How am i looking so far? October 01, 2008, 04:22:24 PM I dug into the intake to replace the gaskets, And figured~While i'm this far into it, I might as well change/check the headgaskets as well. :hick:I only have the drivers side apart right now.Is it just me, or does this head gasket look original?How does everything look under here? Other then its a little black...This one had some vertical sing/rust spots? along the bottom?:Any visible problems i should look into? Quote Selected
How am i looking so far? Reply #1 – October 01, 2008, 04:38:57 PM The intake manifold gaskets and maybe the cfi spacer seem to be the only gaskets ever replaced... and in the process of changing the intake manifold gaskets, they managed to NOT tighten down the bolts properly on the entire intake. (some were finger tight!!!)Under the manifold (Best looking gaskets i've seen on the car so far):Gasket Removed:Under Drivers Valve Cover: Quote Selected
How am i looking so far? Reply #2 – October 01, 2008, 06:01:11 PM Don't look so bad.At least you got harder side off,not much room with the ex.there. Quote Selected
How am i looking so far? Reply #3 – October 01, 2008, 06:08:08 PM did those motors come with a notch on 2 sides of the piston? otherwise, id say those have been changed out. Quote Selected
How am i looking so far? Reply #4 – October 01, 2008, 06:12:02 PM When pulling off heads, use a shop vac and suck out as much coolant as possible. Coolant + engine oil = replacing bearings. Just FYI. Quote Selected
How am i looking so far? Reply #5 – October 01, 2008, 06:45:34 PM ok, ill do that with the shop vac on the next one. i tried to my best to not let any coolant where it shouldn't go~im going to be doing a full oil and coolant change before startup after everything is back together also.So no worries about the rust traces on the middle cylinder? or the black coating?And it may sound odd... but should i keep the original head gasket on? it seems to have formed to and become one with the engine, and im wondering if this is a causing a better seal than a new a gasket may give. (and also why it hasnt blown a gasket yet).As you can see in the pics, there is no gasket material seperating the cylinders like there is on a new gasket~this is actually flush with the metal of the block now. isnt this where the head gaskets always blow?Far fetched, but had to ask.Anything else i should do while im under here? im cleaning up the grime a bit and checking everything. Quote Selected
How am i looking so far? Reply #6 – October 01, 2008, 06:52:09 PM um, ALWAYS replace the head gaskets if you have the heads off. use your fingernail to see if it will catch on the top of the cylinders. if it does, then the motor will most likely need to be rebuilt. Quote Selected
How am i looking so far? Reply #7 – October 01, 2008, 08:15:49 PM ok, will do.And i did the fingernail se at the tops and the vertical traces and my fingernail glided across just fine. There was a slight notice of very very texture difference (like if you se you fingernail across chrome versus something steel, if that makes sense) but my nail slid just fine. Quote Selected
How am i looking so far? Reply #8 – October 01, 2008, 08:26:34 PM Quote from: 32VFoxBird;238020um, ALWAYS replace the head gaskets if you have the heads off. use your fingernail to see if it will catch on the top of the cylinders. if it does, then the motor will most likely need to be rebuilt.thats debateable,, but if the ridge is present, the only option to make the ridge go away is block work.Is it nessasary to judge a motor by the ridge alone,, i dont think so. Ring end gap, yes but even on the stock rings, .040 + end gap on the compression rings isnt uncommon.Yes,the pistons are stock,, i like them. Quote Selected
How am i looking so far? Reply #9 – October 03, 2008, 12:27:03 AM What should i use to clean up inside the engine a bit?I started cleaning with some WD-40 (Wiping everything up), But i was really unsure so i stopped. Quote Selected
How am i looking so far? Reply #10 – October 12, 2008, 01:45:29 PM 2+2 carb cleaner and some TB cleaner for the stuff that 2+2 will just destroy. and a ser for the gaskets. good luck man. I remember tearing the heads off a 3.8 on that side fighting the manifold off the whole time. Quote Selected
How am i looking so far? Reply #11 – October 12, 2008, 05:34:06 PM What's the current status?Input asap !!! Quote Selected
How am i looking so far? Reply #12 – October 12, 2008, 09:23:57 PM Dude,where you seriously thinking about reusing your old head gaskets????????????????????????If so you should call a tow truck now and tow it too your nearest shop to get the gaskets replaced and everything cleaned,torqued and put back together.Head gaskets are not something for someone too touch who has no knowledge of what's involved in doing them correctly.You are going to cause serious engine damage the route your going and should stop right now and start a thread on what do i need to do to install head gaskets correctly.Why are you using wd-40 as a cleaner,where are your sanding blocks/sers and gasket removal spray??????Did you buy new head bolts????????????????You can't reuse the old ones as they are one time use.You need to read up ASAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Selected
How am i looking so far? Reply #13 – October 12, 2008, 09:54:05 PM Chris, You should write up a "how to" on that very subject. Quote Selected
How am i looking so far? Reply #14 – October 12, 2008, 10:49:43 PM Should but it would be in vain,my last writeup on the 2.3-5.0L(most complete i've ever seen) swap didn't get stickied so....... Quote Selected
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