just wondering about how long it takes to remove the heads on an LT1? also about how much have any of you guys been charged to have the top half of your motor removed? any info would be great, thanks

 

It took me about 10 hours to tear mine down.

 

what would you recommend using for the intake gasket so that way i get a nice seal? i heard permatex ultra copper RTV works the best, idk though.

 

I used standard black gasket sealer along the front and rear of the intake, I didn't use anything on the actual Felpro gaskets. Either the regular stuff or the copper should work fine, just lay down a nice, thick bead and you'll be ok.

 

Biggest problem for me was how fast I could get the header bolts out, after that there isn't much to it at all.

 

anyone have any ideas on the gaskets i should use?

 

Fel-pro 1074 head gaskets... ~$35/each

I believe the intake is Fel-pro 1284... ~$20

I don't have a part number for the exhaust gaskets here at work.

You may also consider investing in a new set of head bolts. ARP makes a set for small block chevy engines that is about $50 bucks.

 

are those gaskets good for the high compression i'm running? i'm not sure if different gaskets hold better or worse? thanks for you help

 

They'll hold anything you can throw at it, thats for sure.

 

so what exactly is this permatex ultra copper RTV i've been reading about? is it a sealer?

 

Yeah, those fel-pro gaskets are real good at high compression and other applications. I've heard of a couple that held up to over 20 PSI of boost and actually had the head lift instead of the gasket blow. That's pretty impressive.

The ultra coper is just like RTV but it stands up to a little higher temperature and it's orange instead of black.

 

thanks for all your help! you guys are awesome!

 

if you use a thick bead, once you get the car together check to see if some sealer squishes out from between the manifold and the block around the timing chain area. if it did, it probably got inside the motor, too, and it would be in you best bet to not let that happen. take the manifold off, and use less thick a bead of sealer. Even after that, i'd not start the car for as long as possible to let the sealer cure(24+ hrs). don't mean to scare you, just don't want to see you waste an engine over something silly. i'd take an oil leak over a burnt engine any day.

 

i think i'm leakin oil from the back of the intake is this a real bad thing or do i just need to keep an eye on the oil level? it leaves about a 4 inch circle on the pavement everywhere i park the car after its been warmed up...

 

Just pull the intake and reseal it. And I wouldn't really worry about any sealant killing your motor. If it does brake off, it will most likely either sit in the lifter valley or if it does get past that, it should sink to the bottom of the oil pan and be gone when you change the oil.

Why do you need to pull the heads anyway?