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| drummer.ash |
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Hey guys,
A couple of months ago my car started playing up. It was running really rough as misfiring quite a bit, as it reached the point where it sounded like it was running on only 4 or 5 cylinders. The same time this started, it also started running pretty hot, had a fair bit of water from the exhaust and it guzzled the coolant. This all sounds like the head gasket's screwed to me, as all signs point to it letting coolant into one of the cylinders. I've got two questions - 1. Does this sound like the head gasket's gone, or is there another possible explanation? 2. I know that getting a head gasket replaced can be pretty costly (>$1000), so is it worth buying a head gasket kit for $150 off eBay and doing it myself? I'm not too bad with the tools, just don't wanna cause any expensive damage during the replacement. Thanks guys.
_________________ White 1995 EF Wagon with Barra 182 |
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| dan_mac20 |
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If you do it yourself, I heard the heads are actually a polished finish, not just a regular machine. So be careful who you take it to
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| mick au2 |
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could possibly be a welch plug that has rusted out, look for white streaks that look like bird poo on your block, you have to get underneath with a torch to get a good look
_________________ My cars don't advertise for Unit, Metal Mulisha, Loosekid Industries, Inverted, Famous stars & straps crap, R.M. Williams, Fusion, DC Shoes or the Transformers. |
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| mick au2 |
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but then again, welch plugs wouldnt explain water coming out the exhaust, definitely head gasket
_________________ My cars don't advertise for Unit, Metal Mulisha, Loosekid Industries, Inverted, Famous stars & straps crap, R.M. Williams, Fusion, DC Shoes or the Transformers. |
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| 79 raven |
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If it is the head, some have done it themselves for the first time and had no issues and other havent been so lucky. On my Ef I had it done for me because I have had issues with timing chains before and made a mess of it, meaning I opted to pay someone the relatively high price and them worry about mistakes rather than possibly stuff it up myself. You doing it is purely a weigh up of what your comfortable with.
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| drummer.ash |
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@Dan - Yeah, I read somewhere that it's okay to run over the block with a wire brush on an angle grinder to get rid of any s**t from the old gasket and clean it up so there's a nice surface for the new gasket to sit on.
@Raven - I think that I should be alright at it, I assume that the worst that could happen is if I manage to get stuck at a point in the process where I can't go any further, then I just get it towed to a mechanic to finish the job off. I can't screw anything up properly can I?
_________________ White 1995 EF Wagon with Barra 182 |
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| mick au2 |
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It is an easy job, but can be a mission if you are not 100% confident or competent, as long as you have some mechanical knowledge, the tools required and if you have a manual on how to, I recommend to have a bit of a study of it. Try to label parts and use sandwich bags labelled for ease of assembly, even take pictures as you go for future reference and to make sure things go back together the same way it was assembled, even mixing up bolts and nuts going to different locations can cause minor headaches. Take a look at the head gasket change write up by phongus in the Tech. Documents, very helpful, even though its for a I6 single cam engine. Good luck
_________________ My cars don't advertise for Unit, Metal Mulisha, Loosekid Industries, Inverted, Famous stars & straps crap, R.M. Williams, Fusion, DC Shoes or the Transformers. |
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| Pakrat |
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Yes use a angle grinder on you're ba head. . .
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| mick au2 |
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Pakrat wrote: Yes use a angle grinder on you're ba head. . . um, do you think its a good idea to do this? Honestly?
_________________ My cars don't advertise for Unit, Metal Mulisha, Loosekid Industries, Inverted, Famous stars & straps crap, R.M. Williams, Fusion, DC Shoes or the Transformers. |
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| 79 raven |
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drummer.ash wrote: I assume that the worst that could happen is if I manage to get stuck at a point in the process where I can't go any further, then I just get it towed to a mechanic to finish the job off. I can't screw anything up properly can I? If you stuff the timing up it can be a major pain and costly to rectify. Its easy to move a tooth out and not even know it, or drop the chain ( engine out I think to drop the sump to take the timing cover off). If you move a tooth out, finish the job and then start the car to find the timings out it will be a complete waste and more money spent to fix. |
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| Pakrat |
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mick au2 wrote: Pakrat wrote: Yes use a angle grinder on you're ba head. . . um, do you think its a good idea to do this? Honestly? considering I'm a mechanic I'm going to have to go with no. Nonono |
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| drummer.ash |
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Pakrat wrote: Yes use a angle grinder on you're ba head. . . I didn't say I was going to use it on the head, but on the block itself. In a tech document I was reading it said it was okay to use a wire brush on the block. This is what it said: Quote: Once the head is removed, you can pull off the old gasket if it didn't already come off with the head. You will notice that it doesn't come off cleanly, there is a whole heap of s**t left there on the mating surface. This is not acceptable. The mating surface must be extremely clean. Do not use chisels or screwdrivers to scrape it off as you'll put dents and scratches in the block, making weak spots in the mating surface. It has to be perfectly clean and flat. This can be done with a grinder with a wire brush attachment. Using the wire brush grinder clean off the block until the metal is clean and gasket free. And no need to be a d**k about it - I come to these forums looking for knowledge and assistance, not a a*** answer.
_________________ White 1995 EF Wagon with Barra 182 |
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| chicho11 |
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I always use paint remover to clean head, valve heads, piston top. Let it soak a few minutes and then scrape it gently.
Do not use angle grinder. |
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| drummer.ash |
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chicho11 wrote: I always use paint remover to clean head, valve heads, piston top. Let it soak a few minutes and then scrape it gently. Something I read was saying that you can go over the head with a razor blade to get rid of any s**t. That should be alright yeah?
_________________ White 1995 EF Wagon with Barra 182 |
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| Pakrat |
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Whatever man, if you were really interested you would have searched our forums, there are multiple threads with discussions on cleaning block surfaces.
Obviously you want to do a quick rush job with a angle grinder so go for it. If you want to do a good job research it PROPERLY, aka read alot of write ups and tech docs, do you're homework, look into how the timing chain system works, think to yourself if you're actually capable of doing the job then get back to us when you get stuck. You could always buy a second hand engine and drop it in. Probably easier and cheaper for you to do. |
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