swiftless

Hey Tojo, Do you reckon this would be a 4K with dished Pistons or a 4K-U? I'm just going by what is said here and because my head casting number isn't on the regular list, but matches Banjos 4K-U. I'll check out toyodiy in the meantime. Thanks, Donald

Hi Banjo, Adjustable tappets for me. I've heard stories of hydro lifters as well but yet to see them. I'm not particularly after the extra horses but out of curiosity, is that something that could be done? Or am I going to blow something up by even thinking about it? Because a regular 4K-C head is much more common. Already getting quotes for having the current head checked, if anyone knows of any decent places in Adelaide, let me know. Thanks, Donald

Thanks so much for your help. I might actually invest in sending this head off to get checked out and if possible, fixed. It sounds like it will quite a bit of work to find another head for this particular engine. Definitely interested to hear if anyone has any other solutions as it may make life easier in the future. I was hoping it would be a simple 'buy a head and swap it'. Oh, I just tried to edit the Wiki page to add the 12 cast for the 4K-U but it looks like it takes different login credentials to the forum. Thanks again, Donald

Hi Banjo, Had no idea, this post was well worth it for me. On the plus side I believe the 4K-U had a few extra horses if I recall. That's got to be the easiest performance mod available, finding out you have it already. That brings me back to the original post: The best way for me to identify the correct head would be to 1) Check the casting number and 2) Check the shape of the pistons (in my case). It looks like the wrecker I was going to go to only has KE70's from 83-85 but the 4K-U was only in 82, that's unfortunate. I'll have to shop around. Does the 4K-U fit with any other heads or would they all require modifications? Thanks, Donald

Hi Banjo, I just thought it would be a regular 4K-C since it's a 1.3L from a KE70 Corolla, but I don't know the history of the car so it might not be the original engine/parts. The engine number is 4K 5952891. The head has a big 12 between the 3rd and 4th spark plugs. Funnily enough, I can't find 12 in the head numbers Wiki page. Here's a photo showing the top of the pistons from when I last took the head off to swap out a gasket (which didn't fix my issue, hence wanting to identify and replace head). Sorry it's so large. Thanks, Donald

Great, thanks Banjo! I had a feeling this information would be around already, just didn't have any luck searching for it. Have now bookmarked the K Motor part of the Wiki. I see on the page they list a Standard, Mildport and 4K-E. Would anyone know the difference between the standard and mildport? A quick Google search mentions higher fuel consumption but better performance for mild port vs standard port, but I can't find mention of a mildport 4K engine anywhere but here on rollaclub.

Hi Everyone, I've got a 4k head that's having issues and it's coming on time to replace it (believed to be cracked). I'll be going to a wreckers where you do all the parts pulling yourself simply because it's so cheap ($40-50) and my question is, how can I tell if the head is a 4k head? The 3k/4k/5k are apparently interchangeable with varying degrees of performance but I just want another 4k head as I don't want to change anything else other than the head. If you had to walk up to a k engine and pick which head it had, what would you be looking for? Or would you just be going on the make/model of the car and trusting it hasn't had the engine or head swapped? Thanks

Thanks for the responses everyone. Banjo: That's great news in that I'm not stupid enough to have put it backwards. I remember being a little confused at the time because it appeared to fit either way but I've got a photo with the beading up and the ends matched up to the cylinders you pictured. ke70dave: I did run the car and I believe without issues, however I don't think I actually ran it long enough to get it up to temp. No visible corrosion, it was in pretty good condition from what I could tell. However I am worried about a crack. Altezzaclub: This excessive water coming out the exhaust is different and I'd say worse than the original problem of some white smoke. My head bolts were pretty clean and I made sure to grease them up. Dzhoel: My thinking is either pay to have the head tested and skimmed or go to a DIY wreckers and grab another cheap head. Either way it's a gamble. I'll keep you all posted. I was hoping something simple like stretched bolts or even having actually put the gasket on backwards, but it looks like it'll be a little more work than that.

Hey guys and girls. I'm new here and have recently put a 4k in my Morris Minor. I replaced the head gasket not long ago and this is the first head gasket I've ever replaced. I thought I did everything right, cleaned off any of the old gasket, checked the head and block for warps with a feeler gauge, tightened head bolts in order and in the stages recommended and to the torque recommended. Followed everything I could find on what to do (and learnt a lot in the process, I have a new fondness for this engine now). Unfortunately she's now leaking extremely badly out of the exhaust. Not steam, just excessive water and will run too hot so I turn her off. It didn't leak at first, but in a couple of weeks (I don't drive it often or far) it started spewing water out. Be gentle, but after much thinking and looking over photos of what I did, I think I found out I'm a complete and utter idiot and installed the head gasket backwards as I didn't take note of which end was where when I took the old one off. Upon looking at images of the gasket, all the holes lined up but I've only just realised now that the two really curved ends of the gaskets have different curvatures. In the attached photo, which end is cylinder 1? The end with the two extra holes on the end and the extra curve (left in the image) or the end with no extra holes (right in the image). I'm ready to kick myself for this but I want to be sure before I take it apart again and guess I'll probably be needing a new gasket. Also, when (if ever) should the head bolts be replaced and where can you get them from? I'm not sure how often the head has been taken off and new bolts couldn't hurt if I continue to have issues. Thanks in advance.