First time posting - questions on engine health!

[Rudie85]

Long time lurker, first time posting! Three years ago i met a girl who owned an 85 weekender, and long story short i quickly realized i had two new relationships in my life - her and the van! Fast forward to now - we just purchased our first home together in February which includes a garage for working on car projects. First time having this much space to work on a vehicle in a long while, so i got right to work on the van

I am currently working on a full restoration --> fixing the awful bed liner job that the previous owner wrapped the van in, sandblasting undercarriage plus new chassis coating, suspension overhaul, bushings, cooling system, CV joints, steering rack and hoses, fuel lines... pretty much touching everything except the interior, which i will get to next summer. I think i underestimated the work, but hey i am committed at this point. The last piece out of the van was the engine and trans, which i have been working on the past few days when i noticed a few things:

1. I found a small hole in the case which i am concerned about. When the engine was installed in the car it did not leak or drip any fluids. When i peak through the hole i can see the thread housing where the push rod cover screws into the engine case. Is this a cause for concern? Are these holes easy to patch or repair?

2.) The previous owner rebuilt the 1.9 engine 25k miles ago with new AMC heads and they look to be in pretty great shape, so i will reuse those. But i do have some pause on the piston sleeves. Last summer my mechanic reported fairly low compression in one cylinder, and after taking off the heads the two sides look fairly different in wear. On one side the green cylinder head liner seal was fairly chewed up and the surface it sits on is quite pitted and no longer flush against the seal. The other side looks to be in much better shape. Can anyone help me understand what caused this? I assume it's time for new pistons and sleeves? Maybe even a full rebuild if i am getting into the lower case at that point?

[Wildthings]

The hole is weird but must not be creating any problem. Maybe spray it well with brake cleaner and then fill it with JB Weld. The outside of the sleeves isn't a big concern so long as the o-ring seals well. I would tend to smear the O-rings with copper silicone with the hopes of improving the seal, others will surely comment.

[MarkWard]

Head studs look to be in very good condition. If the hole isn’t leaking, it isn’t leaking. Depending on your time, skills, budget and need for reliability will be the deciding factor. I don’t see enough material to support the O ring.

We have no affiliation with Go Westy, but we recommend their smaller rebuilt engines to customers. It’s a pretty good program with a fair warranty. Looks expensive on the front end, but when you start adding up the cost of parts for a DIY they aren’t far apart.

An engine can be swapped in over a couple weekends. Leaving time to concentrate on those other projects. There is also some peace of mind traveling with a pro built motor.

Otherwise you are certainly in a good place to take it on yourself. Lots of experience here.

[hardway]

If the hole is at the pushrod shield retainer bolt hole then it does not penetrate the oil jacket. Maybe someone drilled the hole oversize or crooked for a thread repair? Does the bolt torque down? Not much of an issue.

[DanHoug]

the function of the green o-rings is dubious. they are often degraded to the point of being non-existent in some motors. it would seem that the o-ring would trap any inevitable coolant leakage that gets past them, leading to crevice corrosion without the replenishment of the coolant buffers. stagnant coolant in other words. and me thinks one would want coolant as close to the multi-layer steel fire rings as possible to control heat. so, meh on the o-rings. i would love to hear a good rationale for them, or better yet, engine stories WITHOUT them in place.
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-dan
60% of what you find on the internet is wrong, including this post.

'87 Westy & '89 Westy both 2.1 4spd

Past projects can be found at--
www.thefixitworkshop.com

[MarkWard]

[campism]

Welcome! Your commitment to the van and the garage are unquestioned and admirable, but I suggest you not yank the head off the girl when a problem arises. They don't like that.
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'87 Westy in Wolfram Grey Metallic, tragically crushed by a falling hickory tree in my own driveway and now gone, leaving me Vanagonless and with no plans to replace it, alas.