Hi, I'm looking into replacing my head gasket by myself and could use some advice... if you don't mind taking the time reading this whole thing I'd REALLY appreciate the help, thanks...
the car:'90 240 w/ 150k miles, the car was beaten to hell by a previous owner, I've already replaced tires, rear shocks, clutch, etc. it's got a nice ignition and an injen intake, but it's pretty obvious the old owner was more concerned w/ ricing the car out than actually paying attention to basic maintenance.
symptons:directly pertaining to it would be antifreeze in the oil... apparently this is a sure sign... other problems I've been having that I'm not sure if they relate... the car started overheating really bad, this happened suddenly and it would overheat in the span of my 15 minute commute to school... did this for about 2 days every so often w/ the smell of burning anti-freeze, I took it into have the oil changed (it's really cold in michigan in the winter, so I don't mind paying valvoline to change my oil) they told me there was antifreeze in the oil, topped me off... no more overheating for a couple months, happened again, I topped off my fluids, no more problems... since this happened the first time my car has been pretty bad at heating up, this could have to do with the fact that I forgot to mix the antifreeze onetime when it was overheating and I filled it w/ 100% antifreeze... I also don't know if my thermostat is good so maybe that has something to do with it...
I've never done something like a head gasket replacement by myself, I have some people that would be willing to help me and have all kinds of tools, what would this entail exactly, how much time can I expect to spend (1 day? more?) any good resources to read up on this? my chilton book doesn't seem to have anything on it.... Best place to buy a head gasket kit? anything else I should do at the same time to save trouble? any guesses as to how much I'd be saving myself over taking it to a shop??? thanks a bunch, I really appreciate it. I really don't mind getting my hands dirty and doing this type of thing myself as long as I'm not risking causing a lot more damage on accident.
Head Gasket Replacement help
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Milkman Dan
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themadscientist
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themadscientist
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Milkman Dan
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themadscientist wrote:I would say be prepared to have the head decked. This thing keeps overheating so the head is likely warped. Don't start the project until you have some alternate transportation lined up should you have to wait for machine work to be completed.
hmmmm, well... every time it's overheated I've stopped driving it w/in 5 minutes... it's only happened like... 4 or 5 times, and it's been driving fine w/out overheating for a good month now so... I guess I was hoping it'd be fine since it doesn't seem to be acting up, just figured this was something I needed to take care of asap, but didn't have the money to take care of for a few months there
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themadscientist
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it might be ok but assume the worst in case it is warped you aren't left stranded because you "weekend head gasket swap" just became "the week from hell" as you drop the head off at a shop, wind up needing a total overhaul, scramble to get parts you thought you wouldn't need and then try to scrape up the dough you hadn't budgeted because you weren't ready. If you have the money and time set aside you will be ready should it be bad, if not you might be able to do a little more than a head gasket, maybe a header too.