buddy and i are replacing the headgaskets on the 94 ram, 318. .. anyone know of a good head gasket to go with? guessing while the valve cover gaskets are off i should replace those as well.. and probably the exhaust manifold gaskets.

where can i get decent parts for this crap?

7/1/2006 2:36:15 PM

so i've never flamed anyone on teh intarnet before
but holy shit man... you're going to undertake a head gasket job and are "guessing" you should replace the valve cover and "probably" the exhaust gaskets??? Please put the wrench down and back away slowly....

Seriously though- go to advance/zone/carquest/napa/where the hell ever you want and get what is known as a "head set" it includes the head gaskets, intake, exhaust, valve covers, thermostat, valve seals, etc....
fel-pro or victor-reinz are what you'll find- either will do a fine job

take special care to the surface prep on the block and head deck- clean, smooth, NO traces of old gasket left behind
clean the head bolt threads off with a wire brush at the very least prior to re-installing
chase threads in block with a tap and use a die on the bolts if possible
put thread sealant on any bolts that go into water
basically take your time and be super-anal
check torques twice
and you'll be aiight

7/1/2006 2:49:57 PM

Get a complete head set from either Advance Auto Parts or Carquest. Either Felpro or Victor Reinz will do ya fine!

If you really think you have a blown head gasket, you really should do a compression test to verify it first.

I had a buddy who thought his head gaskets were toast on an '87 Chevy small block with 279k miles on it, so he yanked the heads only to find out that there really wasn't anything wrong with them. Engine just loped a little because it was old.

He had the heads rebuilt and all, and then put 'em back on...only to find out that his high-mileage thin-wall-casting block developed hairline cracks the entire length of the lifter valley when the heads were torqued down. Turned oil chocolate milk in less than ten minutes.

I scored him a '94 engine with a spun main for fifty bux...we turned the crank and checked the saddles in the block, honed the cylinders, replaced one piston (because I dropped it and broke the skirt; what a fucking nimrod I was), and slapped that mother back together. Bitch ran flawless up until they sold the truck...and probably still is...

Bottom line...better look before you leap. You might end up doing shit you don't need to be doing, with the result being you wasting a fuckload of time and money for nothing.


^Damn...motherfucker beat me to it...

[Edited on July 1, 2006 at 2:50 PM. Reason : dizzamn]

7/1/2006 2:50:16 PM

if it were me, I'd have the head and deck surfaced at a machine shop and copper spray my head gaskets

7/1/2006 3:05:38 PM

Wait 2 weeks, he'd prolly give up and sell it.

7/1/2006 3:31:41 PM

lol

7/1/2006 3:50:41 PM

felpro, why the hell do you think you have a blown head gasket?

7/1/2006 4:44:14 PM

keke i talked to my pa and he slapped some sense in me. felpro is what i was gonna get and i was going to buy a complete gasket set. i was going to get the heads redone while at it.. but the truck currently runs fine just likes to burn radiator fluid at a slow pace.

i was set on doing it for the hell of it till i found i had to get the heads remachined.. oops haha

my dad told me to throw some kinda head gasket sealant in there. drive it till it blows then throw a new engine in sounds fun to me.

his thinking was you ahve to take so much shit off the engine to get to the head gaskets that why not just throw a whole new engine in it.

he said my block might be cracked causing it to burn some fluid or i might fixup the top end only for the bottom end to spin a bearing sounds smart to me.

[Edited on July 1, 2006 at 9:10 PM. Reason : thx for the replies guys]

[Edited on July 1, 2006 at 9:13 PM. Reason : ill bet you im gonna keep this truck jeff ]

7/1/2006 9:07:47 PM

you got another week and a half left.

7/2/2006 5:06:53 AM

get some of the metallic liquid glass. follow the instructions to the letter, though. you don't want to clog up a radiator. I'd try some Bar's leaks before I did that, though

7/2/2006 7:51:51 AM

^bars leaks that what i picked up

7/2/2006 11:19:52 AM