Head Gaskets

[WillWagner]

Did the head gaskets today. It was a relativley simple task. The hardest part was the R&R of the intake/exhaust. Hand jivin' that took forever! The cylinders have a little bit of polish, but there is still a crosshatch visible. The Saturn Surplus head nut wrench sucked...see Head Nut Wrench thread!! No cracks in the pistons and the # 3 exhaust port had a tad more carbon in it than the rest of them. It seems as though the running of dieselgas is showing no ill effects on the internals. Thats a good thing. Could have done the complete job in a day, but, the wifie is at work today, so I had some Donnie Domestics to do. It will run again tomorrow. Took about 2 hrs to get the heads off, ALOT of inspection and cleaning, and, as of now, it needs the overhead set and the fuel lines on it to run. Then it's just the chassis stuff, filter and housing and side covers. Here's some pics to go with the repair.

 

[WillWagner]

More

 

[doghead]

Wow! Will, you look much younger than I thought you would. Great pics too, thanks for sharing.

 

[clinto]

Yeah, you do look young

OK, I have a couple of questions, as I am about to do this (I actually started today).

You didn't have the heads resurfaced? I am so used to regular passenger car stuff and always having heads resurfaced in this kind of operation.

Some folks have recommended pulling the heads, turbo and intakes off all as one unit and breaking down on the bench, then reinstalling the same way. To me, it seems like that would alter the accuracy of the torque readings. Thoughts?

 

[WillWagner]

That's my helper, Jake. "Hey dad, how tight should this be....POP!" He pulled the t-bolt threads apart on one of the turbo hose clamps... the nut wasn't hard going on, just brute strength! He'll learn.

 

[WillWagner]

Oh, BTW, that was with a stubby Snap-On 3/8 ratchet!

 

[WillWagner]

Well, I checked the flatness with a straight edge made for checking for head warp..borrowed it from work. They were fine, couldn't get a .001 feeler gauge under it at any spot on the head. The heads alone are kind of heavy, maybe 80 lbs and I couldn't imagine trying to take all of the exhaust, intake and both the heads off as an assy. It is a very easy job. The only issue I would see with doing them as an assembly is the alignment of the intake and exhaust. Don't know how accurate of a torque you would get either, plus, if you were off a few thousandths with the alignment of the manifolds, you could develop cracks or leaks I guess. I do this every day for a living. It was easy for me.

 

[red devils dude]

C you could pull them all in one piece but installing is all together different I don't think it's
a good idea one spot on a head that doesn't settle right and your right back where you
started and get a set of these http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/prod...=00946407000&vertical=TOOL&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes
they make getting the manifolds off a lot easier.

 

[devilman96]

If you have a come along or a fork lift you can pull and install in one piece, its a LOT easier to unbolt all of that on a bench. When you reinstall though you have to leave all of the manifold studs loose to prevent binding as RDD said... After you torque the heads down then you can tighten up the rest. Its quite a time saver and helps keep the cussing and screaming down when it comes to dropped hardware.

As for shaving... I personally would have shaved them reguardless, better safe than sorry with the amount of work it takes to do the job. As many sealing problems as these heads have they really need all of the help they can get.

 

[OPCOM]

Thanks for the great pictures! Helps to watch a job so when it's to be done there is guidance! I assume you used the new type head gaskets.

In the picture showing the open injector pump ports, what is the orange coloration in there? not rust, but?

 

[TacticalTruck]

I always pull them together and maybe I've been lucky but I have never losened the manifold bolts. Someone told me that's how they do it at Memphis Equipment. Having the correct lifting bar and a gantry makes it all possible.
Jeff

 

[Recovry4x4]

Dang, something else I'll have to fab up!

 

[groundog]

where did you purchase your head gaskets, valve cove gaskets, etc do you really need the special wrench to get the nuts loose

 

[WillWagner]

Patrick, yeah, that's a little bit of rust. The boots in the injector lines are rotted so thery were a little stuborn to remove. That's right after taking them off. I just brake cleaned, electronic cleaned then rust penetranted them to keep them from rusting after I got them apart.
groundhog, Got a complete gasket set off of e-bay. Paid 150.00 It has...had, the new style gaskets. They are MUCH better than the old style. Yes, you will need a special wrench to do the nuts under the injectors. The one I got from Saturn broke during assembly. See "Head nut wrench" thread for the pictures of the broken wrench and the one I made.

 

[devilman96]

another mental note... Change the freeze plugs in the ends of the heads while you have them off!!!

 

[clinto]

Who on ebay did you buy your set from? (user name) I need to go ahead and get mine.

I see a set on there for $200 right now…….a bit high IMHO.

And if he doesn't have anymore, who else has the complete sets with the good gaskets for the right price?

 

[citizensoldier]

Hey Clinto I got mine from White Owl.. $135 with shipping. It was the "Valve grind kit" with all the extra gaskets for the other little parts... Newer head gasket and all the fixins..I called many places and they had the best price and were very good to work with.

 

[WillWagner]

Clinto, that's the guy who had them for 150. I asked if he would have more at the same $ after the auction, the next week, they were listed for 200. These aren't the valve grind sets cs is talking about. they are complete sets, valve covers to pan, rear seal to front seal and all gaskets and seals in between.

 

[a1171]

I am the one selling the complete gasket sets. I have sold about ten sets and this is the last one I will be selling until I get more in stock. Keeping the rest for my personal stock.

 

[WillWagner]

a1171, Thanks, the truck runs great, no more leaking head gaskets! Put 50 miles on it since Sunday. It's nice to not have a big slobber down the side of the block.