So after those overheating problems and changing of thermostat and some other checks i took it to a place who told me it was a head gasket.

what now? im thinking copper or Felpro gasket this time on both heads to prevent another leak in the future. anyone have a clue how much its going to cost? take into account i live in the DFW metroplex so its not going to be cheap country fix. it will have to be towed to Ft. Worth where Scott recommended i go to a repair center there. I think this guy Marc is his friend. Scott makes hotrods as a hobby and has a Chevelle SS, 55 chevy, and a kit car hot rod so i trust his judgement on the head gasket being gone. He said there was so much air in my coolant system that they had put a rubber plunger in my radiator cap and it blew that rubber cap off.

in a perfect world id tell them while they were down there to install me some LT4 p&p heads and a CC305 cam with a new LT4 timing chain, but im not made of money

 

If the car was overheated at all, then I would suggest finding someone with a hardness tester in your area & having them check the deck between the two adjacent exhaust ports. We typically look for a minimum 45Rb there.

Beyond that, FelPro & Mr. Gasket both produce an LT1 specific gasket set. Many run the impala gaskets & get away with it, but it's not optimal & I'd suggest the Mr. Gasket's over that

 

i kept it off the road enough that it didnt do a lot of damage. i mean it didnt stay in the red zone for more than 2 minutes because i was rushing it to a parking lot. i doubt there is damage to the head, i just will need new gaskets in there. so you think Mr. Gasket is the best way to go? any ideas how much they will charge? at what point are they just ****ing me in the *** with cost?

to me it doesnt seem that hard to pull the valve cover off, take the head off and replace the gasket, but of course im not a mechanic.

 

A little bit more to it than that - you need to remove the intake - disconnect/drop/remove the headers - depends on room, remove the rockers, reset the rockers.

GAskets - heads and intake will run $140, new head bolts $50 - so about $200 to DIY, likely 5-8 hrs labour at a shop - figure minimum $600 at a shop.

 

You should have the heads hardness checked as Phil said and have them checked to see if they are warped. Aluminum heads also have to be perfectly smooth when you reinstall them or as they expand and contract they will destroy the gaskets. Also, invest in a nice set of ARP bolts. Relatively cheap insurance for $50 bucks.

Oh, and check the sig for an example of major head gasket failure.

 

Figure $1200-1500. Thats with having the heads shaved, which will probably be a must seeing as you overheated, valve job, and possibly newsprings installed. Not a bad idea to go ahead and have done while the heads are off and they have to remove them anyways to do the valvejob. I popped a headgasket last week and am having mine fixed currently. With all of the above, including machining of the head to fit the 0.600 lift springs I chose, parts and labor came to about $1400. This is with all the best parts, Felpro gaskets, etc.

 

I spent a bit of money doing mine, but I also had the heads professionally ported and polished, a valve job, new springs and cam plus a new timing chain, crank hub and I also had to replace the belts on the engine cause they were shredded when I started the motor with the wrong crank hub installed.

Monday it will be driven for the first time in over a month. I can't wait, I'm driving it to the dealer to test drive an S10.

 

$1500???? for that much i can buy a new set of LT4 heads!!

 

Yes, you could, but you said you are having the work done. CAll around a few places and get some quotes.

Replace head gaskets (parts and labor)
oil change
anything the bad headgasket damaged (mine cracked the radiator endcap from the pressure build up)
valve job
resurface heads
about $300 worth of springs, caps and retainers, plus some machining (not required, all of this depends on springs you choose)

Im interested to see what it costs in your area. The quotes from the dealerships were in the 1600 range and that didnt include the new springs. At a local shop I trust it was 1100 not including the springs.

 

how bout i buy the LT4 heads and let them install them instead of paying a million dollars to get the LT1s reworked...if i get the LT1s reworked im basically letting them have their way with my butt

 

I don't see where you'd be making out by buying a set of LT4 heads. You're still going to pay for gaskets and labor. And with the LT4 heads you have to actually purchase the heads ($1200 bucks) plus the LT4 intake ($200 bucks).

 

you dont HAVE to have LT4 intake for those heads do you? i know you dont have to have an LT4 intake for any other stage II head

 

The LT4 heads use a raised runner design so you do need the LT4 intake.

 

Just blew a head gasket myself #7 cylinder. My gasket set should be here monday so I can start putting car back together. Had my heads reworked, machined, new valves, springs, valve seals, guides were fine, machine work cost me $360.00.

 

hey your in texas install mine for me...ill pay you with liquor or something