Crapola Blew Head Gasket

[95ClipseGS-T]

Ok i orderd a OEM spec headgasket from Car Quest for $30 and i wen t ahead and got new plugs too, b/c im thinking those are bad too. got the NGK BPS7ES for $7. I ordered my ARP head studs for $97. ok my other question is what else do i need to order to change this, i heard water pump gasket? anything else. Timing belt is only like a year/10K miles old. I found a guy that knows alot about turbo cars, and is a mechanic and the best damn transmission man around here. But he is going to fix my car for like $300 but i goto buy the parts.

[Reager]

If all your changing is the HG, you really dont need to take the car to the shop. Changed the HG on one in my driveway in less than a day.

The work is pretty strait forward and simple, and doing it yourself will allow you to dump that 300 somewhere else in the car.

[95ClipseGS-T]

well im not the most mechanically enclined. but im going help the guy so i can see how to do for the next time it happens

[kjewer1]

Thats the way to learn. I do this for a lot of people. I get paid, they get educated.

10k on the tbelt is certainly fine. If you know the water pump was done at the same time you are all set there too. Literally all you need to do is the HG and the studs.

Here is a very rough rundown of how I approach this job. Only takes about an hour once you know the job by heart.

-Remove UICP
-Remove cam gears per the above mentioned "RRE method" if you feel so bold, otherwise pull the tensioner and recompress/reinstall. Dont touch the bolt on the tensioner pulley, and you wont have to redo the tension. Measure it again anyway though, spec is .15 to .18 inches between the tensioner body and the tensioner arm (pin extension distance basically).
-remove all wiring and plumbing from the intake manifold, anything holding it down to the car.
-remove 4 turbo to manifold bolts.
-remove the upper radiator hose.
-remove head bolts
-lift head off by the the two manifolds, take it all out as one unit.

On a 2g, you have the additional step of unbolting the tstat housing from the head, or try to deal with the font water pipe. On a 1g this is not an issue, the front water pipe is not attached to anything on the head.

Do your studs based on the info in that RKO thread, clean the block surface thoroughly, same for the head, and install is the reverse order of removal.

Have fun.

[95ClipseGS-T]

ok well took of the head and noticed the #2 cylinder coating was gone. headgasket was blown at that point for a long time, and finally blew the outside of it to makeme reliaze it. The spark plug gap was closed and the valves where clean from all the antifreeze in the cyclindar. Ok well im buying a work truck to get me to work and school and back. Im going to pull the engine out and build it up again.

What are yall suggestions, i'll take a few pics and post them but from the look of it, its not that bad but bad enough to have to take the motor out and either resurface or sleeve or bore the cyclinder out. The piston looks good so far as i can only see the top.

Ok start shooting me suggestions.

[1trickedoutdsmra]

ahh this same exact thing happen to me too just waiting to raise some money to fix

[kjewer1]

Originally Posted by 95ClipseGS-T

Ok well im buying a work truck to get me to work and school and back. Im going to pull the engine out and build it up again.

Thats the spirit!

I would just get the block rebuilt by a reputable shop. If you arent going for high HP dont worry about the torque plate etc, and be sure the machinist is aware that its incredibly important to do a good job aligning the thrust bearing, since we have issues with them failing. My machinist does all the labor for my race motors for 500. In your case parts would be cheap, just a set of pistons and rings at the worst.

Not sure if I already mentioned this in this thread, but read my thread on www.racingknowledge.org (screen name is the same without the space, use it when you search) titles "ARP head stud info" or something very close to that. All you need to know to make sure the studs go in properly and that headgasket lives longer than the first one did.

Get the head checked for flatness while you are there, no point reinstalling a warped head that will just cause the HG t fail again. The trick is to eliminate all possible causes for reocurrance while you are in there, even though it costs a little bit more money. Jobs like this you don't want to do twice.

If you dont want to deal with the 7 bolt and a 6 bolt is on your wish list, now is the time for that. It will cost the same money to rebuild, no matter which block it is. The only potential increase is if you wanted to run DSMlink with the swap, rather than the baro wire mod and AFC combination. Wait a minute, looking at your mod list (see how much this helps people!!) you already have the AFC and logger! Baro wire mod is only 3 bucks, and its quite safe with a 16g sized turbo. IF you decide to go this route, I can offer some more info about the mod that you dont see on the internet Another 7 bolt is always an option too, but its often not cheap and you dont know what you are getting.

Lots of options, good luck. With a daily driver, you can at least take the time to do it right...

[GotGrip666]

hey guys im doing the headgasket change on my 96 gsx now can i still reuse my apr studs?

[ITSME4G63]

hope that the headgasket is the worst of your worries. Get a mls or a 4 layer and some arp headstuds, trust me you wont be dissapointed.

[kjewer1]

ARPs can be reused as long as they havent stretched over .001", which I have never seen happen. Been reusing the same set for years.

[dsmodder]

the vac tube going fromt he intake pipe to the rear of hte engine is to your charcole canister. if it feel off it wouldnt mess anything up. maby some tree huggers lungs but thats about it. you should find out why you blew the hg before you fix it and do it again.