Newbie looking for some head gasket advise/wisdom

[palskidoo]

Good Morning from the East Coast,

Ive had my girl for about 2 years now and she has always been a member of the "leak of the week" club. Initially it was little bits of oil dripping out of the turbo on to the ground, nothing to raise an alarm for. However, I have been noticing another leak appearing on the drivers side and after some searching I found that it is coming from the top of the block where the heads bolt to. So now I am gearing up to do head gaskets on this Continental. My question for all you guys out there who have done this before (maybe even a few more times that once) is, what do I need to look out for or make sure I do very carefully?

This will be the first time I am doing anything this extensive the to truck and want to make sure I am not over looking anything that will bite me in a$$ later. I am not a mechanic but between farm tractors and other heavy equipment I am not afraid to put a wrench in my hand and get dirty.

Thanks

 

[Woodsplinter]

I haven't done it myself but the other members will tell you to read through the procedure in the TM's and search through the numerous threads on the site. Some of them are devoted just to tips and tricks.

I'm going to have to do mine soon but I'm going to wait for cooler weather. Good luck!

 

[clinto]

Good Morning from the East Coast,

Ive had my girl for about 2 years now and she has always been a member of the "leak of the week" club. Initially it was little bits of oil dripping out of the turbo on to the ground, nothing to raise an alarm for. However, I have been noticing another leak appearing on the drivers side and after some searching I found that it is coming from the top of the block where the heads bolt to. So now I am gearing up to do head gaskets on this Continental. My question for all you guys out there who have done this before (maybe even a few more times that once) is, what do I need to look out for or make sure I do very carefully?

This will be the first time I am doing anything this extensive the to truck and want to make sure I am not over looking anything that will bite me in a$$ later. I am not a mechanic but between farm tractors and other heavy equipment I am not afraid to put a wrench in my hand and get dirty.

Thanks

Here's the thread when I did mine, it's an ok thread: http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?11295-All-this-for-a-freeze-plug-

And here's a post to a collection of M44 head gasket threads: http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showth...uel-head-job&p=1140349&viewfull=1#post1140349


Between all of those, there are probably 20 threads to read and when you've read them all, you'll be prepared.

 

[gimpyrobb]

Have you tried re-torquing the head bolts? After 40-50 yrs of vibration they tend to loosen up. I had almost 2-3 turns on some of my intake/exhaust bolts last year.

 

[rustystud]

I would be more concerned about the Turbo leaking ! Take off the exhaust pipe and look inside with a flashlight, then check the intake side. Make sure the seals are still good. Then go after the head gaskets. Get ready for some sticker shock on the prices of gaskets though.

 

[acesneights1]

You will need an offset 7/8 crowfoot like socket. If your lucky you can find a used Snap On one on the bay.

 

[clinto]

You will need an offset 7/8 crowfoot like socket. If your lucky you can find a used Snap On one on the bay.

I've been looking for one of those for years. If you ever see another one, please let me know. The surplus wrenches are absolute trash.

 

[JasonS]

I have two of the Snap-on wrenches and they don't work in all of the locations. I ended up making my own.

 

[rustystud]

You will need an offset 7/8 crowfoot like socket. If your lucky you can find a used Snap On one on the bay.

Aces what is the number on that Snap-On wrench ? I cannot make it out.
Thanks.

 

[acesneights1]

I have two of the Snap-on wrenches and they don't work in all of the locations. I ended up making my own.

Which locations ? It worked fine on mine. Just curious.
I considered making one too but then found the Snap On one. It worked fine but I did have a bunch of stuff off the motor.

 

[acesneights1]

Aces what is the number on that Snap-On wrench ? I cannot make it out.
Thanks.

M 4276A

The space is exactly as it appears n the wrench/socket.
I do not believe Snap On makes it anymore as I could not find it in their catalog but then again I'm special needs when it comes to search engines.

 

[acesneights1]

I've been looking for one of those for years. If you ever see another one, please let me know. The surplus wrenches are absolute trash.

Funny I red a thread here saying that so I went on eBay looking for the Snap on one and was lucky. I will PM you if I find another one.

 

[acesneights1]

To the OP,
Some other things just to make it brief.
Pretty straight forward job. The worst part is removal and install of the intake/exhaust manifold assemblies. They must come off and go on together and 90% of the nuts are hand wrench work with lock nuts so patience is a virtue...
Other than that pretty easy job. TM has the particulars with Torque spec/sequence I believe. Don't mix up the push rods or Rocker assemblies(Although honestly I would bet it wouldn't matter on one of these).
Oh...MOST IMPORTANT !!!
This is not in the TM
When you go to remove the push rods. DO NOT pull them straight up. The Tappet will stick to the bottom of the push rod and then fall out down in the side of the block and then you could be taking apart alot more to get it back in. Pull the push rod up about 1/8 to 1/4 inch and wiggle it until you feel the tappet fall back down...Trust me on this..!!

 

[acesneights1]

One more thing...I "believe" the intake/exhaust studs go into the water jacket so inspect them carefully for signs of leakage and remove and reseal any leaking studs. I like aviation permatex myself. I had a few that were leaking. It is much easier to deal with it now than have to remove the intake/exhaust manifolds again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU1BcqHefAs&list=UUdb5JicXJ6rEUlfnbrRy3Iw

 

[rustystud]

To the OP,
Some other things just to make it brief.
Pretty straight forward job. The worst part is removal and install of the intake/exhaust manifold assemblies. They must come off and go on together and 90% of the nuts are hand wrench work with lock nuts so patience is a virtue...
Other than that pretty easy job. TM has the particulars with Torque spec/sequence I believe. Don't mix up the push rods or Rocker assemblies(Although honestly I would bet it wouldn't matter on one of these).
Oh...MOST IMPORTANT !!!
This is not in the TM
When you go to remove the push rods. DO NOT pull them straight up. The Tappet will stick to the bottom of the push rod and then fall out down in the side of the block and then you could be taking apart alot more to get it back in. Pull the push rod up about 1/8 to 1/4 inch and wiggle it until you feel the tappet fall back down...Trust me on this..!!

That will happen on almost all engines . Unless there rollers (two are tied together) . That's a real good tip on the manifold bolts too !

 

[JasonS]

Which locations ? It worked fine on mine. Just curious.
I considered making one too but then found the Snap On one. It worked fine but I did have a bunch of stuff off the motor.

It didn't work on the nuts under some of the injectors.

 

[blisters13]

Is it 7/8" by 1/2" drive?

 

[Jeepsinker]

When you put it back together, spray both sides of the headgaskets with copper spray-a-gasket. It is really just a gasket adhesive and will help keep the headgaskets from seeping around the outsides later on. It comes in a half size aerosol can at most auto parts stores. You can spray the block and head surfaces too. Don't worry about getting it in the cylinders and valve seats and all, it will not hurt anything. I've used this stuff on every headgasket I've ever done and it's just good insurance.

 

[acesneights1]

Is it 7/8" by 1/2" drive?

yes.

 

[acesneights1]

It didn't work on the nuts under some of the injectors.

injectors in or out ?
When I did mine the injs were out. Maybe that is why ??