head gasket blues...
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 34
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head gasket blues... So after having my freeze plugs replaced (cause i don't have the facilities) i noticed my car dripping oil just a bit then after a while the dreaded chocolate milk leak....the horror... now i know what it means head gasket replacement and its no easy job i don't feel like spending $500< on it so i've decided to do it myself! i got basic hand tools and i can borrow a torque wrench and a valve spring compressor so my question is:what gasket kit should i go for? should i replace head bolts and have the heads machined? i'm running pretty much stock now btw thanks in advance for any help you can give!
you shouldn't need a spring compressor, if they are torque to yield head bolts they need to be replaced. I would have the heads checked for true before reinstalling them, let the machinist decide if they need to be decked or not.
TECH Regular
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 465
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From: Pearl City, Hawaii
I just did my own a couple of months ago and it isn't that bad. I would go with a Felpro Head kit and it has all the seals and gaskets you will need for the change-out without having to make multiple trips to the autoparts store. Make sure to drain out your block of all cooling fluid so it doesn't get into your internals upon pulling the heads off, I also used a wetshop vac to suck out any remaining fluid before removing the heads. Headbolts are kinda of tricky if you want replace with stock ones the torque values can mess you up without the proper tool. I went with ARP bolts and you set all the bolts to the same torque and they are reusable, oh yea don't forget to seal the bolts with Permatex #2 Non-hardening pliable sealant, apply them to the threads right before you install and torque them. You can take a long straight edge to the bottom of your heads to see if they are warped, if not clean em off and throw them back on...
