Heya, ive made a couple of posts here. Im currently halfway through rebuilding an xr6 motor for my XG pano and i had a few queries to throw out there for the seasoned builders.

First of all, ive seen the MLS gasket thrown around as a tip for higher compression and reliability. So i know the tickford head has higher compression ratio. After decking the head and maybe the block too will i still be okay using the MLS head gasket? I am not sure of the higher limitations of compression these should take.

Does anyone here use any sealing product on head gaskets? Or just torque them up dry?

Also, is the XG xr6 cam aggressive enough to warrant a set of heavier valve springs? There are some crows up on ebay for around 160 at the moment. It may be worth doing regardless..

Luckily the bores and bearings look okay so i should get away with just a little honing myself i think. Just out of interest though how much would a set of ACL main and conrod bearings set me back?

Its a pretty relaxing project to tiptoe through when you still have a running motor in the car anyway, thanks for any help you can offer.

Andrew.

Heya, ive made a couple of posts here. Im currently halfway through rebuilding an xr6 motor for my XG pano and i had a few queries to throw out there for the seasoned builders.

First of all, ive seen the MLS gasket thrown around as a tip for higher compression and reliability. So i know the tickford head has higher compression ratio. After decking the head and maybe the block too will i still be okay using the MLS head gasket? I am not sure of the higher limitations of compression these should take.

(A) Depends on how much you are skimming off the head but you should see no issues with the MLS Head gasket.

Does anyone here use any sealing product on head gaskets? Or just torque them up dry?

(A) Dry. Make sure that you have the block deck surface spotless.

Also, is the XG xr6 cam aggressive enough to warrant a set of heavier valve springs? There are some crows up on ebay for around 160 at the moment. It may be worth doing regardless..

(A) Factory XR Springs will be fine.

Luckily the bores and bearings look okay so i should get away with just a little honing myself i think. Just out of interest though how much would a set of ACL main and conrod bearings set me back?

(A) ACL are closed down. You would need to track down some old stock. Other brands are fine. You appear to be only doing a stock rebuild.

Its a pretty relaxing project to tiptoe through when you still have a running motor in the car anyway, thanks for any help you can offer.

Andrew.

for parts you can find everything you need here http://www.precisionintl.com.au

Cool, I'll check their stock out tonight.

At this stage, yeah, it is only a stock rebuild. I have found I have more than enough on my plate doing it this way, as it is all very new to me. I dont drive the van very hard either so there was no need to go all out.

Good to know i should get away with the MLS. Thanks mate. Hopefully the skim i take off the head will only be very fine.

Bugger, looks like my cam is cactus. I had planned to upload a pic but its too large. Anyway it'll definitely need at least a grind as the rust is also on a few bearing journals.

And it took a bit of fine emery to clean one lobe as much as i was willing to without really damaging it and it still showed that patchy darkness that borders on very light pitting. Definitely in need of work.

So its a 92DT head out of an XG. Not sure whether to get the tickford cam tidied up again or just get a brand new one.. whats out there? Ill read up some threads but ive never seen any comparison made to the XR6 cam.

Cheers, Andrew

If I was you I wouldnt waste any more time and money on the XG engine, find a low km AU engine and put that in, a lot better engine than what the XG had and bolts straight in, one of the best mods you can do for the E/X series in my opinion.