Chevrolet Repair: 1993 Chevy Suburban, chevy suburban, head gasket

Question
How do I change a head gasket on a 1993 Chevy Suburban?

Answer
Hi Tim,

You need to drain the radiator.  You need to pull the intake manifold.  You need to pull the valve covers.  You need to pull the exhaust manifolds.  You need to pull off all of the accessories in front of the motor.  You need to loosen all of the rockers, and swing them to the side so you can pull out the push rods.  Keep these in order so they go back exactly where they were.  You need to pull off anything attached to the rear of the heads.  Now you remove the head bolts.  Lift the heads out.  Have them machined, to resurface the bottom that attaches to the head gasket.  Have them checked for cracks.  You could have a valve job done to make them like new.  However if this is just a 'get-it-on-the-road' type of job, then save the money here.  Especially if it ran good.  

To reinstall, place the heads in position.  Torque them in a spiral sequence, starting in the middle.  You torque them twice.  The first is half the total torque.  The second is the total torque.  Then reinstall the pushrods and set them.  Ask me how in another email if you don't know already.  The rest is reverse the take-down.  

This is a good time to put in new lifters.  Make sure you soak them overnight in oil, to fill them up.  Take pictures along the way for reference.  Wipe out any coolant in the piston bores.  They will ruin the rings.  At the end, change the oil once.  Refill with 5 qts, new filter and motor flush.  Run for 15 minutes.  Drain the oil and change the filter.  New oil again.  Run this for 500 miles.  Oil change again and you are set.

Good Luck.

Write back if you have trouble or questions.

C J S