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Definitely replacing the rings and all bottom end bearings too. I might give the drilling a miss though as I might screw something up then I'll be in more trouble. I'll take some pics after work tomorrow of the pistons. They look pretty darn good after the wash.

Well got the heads back yesterday and took a few pics.

Looks like the guy re-ground the valves, hot washed the heads and also shaved the heads just a tiny bit to make sure they were even.

There's a couple bits and pieces of grime that got lucky and stayed in some small areas on the heads, do you guys think I should try clean it out?

nice my stupid klze burns oil, number 3 cylinder upon leak down test is pressurizing my intake. i guess the intake valve guide is worn out, so ill be going this exact route with my ze this winter unless someone buys the whole car.

Nice work RX8, very nice.
I see the bits of grime you're talking about. If they're not to hard to get out, I'd recommend you to do it. It's never a good idea to leave bits of carbon inside the cylinder, which could eventually get dislodged and end up scratching your cylinder walls. Anyways, If you see you can't take them off with, let's say, a toothpick and some gas, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

looking sweet! i would remove that crud also if it were me, would hate to do all that work and not have it perfect (imagine driving it for 50km and the crud blocking up a oil line or running under the cam, breaking a retainer or something else silly.

anyone know where i can get a leakdown tester from? ive looked at supercheap/sprints etc and havent been able to find one yet. just curious to do the test and see the results.

The gunk shouldn't block anything because it seems very soft and they're not big clumps or burnt pieces. It seems like it would dissolve.

Either way I am going to clean it off for piece of mind.

Btw do I have to bleed the HLA's or do anything special to them? The manual doesn't say anything about it but my friend tried to tell me I should bleed it.

I read somewhere else you should bleed all the oil out then fill them with new oil. Not sure about any of that?

What's an HLA?

I would bleed them. Just like a V8 lifter. Soak them in oil for a few hours to let it seep in and then compress them several times while submerged until you don't see any bubbles. This will also tell you if you have a seized HLA.

They are extremely hard to compress. Is there any secret to compressing them?

I take it that once compressed, they will refill themselves with oil again when you release the pressure?

Can anybody please tell me what's an HLA?

The hydraulic lifters/adjusters. They go under the cam lobes.

Thanks rx8!
I know what the lifters are. I just couldn't figure what the "A" was for.
Sometimes those acronyms drive me crazy...

Hydraulic Lash Adjusters.

fowljesse wrote:Hydraulic Lash Adjusters.

Thanks Jesse.

hey hows it coming along? any progress?