Head Gasket

[mrg7243]

well i am changing my head gasket this weekend, since it think this is why my car is having the issues its having( sputtering, drinking coolant, sickly sweet smell when i open the hood when its running, exhaust having alot of condensation coming out of the exhaust, and a little bit o white smoke when i roll into the throttle, and a cylinder 2 misfire( i am getting spark though).

Is there and tips or trick in doing this??,


Also what is the best way of removing the intake manifold, i have started, but i cant see what the hell is under it that needs to be moved

[mrg7243]

also should i replace the head studs at the same time??

[Stewi]

You can replace the head bolts with studs if you want to, they are fairly cheap at $100 for a set. If you plan on going turbo in the future, then definetly do the studs now.

As for removing the intake manifold and stuff under it, slide under the car and just look up and you can see everything from the bottom. Just remember to take your time, dont loose bolts and clips and make sure you remember where everything goes. When I first started modding my car, I would take pics of things before I took them apart so I could reference the pics later if I misplaced something or couldnt get it together right.

[seth98esT]

Replace the headstuds, you cannot reuse them safely. Make sure you clean the block and head surface thoroughly. Use some carb cleaner, razer blade, and/or scotch bright pad to get ALL of the old gasket off.

While you are at it, if you havent done your timing belt/water pump, may as well replace that as well.

[mrg7243]

im ordering the timeing belt kit too. Im not trying to half ass stuff, but what do you mean by not being able to reuse the head studs safely??
As for remebering i put painters tape around everything with what its name is, like inj 1(injector 1) IAC, that stuff

[Marty]

im ordering the timeing belt kit too. Im not trying to half ass stuff, but what do you mean by not being able to reuse the head studs safely??
As for remebering i put painters tape around everything with what its name is, like inj 1(injector 1) IAC, that stuff

Don't let the word stud and bolt be used interchangeably. You have headbolts in your motor from the factory. They tend to stretch under boosted conditions. Studs are usually made from a higher tensile strength steel and have a greater clamping force then a bolt.

You do not reuse headbolts, because they stretch when you torque them rendering them useless if you're trying to fix a blown headgasket. If you want to install studs, as said above they are cheap but aren't needed unless you plan on installing a turbo.

[mrg7243]

alright thank-you, i understand bolts are from the factory and studs are for boosted applications, theoretically speaking, would the studs need to be changed every time the head is puled??

[Stewi]

alright thank-you, i understand bolts are from the factory and studs are for boosted applications, theoretically speaking, would the studs need to be changed every time the head is puled??

No.

The studs can be re-used.

[seth98esT]

Correct, my fault. You are not supposed to re-use headbolts. They get stretched when torqued. Always replace headbolts when pulling the head. Headstuds, you can re-use.

[Marty]

You should always check the studs for stretch too before reusing them.

[mrg7243]

thanks guys, i learn something new every day on this car