Head Gasket Replacement questions.

[Milkman Dan]

okay, I bought a 1990 240 fastback this summer and it was pretty beaten to ****, obviously one of the previous owners hadn't done regular maintenance and found it more important to add an injen intake and a new jacobs ignition...

so far I've replaced the tires, the clutch, the rear shocks, the stereo, and I'm still working on lots of other problems I know it has... my next adventure is the head gasket, I've been told by a couple of people that it's most likely bad, here's why they say it's the head gasket... twice in the past 4 months or so I'll have this problem where the car will start smoking badly from burning antifreeze, I'll get the smell through the vents and I know what antifreeze smells like well enough (sweet smell, steam pouring out, correct?) whenever it does this my heat shoots up, I'll stop driving it almost immediately, like... w/in 5 minutes every time probably, fill up the antifreeze (which by this point is pretty much empty) and top off the oil, and it's fine again for quite awhile... the thing I'm told is a sure sign though is antifreeze on the dipstick when I check the oil... not a lot of it, just enough to be able to notice... so, assuming this is my head gasket which has been confirmed by lots of people I need some info about changing it out, I've never done anything extremely technical like this before and while I don't mind getting my hands dirty I just want to make sure I'm not causing myself more problems in the long run...

if you could answer any of these questions I'd really appreciate it

1) where can I find a good manual that would walk me through this

2) how long can I expect to spend on this assuming I have the right tools

3) what are the right tools, is there anything I'll need besides your basic socket set and torque wrench?

4) what are the basic things that this involves, ie removing what, draining what?

5) what unexpected problems might I encounter that I should be aware of that would make it take a lot longer?

6) know where I should look for a good head gasket replacement kit? anywhere online that's good?

7) finally, what else should I try and make a point of doing while I have it in the garage and everything torn apart? headers? fuel injectors? what would be some other good, not too expensive things that I could do to improve performance and learn more about this car?

thanks for reading this whole thing.

[nisstek]

The best way to learn is do it and learn from your mistakes. If you cant be without the car while "learning" you may want to explore other possabilities. A 13 year old car can give you alot of trouble when trying such a big job. Things will break and there are things you need to look for that arent in a manual of any kind. Experience is best tool you have. You cant teach it or coach it. Get the car in the garage and have fun. If she pisses you off walk a way for an hour. It works for me. That works on women too. Good luck, Pal.

[DAEDALUS]

Nisstek's right--I wouldn't start the job without having an alternate mode of transportation. It might take you a good 2-3 weekends, depending on the complexity. A manual won't exactly "walk" you through it, but it does have great info and pics. You'll probably need some hex drivers. Forget about using allen wrenches...not enough torque. You *might* be able to do it without removing the timing cover, but you need to mark the chain on the sprockets AND you need to be able to remove the chain from the sprockets (remove tensioner first). I'm not even sure it's possible without removing the front cover, but I hope so. It'll be a lot less work. After removing the chain you need to remove the camshafts. Careful with the bearings. After you're done, change the oil to flush out any debris, and then change it again after 100 miles or so. Take a look at your chain and your guides...replace them if necessary. Take your time with the RTV and make sure you get a good CLEAN bond.

[Milkman Dan]

hmmm, 2-3 weekends I wouldn't be able to do as I 1) don't have another mode of transportation and 2) am going to be borrowing somebody's garage since I'm away at college and our house doesn't have one...

so is this something that I just shouldn't worry about? or is it something that I could possibly do in 1-2 full days if I work on it over a weekend? just wondering about the other questions I asked, is there a place to get manuals on stuff like this so I could at least read up on it and see how comfortable I'd be with trying it before I do? I'm just thinking the cost difference is going to be what, like a good $300 or so at LEAST for labor right? unfortunately I don't have that kind of money to spend right now and I'm thinking about getting rid of this car in a half year or so to get a 240 in a little bit better shape.

[sts76]

Depends on how mechanically inclined you are. I did mine in a day. The hardest part for me was scraping all the old gasket off the block and head. Start to finish took me about 7 hours, so 2 full days should get it unless you run in to other problems.

[DAEDALUS]

No one ever said you shouldn't worry about it! A cracked head gasket cannot be ignored. And I would never rule out being able to do the job in a weekend, but I don't think you should bank on it if you absolutely need to have the car done then. I have a '90 Q45. When I resealed my valve covers at 185k, I shattered some hoses (yeah, shattered--that's how brittle they were). I ended up going back and forth to the nearest dealership to get parts, and the job just kept getting bigger. I had to replace the shattered hoses, but to do so, I had to remove the plenum. To remove the plenum, I had to shatter a bunch of other hoses. To replace the other hoses I had to remove the fuel rail, etc. etc. I ended up spending almost $500 on parts just to reseal the stupid covers. I'll be very honest--I've never worked on a 240. But in general, unfamiliar jobs very often take more time and money than initially expected.Might this help?http://www.silvia.hl.com.au/techinfo.asp

[Milkman Dan]

No one ever said you shouldn't worry about it! A cracked head gasket cannot be ignored. And I would never rule out being able to do the job in a weekend, but I don't think you should bank on it if you absolutely need to have the car done then. I have a '90 Q45. When I resealed my valve covers at 185k, I shattered some hoses (yeah, shattered--that's how brittle they were). I ended up going back and forth to the nearest dealership to get parts, and the job just kept getting bigger. I had to replace the shattered hoses, but to do so, I had to remove the plenum. To remove the plenum, I had to shatter a bunch of other hoses. To replace the other hoses I had to remove the fuel rail, etc. etc. I ended up spending almost $500 on parts just to reseal the stupid covers. I'll be very honest--I've never worked on a 240. But in general, unfamiliar jobs very often take more time and money than initially expected.Might this help?http://www.silvia.hl.com.au/techinfo.asp

well damn... no, sorry, I didn't mean not worry about it, I meant not worry about doing it myself and just take it to a shop... yeah, it's definitely something I want to take care of soon... the car's under 150k miles, thing is there's no feasible way I'm going to have a spare $4-600 or whatever it's going to cost laying around inbetween now and the time I graduate at which point I'll have to drive back across the country from Oregon to Michigan... between tuition, rent, gas, and bills I live week to week on a pretty low spending budget and I was hoping to have this be something I could do myself for <$200...

so... if I do start on this myself and break something chances are I wouldn't have the extra money laying around to buy whatever other parts I needed... I guess maybe I'll just have to start saving my money and pray that I've got enough saved up in the next couple months that I can do this. you guys are kinda discouraging but thanks for being honest.

[vududoc]

you can do it!!!!!!!!! i did timing chain and that is the bulk of the work cause after that you're pulling the head. Give your self 5 days.....ie i started friday night and was done on tuesday. typically spending 6hours a day....most of it drinking beer..lol. I have pics posted on my site but the other stuff id be happy to walk you through on. i think the worst part was getting the car timed again b/c of being one off on the oil pump. other than that cake walk. you'll want to give the car a day for the gasket material to fully set. i had to do it after i blasted 1400 for nissan to do it and then the chain stretched and they wouldnt honor theyre warranty. i did mine for about 200 with tools included in that.

[Stebo200]

Hey...Iam a High school student from northern ny, I bought a 93 240sx last summer and i love it to death. but i have a problem it keeps over-heating , so i checked my thermostat and there wasnt even one in it. So i went and bought a new one put it in and nothen, it would still over-heat so i changed teh waterpump and still nothen the 240 would still overheat after a few minutes of running it. The local autoparts said it sounded like a blown headgasket but i dont have any coolant in my oil . So the question iam asking is could it possibly be a plugged heater core or a clogged pipe in my coolant system..I really need some help on this i have about 700 dollars saved up to get the work done but i dont know if i trust the local autoparts so any help would be very helpful.Thank you for your time.

My aol screen-name is Stebo200 it would be nice to talk to somebody one on one about my probly if possibly....

[EZcheese15]

I just replaced the head on my QR and it only took me a total of approx 10 hours from start to finish, taking my time. I know it's a QR, but it's very similar to a KA (both DOHC timing chains).

[EZcheese15]

Oops...just noticed you have a SOHC, but whatever...still similar jobs.

[Zreed]

same problem with my 97 240sx...wut did u do to solve the problem?

[llamabeta]

Changed my mine KA24DE head in about 4 hours total of work in the car. That is in regards to removing and bolting it and the intake\exhaust back on. 4 months later number 2 bearing went out on me due to lack of oil. LOL.

That's with stuff going off without a hitch pretty much. Since this is your 1st time paitence is key. What you should factor in is taking it to a machine shop to at least get it shaved flat. You will also need to ensure the block is as flat as possible as well.

Good luck.