226 Engine weaknesses?

[leorob51]

Greetings again! Remember, I'm the greenie with these unique cars. Some information is out there about weaknesses in the 226 engine such as burnt valves, blown head gaskets, etc. What experience do you K-F owners have about minimizing, or ideally eliminating these or other problems with this engine? Are there K-F service bulletins and/or aftermarket tricks to make this power plant more dependable? Or, is poor maintenance part of the problem?

[FleetMaster]

Biggest enemy is allowing to overheat- good radiator, proper water, functioning thermostat, good water pump all critical.  General durability is excellant- 150K miles untouched except change oil and adjust valves not unheard of.  But, over heat once and expect a crack, ususally from the valve seat to a cylinder and into the water jacket then internal water leaks into a cylinder and loss of power and every related problem.  Sleeving and valve seats not always successful so be aware.  The basic engine was used for years as an industrial power plant, fork lifts, military gear, Kaiser Jeep Vehicles etc.  Crank appears bullet proof, rest of block sound.  Really not a lot to do to get more power out- even balanced and ported maybe 5-10% bump, hotter camshaft rare as hens teeth, some multi carb manifolds- Edmunds, possibly Ellis from truck applications, but members suggest some added power but big mileage loss.  Fairly new as well but i read and listen to other members and their years of knowledge.  Oh exhaust manifold cracking- in part due to overtorque of mounting bolts also appears to be a topic of note you may want to explore.
SK

[leorob51]

Speaking of overheating, it is sad how common it is for people to notice their engine temp gauge going down a little and thinking everything is okay with the cooling system. How many blocks and heads have been cracked and/or ruined through the years by overlooking a simple but obvious sign that you do have troubles with the cooling system, a leak or?, when your temp gauge all of a sudden shows a bit cooler on the gauge. Remember, the gauges are accurate when the senders are surrounded by coolant, but NOT when they're surrounded by air, as when you have lost coolant to a level below where the sender is located.

[51Deluxe]

Another weakness would be rear oil seals. I've read many threads about recently rebuilt engines, with and without updated oil seals, that still leak from the rear main. Mine being one of them.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

Use the complete rear seal parts package for the Willys version of the 226 and unless there is distortion at the back end of the casting there should be minimal to no leakage.