Head gasket replacement

[mgriffith80]

I am replacing my head gasket in the next week or two and wanted to know if anyone had any special advice on what to be cafefull of. I also have a list of parts that i am getting and want someone to go over them to make sure i am not forgetting anything
Water Pump + Gasket
Timing belt
Head Gasket (Duh)
Timing belt tensioner (How likely is it that this needs replacement?)
IMG
exhaust manifold gaskets
Valve cover gaskets
Thermosdat + Gasket

Will the IMG and Exhaust gasket come in a head Gasket replacment kit?
While I am in there is there anything else i should do as preventitive matinence?
I have been doing my pricing at rockauto.com, are there certain things i should buy from Isuzu?

97 Honda Passport 3.2L 4x4

Thanks for any feedback
Michael

[Canucklehead]

I would suggest you price parts from St. Charles auto as well. They have free shipping and a discount (10 or 15%) if you mention that you found out about online.

[Cat Fuzz]

T-belt Tensioner: If you don't know when it was replaced last, just replace it.

Intake and exhaust gaskets should be included in a head set as well as valve cover gaskets and some other minor gaskets. Should be all the gaskets you need to R&R the heads.

Maybe while its apart clean the throttle body, fuel injectors and EGR valve.

[superfret78]

I noticed you don't have new head bolts listed. Do not reuse the old ones as there is a good chance they may break. Even if they don't there's also a good chance they were weakened or warped slightly, in which case they wil not torque correctly. Make sure you run a tap through all the head bolt threads to get them clean or your torque will be inaccurate. Its also a good idea to have a machine shop check for any cracks in the head that you may not have noticed, and they can also resurface it and clean any really tough to get areas and remove old gasket material. Usually cracks appear in between the cylinders or in the combustion chambers between the valves. Make sure you follow the tightening sequence and use the correct torque when you put the head back on or you run the risk of damaging the new head gasket or possibly even warping the head.
Also:

Replace your timing belt tensioner.

Make sure you get the water pump gasket mating surface really clean to ensure the new gasket seals well.

Make sure you get your timing marks lined up correctly. If the camshaftmarks don't line up exactly its not that big a deal as you will be taking them out anyways and you can manually reset the cam timing when you put them back in. The mark on the oil pump is the important one.

While you're in there you may want to replace the camshaft seal and the crankshaft front seal.

That's all I can think of for now. Good luck.

[mgriffith80]

Thanks guys, I'll let you know how it all works out

[arringt]

Originally Posted by superfret78

I noticed you don't have new head bolts listed. Do not reuse the old ones as there is a good chance they may break. Even if they don't there's also a good chance they were weakened or warped slightly, in which case they wil not torque correctly. Make sure you run a tap through all the head bolt threads to get them clean or your torque will be inaccurate. Its also a good idea to have a machine shop check for any cracks in the head that you may not have noticed, and they can also resurface it and clean any really tough to get areas and remove old gasket material. Usually cracks appear in between the cylinders or in the combustion chambers between the valves. Make sure you follow the tightening sequence and use the correct torque when you put the head back on or you run the risk of damaging the new head gasket or possibly even warping the head.
Also:

Replace your timing belt tensioner.

Make sure you get the water pump gasket mating surface really clean to ensure the new gasket seals well.

Make sure you get your timing marks lined up correctly. If the camshaftmarks don't line up exactly its not that big a deal as you will be taking them out anyways and you can manually reset the cam timing when you put them back in. The mark on the oil pump is the important one.

While you're in there you may want to replace the camshaft seal and the crankshaft front seal.

That's all I can think of for now. Good luck.

1996 Honda Passport 3.2 a/t 171000 miles.
Replaced the T belt 2 times.

I have a leaking head gasket and I am replacing them this week. I did not see anything in my Chilton's manual about the oil pump. Do I have to go that deep?

[Ramblin Fever]

How many miles you got on your rig?

Definitely replace the T-belt tensioner, you'll regret it if you don't.

[mgriffith80]

Nope, never got near the oil pump. I am trying to remeber if there were any special tricks i learned, but i had soem broken head bolt's and that was my biggest achievement in getting them out with the reverse drill bit and lots of blaster rust losener