HG with External Leak Only

[slamd58]

I finally got the head off today! It has been fairly easy until today. I broke one 3/8 Snap-on rachet, and one long 3/8" extension trying to get the nuts off the front "Y' on the exhaust manifold. Never did get the nuts to break loose . I had t remove the studs from the head so that I could lift it out. I also removed the studs from the head to get the rear exhaust Manifold off.

Hopefully I didn't mess anything up by removing the studs and that I can reuse the ones I took out????

From the pics you can see that the head gasket did not appear to leak internally. Which from what I hear is not to common. I drove this for a least a month with the leak so I am sure the piston would be washed if it was leaking internally.

There doesn't appear to be any ring grooves on the cylinder walls so that all looks good. Unless Robbie or Doug can see something with their experienced eyes that I am not seeing.

All in all I am pretty happy with the look of the internals since it has 200k.

Tommorrow I will send the injectors to Witch Mountain, and will take the head in to have it gone through. I figured I would have everything done on the head while it is out. Cleaned, checked for cracks, new valve stem seals, valves re-ground, shaved if needed, etc... The owner at the head shop said that it should run me around $650.

I have a new water pump, blue hub fan clutch, brushes for alternator coming from Dan. So I will be busy cleaning and installing other parts. I also have a new P/S pump and hoses to install while it is easy to get to.

I will post more pics soon..

[slamd58]

Close-ups. You can see the fire ring is deformed on a couple of the cylinders

[slamd58]

Head gasket removed

[Colorado80]

Goodluck with this. I just got mine up and running recently and couldn't be happier.

[slamd58]

Originally Posted by Colorado80

Goodluck with this. I just got mine up and running recently and couldn't be happier.

I just hope I can remember where everything goes...

It has been fun doing this... Since I am not pressuring myself to get it done immediately I have been taking my time and enjoying it.... Except for today that is.... exhaust bolts... I broke my nice snap-on ratchet...

[nicholas]

Originally Posted by slamd58

I just hope I can remember where everything goes...

It has been fun doing this... Since I am not pressuring myself to get it done immediately I have been taking my time and enjoying it.... Except for today that is.... exhaust bolts... I broke my nice snap-on ratchet...

I can't imagine breaking a snap on tool. From my experience, the nut will strip before the tool breaks. They have a lifetime warranty don't they?

[IdahoDoug]

Looks nice - external leaks are not a problem damage wise versus the typical internal leaks. Your fire rings look typical. Refer back to your picture of the PHH hose so you can put the clamps back on in the same orientation and not be cussing up a storm when replacing it some day. Good call on the injector cleaning. Now is the time to consider a fuel filter since you're at 200k (not needed with clean US fuel, just mentioning it) since it's so easy to access. Also, if you have air it's nice to blast dust forward through the radiator fins that's impossible to do normally. Be sure you get all the tiny vacuum orifices on the throttle body/intake cleared completely. Take a careful look at the driver's side forward two freeze plugs for block cracks since some have had them. The hoses on the rear of the head to the firewall should be replaced, though it would not surprise me to find you're doing all of them (heh). Check out Robbie's clever "Fed Ex envelope" trick wherein he uses said item to make cylinder-blocking circles to prevent cleaning crud getting to the pistons/rings. Nice one. I think he gently taps the top edge of the cylinder to "cut" the circle perfectly?

DougM

[slamd58]

Originally Posted by IdahoDoug

Looks nice - external leaks are not a problem damage wise versus the typical internal leaks. Your fire rings look typical. Refer back to your picture of the PHH hose so you can put the clamps back on in the same orientation and not be cussing up a storm when replacing it some day. Good call on the injector cleaning. Now is the time to consider a fuel filter since you're at 200k (not needed with clean US fuel, just mentioning it) since it's so easy to access. Also, if you have air it's nice to blast dust forward through the radiator fins that's impossible to do normally. Be sure you get all the tiny vacuum orifices on the throttle body/intake cleared completely. Take a careful look at the driver's side forward two freeze plugs for block cracks since some have had them. The hoses on the rear of the head to the firewall should be replaced, though it would not surprise me to find you're doing all of them (heh). Check out Robbie's clever "Fed Ex envelope" trick wherein he uses said item to make cylinder-blocking circles to prevent cleaning crud getting to the pistons/rings. Nice one. I think he gently taps the top edge of the cylinder to "cut" the circle perfectly?

DougM

Hey Doug.
I am replacing the fuel filter. I ordered one from DAn on Saturday. The hoses on the fire wall have already been replaced about 1 month ago. Good call on blowing the radiator clean... I will add that to my list.

Is there a good thread for cleaning the throttle body.. I searched but didn't find any with pictures... (I are a man... need pics...)

And I wish I had seen Robbies thread on the Fed ex envelope... I already started cleaning the block WITHOUT anything in the cylinders.... , I will just have to carefully clean the cylinders.... .


I am considering getting new rear heater hoses/pipes while I can get to them.... May have to call Dan again...


It was an easy night tonight... I replaced the old fan clutch with a nice new blue fan clutch and I also replaced the old water pump with a nice shiny new water pump...

Hopefully tomorrow I can install the nice shiny new P/S pump, high pressure line, and return line.

[slamd58]

I got my head back from the shop today. He shaved 0.008" off the head to get rid of the potted aluminum at the back of the head where the leak was. I had them completely rebuild the head so I should be good for another 200K!! He charged me $600 if I paid Cash. I am now in the process of cleaning everything so I can get the head back on. Hopefully I will get the injectors on Monday or Tuesday.

At this point I have replaced the fuel filter, the brushes in the alternator, the water pump & new fan clutch. I have about $1,300 in parts and labor so far. for all the items.

I am thinking about pulling the crank pulley and fixing the oil pump cover leak tomorrow since it looks pretty easy to access with all the stuff off the engine right now. Anyway, I hope to have it up and running by next weekend!! I hope

[IdahoDoug]

Cool beans.

DougM

[hj60]

Since you mention cleaning the block deck w/o anything protecting the cylinders, I'd like to make a suggestion from someone with quite a few (non- LC) HG replacements under my belt.
When you've cleaned the block, use a shop vac to get most of the debris out of the cykinders. A small piece of tubing duct taped around the smallest nozzle does a better job. I use a clean shop rag with carb cleaner sprayed on it to wipe out each cylinder when I'm done, too.
Also, after you have the head on and before you put the valve cover back on, pull your drain plug and pour a quart of cheap motor oil over the whole top of the head and let it all drain.
This will clean any dust or crap that you've accidentally gotten on the cams and valves before it works its way into the bearings.

[slamd58]

Thanks for the suggestions. I had already pulled out my large shop vac. I am almost ready to put the head on. I need to chase and clean the head bolt threads out. There was quite a bit of coolant and oil on a couple of the bolts when I took them out. I want to make sure that I get a good torque on them.

On a side note, when I took the P/S gear off the pump I bent the crap out of one of the teeth on the gear..... .

Damn now I need to call Dan again.. I hope that I get get the gear separate. Hopefully I will get the head back on tommorrow and start putting every thing back on..

[slamd58]

Ran into trouble today . I started putting the EGR pipe back on and couldn't get one of the bolts to Torque. It felt weird. I took it apart and found that the bolt was bent and the middle of the t hreads were boogered up. I retap the threads in the head and there was alot of aluminum that came out.... Well at this point I was flipping out. Got new bolts then tried it again.. They both torqued to 15 ft lbs... .

I was feeling good then. So then I cleaned the cylinders one more time and saw that the rear (#2) Knock sensor was broken,,,. That sensor can't cost much I say.... yeah right it sounds like $175.00. So I am on hold until I can talk to DAn tommorrow!!!! I really only hope I have to do this once!!

I came in and started reading and NOW I see all the posts that recommend removing the #2 Knock sensor immediately so the intake doesn't break.... Sure wish I had seen that before!!

[slamd58]

Oh.. forgot... some GOOD news today. It appears that I have my Blazer sold!!! If I ever get this head gasket fixed I can start ordering all the fun stuff.... Lift, 35"tires, Front bumper, sliders, Winch!!! Can't wait.