OK guys I have to change the head gasket in my '94 Formula. Whats exact parts/seals/gaskets whatever do I need to do this? What should the approximate cost of the parts be? And what is the best way to do this? Anyone have a guide? I have help but i have no idea what needs to come off or disconnected/moved.
About how long should all this take? Thanks guys. Include any tips you may have, I have to do this as quick as possible.



PS: Do I need any special tools to do this?

 

Get a Helms Manual or GM Manual. Very Very helpfull. You will need to get the Head gaskets, Intake manifold gaskets, Exhaust Manifold gaskets, RTV & Thread Sealer. If you do a search for a head install write-up I am sure something will come up. As far as what to do, you basically have to tear the whole top end off the car. You will have to remove the coolant tube that connects to the back of the heads which can be a pain. I pulled the heads off at the same time then removed the coolant tube. Then you will have to un-bolt the bracket on the pass side head that holds the alt, & power steering pump. There are 4 bolts in there that need to be removed. You can get to 2 of them through the power steering pully. Then on the drivers side head you will have to remove the Coil pack & A.I.R. pump assembly/bracket also. This is not a very hard job but may take a bit of time..... Best bet like I said is to do a search here for a write-up & get a manual. Gaskets should be around $60 for everything. Make sure you torque everything down to specs. Very important. You might as well get some ported & polished heads to put on while you are there....

Good Luck

 

Anyone else?

 

It is not a fun job.

A couple of notes from my recent heads/cam.

1. Get new seals for the water lines that attach at the back of the heads.

2. Get new head bolts and intake bolts - I got new head bolts not new intake bolts and one snapped off in the head when tightening back up. Luckily I was able to use a screw extactor to remove it.

3. Have lots of patience.... YOU WILL NEED IT.

Look for Brent Franker's guide site.... I know there are some guides for doing heads/cam that will cover most of what you need.

 

I was just like you about a month ago, i had to a blown head gasket and had never even worked on my engine. It was my first time and i did it alone and it took me about a weekend. But now that i have done it i bet i could do it in a day.

tips i have are to not get mad, trust me you will want to kill someone. Just walk away and come back when you are calm again. Make sure you have a torque wrench, and torque everything down by specs. If something feels like it isnt going in right, then it isnt and try it again. I did this to my intake and when i had everything back together it leaked oil.

When you get your heads off you better get them milled. That will assure that you will have a nice and tight seal with the head gasket. also when you install you intake, you have to put it in and if it doesnt line up, dont try to move it, you have to pick it all the way up and then put it back down again. That also happened to me, i guess the only way to learn is by ****ing up.

Last and best tip is to get alot of baggies and a big black marker and mark where everything goes. You will have tons of fun,

Remember, dont kill anyone. One time i got so pissed off i threw my wrench 100mph and it hit my fence and then bonced off and hit my dads door and made a big *** dent, which i had to fix also.

have fun--- Logan

 

I also had never broke into an enging that far before......I had a blown head gasket about a month ago and I decided to go ahead and replace everything with an LT-4 conversion kit..... so the materials that I needed were.......

masking tape, black sharpie marker, lots of zip lock bags....so you can label all of the plugs that you are disconnecting, and put the bolts that you take off of something into its own little bag.....trust me you will need to do this.........I also video taped mine so that I would have my own reference pictures........lol.........like i said I hadn't ever done it before so it helped.....

Also get some razor blades so that you can scrape the old gasket material off of the engine block......then use some paint thinner on a paper towel a wipe it down until the paper towel is clean... I went a little further and then used rubbing alcohol to wipe it down again.....

Get a shop vac to clean out any material the you may drop into the cylinders....do not leave water sitting in them........

Go to an engine machine shop and have you heads cleaned up...it shouldn't cost very much......ie $15 - $20

The biggest tip that I can give is have lots of patients,NEVER force a bolt to go in......and take your time.....
If you need some ideas about tools that u need that u might not have i can try and give you some help on that too......

 

Thanks for all the help/advice guys. If anyone else wants to throw in their 2 cents......