Just finished putting it all back together and...

greenwood_60

Registered User
...I blew the head gasket.

I just am still on my 1st tank of gas. First the high pressure power steering hose blew. Replaced that and while I was down that far did valve gaskets, plugs and wires, power steering pump, low pressure hose, oil change, and swapped IC for a cleaned one. I got less than 100 miles before someone let the smoke out of my engine. I could smell it before I saw it. My first though was "someone is overheating". Then I looked up (back) and saw a solid cloud of white smoke comming from my rear end. I was 100% sure it was the HG before I even stopped the car. It was hydro-locked by the time the tow truck got there.

The car only has 80k miles, so the bottom end should be in good shape. The heads looked very clean when I had the valve covers off, so I am not expecting to have a complete rebuild.

Here is what I am planning "while I'm that far in". Port and gasket match the head, 3-angle seat and back cut valves, port the exhaust manifold and collector, loose the cats, re-plumb the in and ex IC plumbing to get it away from the exhaust, re-locate the battery top the trunk, route the IC plumbing though the voil left by the battery, FMIC, full length radiator (available? v8 t-bird?), and a raised SC top. I will be doing all the work my self, other than having the head surfaced. So I have a few questions:

1) What size tubing will match the outlet of the SC top. I'm sure I could just measure, but someone here has got to know.
2) What is a good head gasket to use?
3) Is it worth going to ARP head studs? Which set was it? Are there any issues with getting the head on and off in the engine bay once the head studs are installed?
4) Has anyone calculated the internal flow area need for a properly sized IC?
5) Has anyone re-plumbed the in and ex IC tubing and have pictures or list of the tubing (bends) used?
6) Is there a battery relocation kit available? Or does anyone know the length and best route?
7) Is there an oversize of valve I can use with the stock valve seat?
8) Anything else I need to know before doing all this work?

Thanks,
Jason
 
I am going to do the headgaskets on my red car I was going to use stock new bolts but decided to go with ARP studs.Dont reuse your old head bolts. They cost me $94.83 shipped from Summit. Use Felpro gaskets dont use cheap subsitutes. If you decide to use bolts I have a complete set for both sides I will make you a deal on. Man I am sorry you are having problems email me if you need any advise. Garry
 
well im about to replace my hg and was wondering why not to reuse the old head bolts?

i know the studs are better but what is the reason behind it

im just getting the car going for a wile and planning on new heads and cam in the neer future
just replacing the gaskets because its my dayly driver
 
well im about to replace my hg and was wondering why not to reuse the old head bolts?

i know the studs are better but what is the reason behind it

im just getting the car going for a wile and planning on new heads and cam in the neer future
just replacing the gaskets because its my dayly driver

once the stock head bolts are torqued they stretch so reusing them is a NO-NO. get the arps and if you have to they're reusable.
 
Once you do the HG once you wont want to do them again anytime soon. If you reuse the old bolts you will be doing them sooner than you want to. These are called Torque to yield bolts which means part of the process is an initial stretching of the bolts to achieve proper torque. If you notice there is no final torque value in ft/lb it is in degrees of rotation of the bolt if you stretch a bolt too much it breaks or gives an incorrect torque value resulting in blown gaskets. If you use studs you use a three step torque procedure and go to a set ft/lb value recomended by ARP.
 
If you hydrolocked you may have issues other then just teh gaskets.

As had been mentioneds do not use the factory bolts..et some ARP studs

2.8 chevy fit great and fir under 90$ from summit
 
If you hydrolocked you may have issues other then just teh gaskets.

As had been mentioneds do not use the factory bolts..et some ARP studs

2.8 chevy fit great and fir under 90$ from summit

well what is hydrolock ?

but i ordered the gaskets and the studs tonight so i have about a week to get this bad lary apart
figure it will take me a lil wile to put it back together and get running again lol i have no luck

waiting for the parts will give me time to clean it all up and port a bit lol


thanks guys
 
Hydro locked is when you fill the cylinder up with water, and your piston tries to compress it---it will cause stuff to bend and break.

If its got that much water in it it should show up in your oil pan.
Pull the plug on the pan and see if a bunch of anti-freeze comes out before you see oil.
 
Hydro locking is normal with a blown head gasket. While the car is running with the blown gasket, the engine is burning off the coolant that is leaking in to the cylinders. Once you shut it down, the pressure from the hot coolant fills the cylinder with coolant. It is not an issue as long as you don't leave it long enough to rust or have a MASSIVE HG failure that allows enough coolant in to hydro lock WHILE the engine is still running. That is how you end up breaking/bending rods and cranks with hydro lock.

I am going to use the ARP head studs. I have reused head bolts before, but not on an engine that is such a pain in the a$$ to do a HG. A couple weekends of my time is worth more than $90 to do it right the first time. My only concern with the head studs is clearance to install and remove the head with the studs in place. Can someone who had already installed studs comment on the space constraints?

Any other comments on my other questions? Otherwise I guess I should start other threads to get that information.

Thanks
Jason
 
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