head gasket on truck.....again

T77911S · 01-06-2010, 09:31 AM

ill keep it short. did the gasket about 3 months ago. took the head to an old guy here in town because i "felt sorry" for him because his wife died and his business seemed slow. i took the head to the right guy this time and when i told him where i took it before, he said, "enough said". he should me the sanding marks where he had put it on a sander to straighen, or level, it.
this being nice thing has bitten me twice in the past few months now. if you have seen my thread about out with the old and in with the new garage, you will see..

i did not think the old guy could screw up a 4 cyl mazda head....who new. after all, he has been there since the beginning of time. $200 bucks later. and i am tryng to build a garage, and i am having to do this outside and it is freaking COLD!

1990C4S · 01-06-2010, 09:36 AM

So a belt sander isn't a good idea? Who knew?

stomachmonkey · 01-06-2010, 09:38 AM

Check if that model uses torque to yield head bolts. If it does don't reuse the old ones.

VincentVega · 01-06-2010, 10:47 AM

That sucks.

I bet you get it down faster this time.

T77911S · 01-06-2010, 10:49 AM

they are not stretch bolts.

it was some kind of table sander. the other guy has one too. he machined the head this time. took off .012. i saw the scratch marks on the head the first time and thought maybe he scratched it cleaning it. i did not think he sanded it flat. i never was comfortable about the first head gasket. about an hour or 2 to get the head off. should go on fairly quick.

Shawn 357 · 01-06-2010, 11:00 AM

At least you'll have higher compression now

I used to do a lot more stuff trying to help somebody out who was in a tough spot and it seemed like a lot of the time it turned out to be more trouble than it was worth (more time, money and constranation).

Rot 911 · 01-06-2010, 11:31 AM

Probably a good reason why his business was slow. He is incompetent.

Looking_for_911 · 01-06-2010, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kurt V

Probably a good reason why his business was slow. He is incompetent.

Maybe not.

The original post described him as an "old guy."
He may just be past his prime, or more to the point, past his days of needing to do the kind of work or being able to do it.

I'd like to think he meant no harm.

You know now for next time.

m21sniper · 01-06-2010, 08:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by T77911S

ill keep it short. did the gasket about 3 months ago. took the head to an old guy here in town because i "felt sorry" for him because his wife died and his business seemed slow. i took the head to the right guy this time and when i told him where i took it before, he said, "enough said". he should me the sanding marks where he had put it on a sander to straighen, or level, it.
this being nice thing has bitten me twice in the past few months now. if you have seen my thread about out with the old and in with the new garage, you will see..

i did not think the old guy could screw up a 4 cyl mazda head....who new. after all, he has been there since the beginning of time. $200 bucks later. and i am tryng to build a garage, and i am having to do this outside and it is freaking COLD!

It is perfectly common to have cross-hatch or "Sanding" marks on a finished head due to gasket residue removal with a die grinder and scotchbrite pad. (though it should be the entire head, not just a part of it). Before installing any head, ALWAYS verify it is not warped with a metal straight edge.

ALWAYS.

T77911S · 01-07-2010, 09:04 AM

these were scratch marks all in the same direction all over the head. the head now has arc's from where it was machined. i new it did not look right the first time, but i never thought he would just put it on a sander.

i bought a long block from him yeeears ago, back when his wife was running the store. you went in there and you new she was in charge. i went back about a year ago and she was just a vegg in a chair, i guess she had a stroke, but it was really sad to see her like that.

i thinki the old guy has just gotten cheap and does not do things the way he use to. amost all the lights are out in the store when i went back in there and its a mess in there, she must have kept him staright back then.

i found a busted water line behind the head, i should have replaced it when i did the first one. so i take the blame. but, i am glad to have the head done right, i just did not need the headache right now.