no.

 

Forgot to say. 1995 Camaro, Z28 convertable. I'm sorry, I know you have to give the correct information to get good info back.
Frank

 

I forgot to add all the information about if I had to pull the engine or not.
It is a 1995 Z28 with LT1, convertable. I know some models and years are different with the LT1 engine. Sorry for not giving more info .

 

No problem, either way, you don't have to pull the engine to replace the headgaskets.

You should however make sure to have the heads and the block deck checked for straightness after a blown head gasket.

 

I'm finally getting around to changing the head gaskets. I finally figured out for sure it was a head gasket, not ign or something else. Shows over 1 extra quart of oil on dip stick,(1 qt of water).
Also after sitting for a month, it is now frozen. In the next day or so will have the heads of and fixed.
Nope, won't try to turn it over till I have had some penterating oil in each cyclinder sitting for a while. Then turn it over by hand. With heads off, in case I have to go further.
On help on anyone doing the work them selves, pull the rubber strip that meets the hood, just pop out the plastic pins, otherwise you will cut the top of your arms all up , they stick down and grab you when working on top of engine. I will be putting in a 160 degree themastat instead of the 180 that made I think killed my head gasket. (any comments on that one)?
More to come.
Thanks for all the help
Guys
Oh, this 1995 only has 89,000 miles on it.

 

DO NOT replace only the head gaskets. There's coolant in your oil, which means there's a 99% chance that your bearings are SHOT. I've yet to see an engine with coolant in the oil survive after only putting in head gaskets and changing the oil. You'll spin rods and mains...not one or the other.

Go ahead and pull the engine out of the car. It will only take an hour or two longer than pulling the heads off the car. Pull the radiator and fans, all the accessories and brackets from the front of the engine (try not to unhook the refrigerant lines going to the a/c compressor; just unbolt it and lay it aside), unbolt the passenger side manifold from the head, but leave it connected to the Y-pipe, and unbolt the driver's side manifold from the Y-pipe, but leave all the bolts in the head, remove the intake. You would have to follow most of these steps in order to do the head gaskets anyway. Now, all you have left is the bellhousing, and if you have an auto, torque converter bolts, and you're ready to pull the engine. Tip: support the transmission crossmember with a jack, and remove all the bolts holding it to the chassis. Lower the rear of the transmission to gain access to the top bellhousing bolts.

Order a rebuild kit consisting of: oil pump, rings, rod bearings, main bearings, and cam bearings, upper gasket set, lower gasket set, head bolts (optional, but recommended) and timing set (optional, I haven't seen many worn LT1 timing sets, but with 188K miles, it's possible). Cost, varies depending on store. If you don't mind running, call every store in your area and source the cheapest parts from each.

Make an appointment ahead of time at the machine shop. Tell them you need: 1.) Heads checked, resurfaced 2.) Crankshaft and rods checked and/or resurfaced 3.) New cam bearings installed (you can do this yourself if you know somebody who has a cam bearing tool, but I recommend allowing the shop to do it) <---Three most important machine shop steps 4.) Block decked (optional, but recommended) 5.) Cylinders honed (you can do this easily at home, I would recommend doing it yourself, but I think they only charge like $5-$10 per hole) 6.) Install piston rings (you can do this easily at home, and also install the pistons with a cheap ring compressor and a small block of wood) 7.) Install new wrist pins (optional)

Total cost at machine shop - $400-$700

Expect to have between $800-$1200 in the engine, but you know it will be RIGHT and you won't have any problems out of it. It will be a great learning experience and you'll have a better overall understanding of how the LT1 works.

If you decide to only do the head gaskets, good luck.

 

Just replace the head gasket for now. When you're more financially stable you can buy an extra block and build that up and then all you have to do is swap engines.

 

Head gasket only.

 

Well, Have 1 more qt of oil on dip stick that I had before. When I pulled plug # 7 I got a bath of coolant. When I pulled intake man, found a push rod hanging loose on #6 cyclinder. Also the # 7 cyclinder head and piston was really clean, like it had been steamed cleaned, he he. I still have to get the other head off, fighting with the power steering pump now. I did notice the intake man bolts were finger tight.
I just thought some of this info would be helpful for others with the same job ahead of them. Last head gasket I did, was a flathead 1953, so this is new to me.

 

really thinking about pulling engine at this point. I have pulled radiator already for more room, and water pump. Not much left but engine mounts and bell housing bolts. Heads going to shop anyway to be checked. With the price of gas, I bought a new chev aveo, good gas milage, so this is the weekend car, no rush.
Euroticustoms Thanks for the input, with plenty of time, it probably will b worth it.
Thanks again guys.

 

no kidding. Those bearings are probably shot to hell.

 

Lastest on my probelm. No water in oil pan or galley. Heads not warped, but head gasket blown on #7 cyclinder, small leaks on 6 others. Heads up at machine shop now. Going to add push rod guides, or I was told to use roller bearing rocker arms. Anyway, things always sound worse than they are.
Yea, I will look for another block and build one up, but for now can drive it when I get the heads put back on. I bought this 95 z28 used and it has always used water (could never find where it went for the last 3 years, NOW I KNOW>
Thanks for the help .

 

Good deal.

Sometimes gaskets blow just from age,I guess, as some I have found no reason for them to be blown.

 

Yes, I have some thoughts. Don't use your school loans to get into further debt over this. You and some competant friends should fix it yourselves. School loans are for school...this would ensure you don't have a car with 1,888,000,000,000 miles in the first place.

 

[QUOTE=EuroticCustoms]DO NOT replace only the head gaskets. There's coolant in your oil, which means there's a 99% chance that your bearings are SHOT. I've yet to see an engine with coolant in the oil survive after only putting in head gaskets and changing the oil. You'll spin rods and mains...not one or the other.

Thats what i was thinking. I am having the exact same problem. Its a 1995 lt1 with 116k miles. Coolant is disappearing. I made sure to bleed the air out of the system, replaced the thermostat, replaced the cap. I cant see any leaks around the radiator nor any coolant on the ground. If i let the car sit for about 30 min after driving and turn it back on again the low coolant level light comes on.
At first i thought it might be the overflow not letting coolant back in so i measured the amount of coolant in the overflow before i shut the car off. I came back in 30 min, checked the overflow tank and it was at the same level. Turned the car on and the light was back on. The reason i think it might be going into the oil is because now it sometimes takes 3 times to start. When i go to start it, it almost acts like it is vapor locked. I am a college student without access to very many tools because they are 150 miles away at the parents house. Any ideas? I need to know asap to avoid more damage to this pos.