kewl...

knew it had been covered, just couldn't find it... cheers...

[o_man_ra23]

Was that the 18RGEU dizzy that was with the motor I sent you Norbs?? Im pretty sure that one was an original and not a knock up (either that or I sent the original to Tassy and the knock up to you... memory is fuzzy)

Cheers, Owen

[The Witzl]

Regarding Head Gaskets - the genuine Toyota ones are still available, and just $59 too.

Buy one.