MG Midget Forum

Hi guys. Finally got the new 948 engine for Little Red Rider. I've been looking at several books showing the proper way to remove the cylinder head. All mention removing the rockers before taking the head off. Does anyone have a video link showing the process? I think Rick said the head can be removed with out taking the rockers off. Is that correct? I just want to clean everything good. The engine has sat for five years. Pretty dirty under the valve cover. P/O said it was rebuilt with only 12K miles on it. I want to look inside and check it out.

On a 1275 head, one of the two rocker pedestal studs goes all the way through to the block, so you have to remove them at least. Considering it's only four more nuts to remove the rockers, I would just go ahead and do it. Otherwise, you risk bending the pushrods as you pull the head off. It should come off as a unit and it's easy to reinstall.

But maybe a 948 head is different?

Thanks for the info Tyler. Most helpful.

On any MG engine,when removing the cylinder head it is more convenient if you also remove the push rods before lifting the head off. It is not necessary to keep push rods in order to return them to their original positions, although it certainly can't hurt. However, when removing push rods, it is important to "jiggle" them side-to-side before lifting them out. This will break the oil film between the bottom of the push rod and the tappet/lifter. If you do not jiggle the push rods, you run the risk that the oil film will lift the tappet out of its bore as you lift the push rod out. As you jiggle and lift slightly, you'll feel the push rod suddenly get lighter, indicating that the oil film has broken and you can lift the push rod out while leaving the tappet in place. Otherwise you'll need to remove the carbs, exhaust manifold, and tappet covers in order to re-install the errant tappet(s)...

Dick

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Errabundi Saepe, Semper Certi
(Often wrong, but always certain)

More good info! Thanks Dick.