Head Gaskey Replacement

[AFJuvat]

Well, after flushing out my radiator, I've discovered a small coolant leak coming from the engine. It looks like I have a small head gasket leak.

I've got the haynes manual, but does anybody have any tips/tricks that may make the job a bit easier, or any ugly stuff to watch out for?

Thanks

AFJuvat

[lordgrommit]

pull out the exhaust manifold with the header the biggest job is to remove the studs from it if you try and leave it. To remove the whole head on an NA should take couple of hours max. Remember to mark stuff so you know where it came from. Use Ziplock bags and a sharpie pen to mark them for bolts and the like. Not a too big job

Matt

[Lawrence Coppari]

Clean the block and head surface thoroughly.

[EGSMachine]

i used acetone to make sure the mating surfaces were free of grease and oil.

[ae1969]

here are some pics that I took when I did mine a couple of months ago.....

http://www.tillplus.com/944/head_gasket_replacement_pictoria.htm

...just had a couple of stumbling blocks, seized head bolt (fun to remove), seized rotor (distributor), I would replace the bolts for the camshaft tower (cheap), make sure you clean it well (don't leave any desbris in the piston chambers, uhmm there was a bunch of other stuff, but you won't know until you get there............

good luck

[wannaberacer]

ae,
If you clean the piston's, won't the carbon deposit's get into the rings?

[ae1969]

Originally posted by wannaberacer:
ae,
If you clean the piston's, won't the carbon deposit's get into the rings?

Lets say that was a major worry when I was doing it......

So I brought each piston to the top position before starting....

SO I stuck a shop vac in position with my grinder attached to the end of my drill....as I grinded away....as well as putting a thin strip of cloth coated in oil/grease along the rim...(attracts dirt like flies to flypaper).....to prevent carbon from slipping down the side...that worked well.

Then on the last three... I just used duct tape to tape along the piston and cylinder wall (at the top position)...worked great!!!

Duct tape...as much as I try to get away from using that stuff... I always find a new use for it.

I then coated the cylinder walls with oil and turned the crank a few times to grab any residue that would stick to the side of the chamber....

Everything was spotless when I finally finished.....

ALex

[3sonfather]

I'm in the middle of my head work as well. I'm going to do the seals in the oil heatexchanger while the head is getting serviced since the housing is in plain sight.