Questionok well the head gasket blew. now tell me if im right.... i need to take off my valve covers, both of them? or just one? what else do i need to take off? can u just tell me what i need to disasemble to get the the head gasket so i can fix it?
AnswerHi Gary,
From what you are describing (blown head gasket) is considered a major repair and very time consuming, requiring specific tools to do the job. If you have never attempted such a repair, I strongly recommend that you have a shop do the work. This repair will cost several hunderd dollars. With this in mind a very important decision is in front of you. If the engine is high mileage, you should consider a rebuild or a used motor. Here's what's involved.........
Removal of valve cover (blown head gasket side)
Removal of intake manifiold
Removal of any accessories such as altenator, power steering, that is bolted to that side of the engine
Removal of rocker arms and pushrods
Removal of exhaust manifold (blown side) be careful not to break these bolts off.
The cylinder head bolts (rather long) are torqued. You will have to be very careful not to break the heads of the bolts off or worse, part of the bolt. If you do, the engine will have to be disassembled and the block taken to a machine shop to be retapped. These bolts go directly into the engine block. In short, an automatic engine rebuild.
The head gasket is sandwiched between the cylinder head and the engine block, the factory material should use a metal gasket. Now, you need to find out why the head gasket blew. This will require taking the head to a machine shop. There is a possibility the head has suffered warpage. The shop can check to make sure it is straight and true. If it is warped, and the warpage is not too bad they can shave the head deck, but only to a certain extent. The reason, if the head is badly warped shaving too much off will cause your compression on one side of the motor to be different. If that is the case, they will tell you that the other head must be removed and brought in. So your compression will match. If your car has high mileage, over 125,000 the likelyhood is there. Depending on the condition of the valves, seats and springs, they may or may not inform you that the head(s) will need to be fully rebuilt. The machine shop may have a rebuilt head in stock to fit your motor. There is no way to be positive until you inspect for damage. A shop depending on workload will take 3-4 days to repair your car, Hope this helps. Ray
