Questions and Answers
LeBaron Head
Q. Dear Fixer Upper Guy: I have a twofold question. I am going to put a rebuilt head on my LeBaron. It has 95,000 miles on it. Years ago, I had the head completely rebuilt (including cam) on a 4 cylinder Mercury Capri. It squirted oil from the rear seal of the cam. I replaced the seal and it still squirted oil.
The only explanation I ever heard from anyone was that you needed to rebuild the block (overhaul) if you rebuild the head due to some kind of compression problem. It sounded silly to me, however, here I am again.
QUESTION 1: If I put a rebuilt head on my car, do I need to overhaul the rest of the engine--bearings and rings? I'm really not set up very well to do this at this time.
Also, I have trouble with the left and right thread thing, so I have a question about the cam sprocket.
QUESTION 2: Does the bolt that holds the cam sprocket onto the cam loosen the same as most other bolts (turning to the left) or does it loosen the opposite direction? My book is no help.
Here are the specifications on my car:
1992 Chrysler LeBaron
4 cylinder, 2.5 liter fuel injection (no turbo)
Automatic TransmissionThanks Fixer Upper Guy. I really appreciate your help.
Sincerely,
TracyA. The seal squirting oil is more probably due to a mechanical problem than replacing the head.
The question of overhauling the engine with a new cylinder head becomes more important as the miles pile up on the engine. If you put a new head on an engine with 60,000 miles, there is little worry of a lower end problem than an engine with 160,000 miles.
When you put a head on an engine there is the chance that with a nice tight head, you will start sucking oil up past the old, worn rings. Whenever I do a head job on an older car I always warn the customer of this possibility. I have also noticed that Japanese engines tolerate new heads without oil burning problems better than American engines. I assume this is due to the fact that Japanese engines are built to closer tolerances than American engines.
At 95,000 miles I would say the chances of burning oil with a head replacement are minimal.
As far as the camshaft sprocket bolt, it is a normal, right hand thread. The proper tightening torque is 58-72 ft. lbs.
Additional Information provided courtesy of ALLDATA
