this girl I work with has an '86 monte carlo and needs a new headgasket. I was wondering how difficult and what all it would require to do it. I have heard you have to get the heads resurfaced and whatnot. If I can do it (not needing to resurface the head) then I can save her some money and make some myself. Just curious.

9/27/2006 11:01:49 PM

first, i would verify it's actually a head gasket. too many times people (or the people they've had look at it) have no idea what's actually wrong.

not a terrible job... one of the easier things to learn on. the heads at the least need to be thoroughly checked for cracks/warping, but i would strongly reccomend magnufluxing and having them resurfaced. even though it's just one gasket (i assume), i'd go ahead and do both. wouldn't be a bad time to do valve seals also.

cool car for a girl, what's she look like?

9/27/2006 11:11:35 PM

Which engine? I'm presuming that it's a 305, but it could be a Buick 231 or a Chevy 229.

Not a hard job at all. Basically entails pulling the distributor, and then pulling the intake manifold.

'86 will have the spark timing module and computer controlled dizzy and carb. You'll have to disconnect a bunch of vacuum hoses and the wiring harness.

Then you'll need to unbolt the exhaust manifolds from the heads. Then the valve covers have to come off. Loosen the rocker arms (leave them on) and pivot them off the valves and pushrods. Take the pushrods out, being careful to store them so you know exactly what location they came from (I use a shoebox lid with 16 holes punched in it, and label each hole for the cylinder and either intake or exhaust).

Then unbolt all the head bolts. You'll need to remove the alternator and air conditioning brackets to get the heads off, most likely.

It's best to get both heads redone (pressure tested, skim cut, and valves resurfaced) if you're gonna pull the heads to replace a gasket.

One thing: if this is a high mileage engine, then there's something to be wary of. These engines are lighter duty castings than older ones, and I have seen the block actually form hairline fractures all along the lifter valley after the heads had been removed and replaced. Evidently, relieving the stress and then creating new stresses when torquing the head bolts back down was enough to propagate cracks.


Actually, this might be a 4.3...

[Edited on September 27, 2006 at 11:24 PM. Reason : ...]

9/27/2006 11:12:32 PM

well...she has a quote for only like 500 bucks to get them done so I am assuming they weren't going to resurface them so I might warn her against it.

^^um...I don't know your type Ivan but she is a sort of ghetto african american (political correctness un an attempt to not upset people). she moved here from colorado for school and bought it when she got here.

[Edited on September 28, 2006 at 12:14 AM. Reason : forgot one of the ^s]

9/28/2006 12:14:02 AM

oh HELL yes... that's just my style.

$500? not from any legit shop... that won't cover just the labor most places.

9/28/2006 12:17:28 AM

side work. bah. just pull the intake and whichever head is fucking up and throw that gasket on there. its an 86 monte, not exactly a fine tuned machine if you catch my drift. that motor wont run much different if you get the heads cut or not without a good run through.

9/28/2006 1:33:01 AM

I mean I could charge her 300 to do it and she would probably do it, save her 200 and make me some but I would feel kinda bad for doing a half-ass job. I will probably explain to her about the resurfacing and if she still wants me to do it then I will, otherwise, she is on her own.

Ivan, maybe I can get her to come to BWW for the Blazin Challenge, I am sure next to Dan you could win her over, but be prepared to learn how to step and be constantly asked...do yo chain hang low, do it wobble to da flo, does it shine in the light, is it platinum, is it cold, can ya thow it o'er yo shoulda, when ya hot it make ya colda, do ya chain hang low?

I haven't quite figured out the correct answer to this series of questions so I give the smile and "I don't speak english" nod. It seems to work.

9/28/2006 2:45:22 AM

I got a guy lined up to do my headgasket job on my LT1 for $750, and that was magnafluxing and everything. He is a pro, but he is doing it on the side. Most quotes I got from the shops themselves were for twice that.

9/28/2006 7:13:35 AM

wouldnt it be cheaprer to buy another running shit box like the previous?

9/28/2006 8:50:32 AM

no idea. could be if she searched hard enough. I am just going to explain everything to her and let her decide. How long would it take to get the heads resurfaced if I did the job for her?

9/28/2006 9:58:46 AM

Fuck all that shit. You'd do good to not touch that with a ten-foot pole.

Two words: liquid glass.

It's a good nigger repair.

9/28/2006 10:08:38 AM

so don't take the job at all? I mean 300 bucks is a lot to me. Almost what I make in 2 weeks so...I could use it and it would be saving her money. I feel that as long as I explain that I can't resurface the heads, which neither will the place quoting 500 then all is fair.

9/28/2006 11:50:38 AM

Well, the big thing I would worry about is that those are light-duty heads, and as such are prone to cracking if overheated. I don't know how many I've seen like this.

The big deal is this: I feel like it's a crap shoot.

Sure, take the job if you want it. But just know that it could very well snowball on you.

9/28/2006 1:25:56 PM

Quote :

" ghetto african american (political correctness"

hahaha

9/28/2006 1:28:13 PM

say i took the job and replaced the gasket without resurfacing the heads and didn't notice any cracks. If later, say a month or something, things started messing up because of the shortcut of not resurfacing or the oversight of a cracked head, do I hold any legal responsibility.

I am going to tell her what I have found and everything and let her decide but if she wants me to do it and I take the job I want to make sure I am not responsible for if something messes up later.

9/28/2006 2:17:06 PM

She can file a claim in small claims court, and the burden of proof is on you to show that the failure isn't your fault. Do you have enough experience/evidence to prove that it's not your fault?

9/28/2006 7:59:20 PM

screw it. I dont have the time anyways and she said they are doing it for 500 including resurfacing so whatever. Easier for me that way too. Thanks though for the input.

9/28/2006 10:24:54 PM

9/28/2006 10:33:20 PM