Hey guys, it's been a while since I posted on this forum as I sold my old VL a couple of years back and only just acquired another one. I'm happy to be a VL owner again but she needs a bit of work to get her back upto scratch. The main problem is that the car is really hard to start and requires a fair amount of throttle just to get it started and when it does start it sounds like it's running on 5 cylinders. Also there is a heap of pressure building up in the cooling system which I think is because exhaust gasses are being pushed back into the cooling system somehow and the radiator hoses aren't even warming up. I took the rocker cover off to inspect and sure enough I had a nice little milkshake going on in there. This morning I got stuck into it and pulled the head off to have a closer look and the gasket seemed ok but the main thing I found is that the cam WILL NOT come out. I know I haven't done anything wrong because I've removed a lot of cams from RB30's in the past. I have narrowed the problems down to a warped head. What do you's think? Am I on the money? Also the head has no major cracks that I can see.

I have never had any head issues . But either way you'll need a head gasket And head. Depending on your plans for the future, now would be a smart time to make a decision in regards to a turbo conversion. Other wise get another head, gasket etc clean it up and bolt it on. Next time it may be easier to buy an engine and 5speed package for 600 +/- and wack that in. Also due to my limited experience with cracked or warped heads I'd pose the question does the head warping effect the cam? In know a head is alloy and cams are steel but high temps and length can level the playing field. Dusty Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Ive got a complete RB30e head with new head bolts minus injectors and dizzy (comes with GTR hose tails but i believe 2 are leaking) $160ono

yeah its warped man, had the exact same prob on a customers car. when you do manage to get the cam out, youll find a nice crack along the bottom of the cam tunnel at the rear of the head.

Have you pulled the distributor out of the head?

i cracked the cam tunnel from 1-5. Same issues you had. It happens when the coolant bleed still has air bubles in it. Stumped me as to why it went until i got the head off and Cam out