How hard is it to do a head gasket? (1 Viewer)

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Mar 31, 2004
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Unfortunately, It looks like my head gasket is leaking into the coolant. How hard is it to do a head gasket? I have all the tools and I am competent, but I will be doing it in the parking lot of my apartment building. How heavy is the head, will I be able to lift it up on my own? Is there anything I should know before I dive into this?

Thanks in advance, Dave
 
The head is heavy. Like a diesel head. And none too easy to manhandle yourself. Best to have a hoist or some friends handy.
Aside from proper preperation of the mating surfaces and inspection of the pistons, cylinder walls and oil/coolant passages, it's a piece of cake. The mating surfaces should be spotless. I use a utility blade, brown scotchbrite wheels (stuff rags in all passages if you do this) and about a case of brakeclean.

I know this has been discussed here before, and there ain't much new info to be had. :D Do a search and you should find everything you need. The FSM helps alot, too.
 
I lifted the head out off my engine last week with no problem.I would guess like 60 lbs? I picked it up and set the front down on the raditor and then grabed it and pulled it out and set it on the ground. Grab a friend and be careful and you should be fine.

Also you will want a large torque wrench to the head bolts right it would seem.


Goodluck
 
worst part is dealing with the 4200 miles of vacuum line afterwards. remember to mark everything well
 
thanks guys, I'll try get a friend to help me lift it off. Also Appreciate the tip about the vacuum lines, I'll have to get something to mark them. I'll let you know how it goes
 
Make sure you have a buddy help you put the head back on. You don't want to be doing the "slide" method after you've got that brand new head gasket on the block. I found that using a couple of long bolts on either end plus a piece of heavy gauge wire or cable between them makes a good handle for you and your friend to slowly lower the head back in place. Also, I would get the FSM (emissions specifically) and dont even bother marking the vac lines. Just buy a new roll of it from c-dan and follow the book or the diagram on the wheel well. New vac lines are cheap and good insurance that will be one less thing to worry about down the road.
 

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