so i was about to leave today, went to start the car and all i hear is a clunking noise. when it finally did turn over, the idle was really low and steam was coming from the exhaust. i could smeel the antifreeze. the temp quickly rose to 260 and i turned it off.

does anyone know what the cost of labor would be to repair something like this? i havent found anyone whos blown one....i need it fixed asap.

 

alot. especially on a 4th gen. the gaskets for 2 head gasket fixes alone are 110 or so dollars.

 

Find a board member and give him a few bucks- prefereably a reptable one..

Its really time consuming. other than that its pretty easy. Just remember to torque them down 3 times at whatever torque specs are needed (15/45/70 or something like that).

other than that, its kinda hard to skrew up

 

I'm afraid I have to agree with Trey. At a dealer I bet you are looking at $1200-1500.If you were closer,I would do it for you.

 

It's a real pain to do. There is no way in hell I'd take it to a dealer though, a privately owned repair shop will be much cheaper. If you can't do it yourself, I wouldn't get a bunch of backyard mechanics together(could be a great group, could be not so great, know what I mean?), I would just pay someone to do it, so I had someone to go back to if there was a problem.

John

 

If you've got coolant mixing with the oil too, then when your done... call around and take it to get the oil system flushed!!! You'll have snot loads of sludge all over the oil galleries and could potentially clog your lifters too. There are places that have professional oil flushing systems... make sure you call and not just take it to joe-schmoe (sp?) mechanic.

 

It is a big job to re and re the heads, and there are plenty of areas where you can screw up. Anyone who thinks different hasn't done the job.
The sludge will collect on the underside of the intake manifold and valve covers. Internally the engine oil passageways will be fine.
Check the heads for flatness, mine were out over .004 in and had not been overheated.
I did a three angle grind while the heads were off and replaced the valve seals.
The factory flat rate is 11 hours. Took me 20 with no shop manual, and I have done lots of engines over the last thirty years.
The head bolts must be replaced, and should be angle tightened for best results.
Change the oil early (500 miles) after it is all back together.
FastZ is right - don't turn the job into a beer-fest with a bunch of pals who don't give a crap about the job. Do it yourself and concentrate on the work.
Check the rear-most exhaust manifold bolt holes in the head for broken bolts. Have them heli-coiled while the heads are off.
Good luck.

 

I just had it done. My heads were off fourteen thousandths and I replaced them with used heads from a 96 Vette which I got for $200.00 here.

Machinist 3 angle valve job, mill, pressure check and glass bead blast was $325.

1.6 roller rockers with springs locks retainers and shims , tall valve covers, alternator notching, plugs, plug wires (routed stock), thermostat, temp sensor, Goodyear Hi Mileage hoses, header and collector gaskets, were included in install.

I bought parts over net or at local speed shop.
Valve covers complete $150
1.6 RR complete $286
Wires and plugs $163
Hoses complete $160
Gaskets complete $210
Stage 8 header bolts $38

The car was in shop for two and half days

Installation was $1,080.

To finish I need to replace rear O2 sensor which got fouled by coolant.

It is a big job! Not one I would wish on anyone.

 

Yes, sludge will collect under the intake manifold and valve covers, but I've seen it muck up some good hydraulic lifters... I'd recommend an oil flush regardless. Yes, change out the oil after 500 miles. What do you mean by angle tighten? These aren't torque-to-yield bolts.

 

Not quite!
You need to get a Torque angle gauge and with NEW head bolts torque them to the specs!!! Because the bolts are torqued to yield u need to watch how much torque your placing on them, the cars aren't like the old run of the mill small block specs where 65 ft-lbs saves the day, unfortunatley you've gotta follow all the specs closesly! The head gasket was my first REAL experience working on a car and it really taught me ALOT!! I thinking bitting the bullet and decideing to do the job myself was an excellent decision! If you do do it, take it from an expericened person and
1- Have head work one! (port& polish, 3 angle Valve job, pocket port and P&P ur intake)
2-Have the machinest install new Valve stem seals and check ur springs, if u've got over 75k u might wanna replace'em an swap in a cam along with the new springs
3. Put headers on the car and give her a tune up while u've got the space!!


Head bolt torque specs are as follows....

-1995 & earlier 65 ft-lbs

-1996-1997
1- All 22 Ft/lbs
2- Short bolts (the ones along the spark plug holes) Additional 67*
3-Medium and long bolts (under the valve cover) Addtional 80*
3-

 

Since he has a 95 .....looks like the old 3 passes up to 65 ft-lb saves the day is in order. ...thats for the stock GM bolts

I do agree that you should follow the specs for the particular bolt you are using. ARP bolts come with their own torque specs and depending on whether you use 30w oil or ARP moly lube the specs are different so you do have to be careful. Always double check them after the final pass too.

 

well actually, im a SHE and im 17 so basically im just telling my dad what you guys are saying since i have no idea what it means.

sorry guys

tomorrow my dad is going to call his buddy who owns a shop, so we'll see what happens there.

i just know this is putting me in debt because i have to pay for it

 

You can get dirty too its actually a turn on for a lot of guys

 

oh dont worry, i still get dirty, i try to help out and learn as much as i can on the car.

i dont want to be the stereotypical girl who doesnt know anything besides how to pump gas

 

You got one up on my mom I dont think she can read guages (other than fuel and mph)

She got worried that my engine was going to blow up because it would get too much air with the CAI

...i can only imagine the throughts racing through her mind when she came home one day when my engine was hanging from a cherry picker.

"what happened"
"i got bored "
:::storms inside, calls my dad:::
"what the hell did you expect with trey not spending money for a month. Those two clowns and money are bound to do something stupid"

- just for the record, he was right