Head Gasket Pointers

[Some guy]

So i have a slight leak in my head gasket. it is leaking some cooling fluid on to the side of the motor.

I had DMC CA, quote me more then i can afford. So i am going to do it myself.

I did it once before on a 95 Chevy pickup. It started, but the motor was already to far gone.

I have read everything i could find on line. I have the manual and a great reference document from on this sight. There is a company in Burbank that will "cut the head" or smooth it out. for $125

I am going to make the bracket that is described in the manual and documents.

The thing i am nervous about is the timing, and timing chain.

There is a lot to go wrong, but is there any thing that is missed in documents that you go "OMG that is something so important that it should be in the documents"?

I am going to start this weekend. I plan on videoing the whole job so i have a reference to go back to when i am putting it back together.

[David T]

So i have a slight leak in my head gasket. it is leaking some cooling fluid on to the side of the motor.

I had DMC CA, quote me more then i can afford. So i am going to do it myself.

I did it once before on a 95 Chevy pickup. It started, but the motor was already to far gone.

I have read everything i could find on line. I have the manual and a great reference document from on this sight. There is a company in Burbank that will "cut the head" or smooth it out. for $125

I am going to make the bracket that is described in the manual and documents.

The thing i am nervous about is the timing, and timing chain.

There is a lot to go wrong, but is there any thing that is missed in documents that you go "OMG that is something so important that it should be in the documents"?

I am going to start this weekend. I plan on videoing the whole job so i have a reference to go back to when i am putting it back together.

Without the special tools figure on taking the timing cover off and R & R ing the chains. Do one side at a time and DO NOT move the crankshaft while a head is removed unless you make up liner locks. Before taking the heads off try a can of Barr's Stop Leak.

[Nicholas R]

Before taking the heads off try a can of Barr's Stop Leak.

That's a stall at absolute best, that will likely end up in something more catastrophic later on while you're driving it.

If you're preparing yourself for a head gasket replacement, stay on that path; it's the right thing to do.

[David T]

That's a stall at absolute best, that will likely end up in something more catastrophic later on while you're driving it.

If you're preparing yourself for a head gasket replacement, stay on that path; it's the right thing to do.

I have used Barr's Stop Leak as a temporary repair and it became a permanent repair. Good stuff. If it works at all it will work for a long time. I agree replacing the head gaskets is the better repair but he said he was on a limited budget so I thought I should mention he should try this first. Even if he does the heads on a budget it is going to be a long and expensive repair compared to trying Barr's. BTW, don't forget all of the "while you are there" kind of stuff like a tune-up, water pump, hoses, seals, broken bolts, belts, and so on. Once you start it is a long journey and there is no turning back.

[Some guy]

That is what keeps running through my mind.

The only thing holding me back from doing the bars leak stuff is if i mess up my radiator.

DMC CA did say the radiator was on its way out. with a few clogs already. So i guess i don't have anything to loose.

i might just flip a coin.

[TTait]

There is a place about 15 minutes north of you - Cylinder Head Exchange on San Fernando in Sylmar that rebuilt my heads for me - including machining them. Cheap and great work. http://www.cylinderheadexchange.com/

They don't actually exchange heads for a D - they return yours after a few days. I also did them one at a time. I took my head in and told them it was Volvo, he looked at it a few minutes and said "its not really Volvo - what is it?" I admitted its Delorean and he said, okay, no problem. I think one head cost $75 and the other $125. He replaced valve guides, machined as needed, and even replaced a few valves and maybe a spring or two. Everything but a port and polish. they looked brand new and worked great, even came with a warranty of some duration. Those are prices are from 2008.

[jangell]

I recently replaced the heads on my 3.0L engine, which is basically the same. I had the engine out of the car, so I did the timing as well. I was worried about the timing at first, but it's not actually that hard, as long as you follow the directions. The hardest part was getting the main crank nut off (the one on the main pulley). I'd suggest using a torch to heat the bolt off the bat; you're not going to be able to break the Locktite with a wrench. I actually cut half the nut off before trying heat.

I have some moderately detailed pages about removing the valve covers and heads, cleaning them up (although I didn't get them resurfaced), redoing the timing and reinstalling them with new gaskets on my site (http://www.tmproductions.com/repairs-and-maintenance/). The 3.0L engine is very similar to the 2.8L, so most of it should apply to your fix as well.

-- Joe

[David T]

That is what keeps running through my mind.

The only thing holding me back from doing the bars leak stuff is if i mess up my radiator.

DMC CA did say the radiator was on its way out. with a few clogs already. So i guess i don't have anything to loose.

i might just flip a coin.

If the radiator is "on it's way out" as you say then try the stop leak and even it it stops the leak on the cylinder head, replace the radiator. Especially if it is the OE with the plastic tanks. Ditto for the header bottle. If you lose coolant there is a big chance you will also lose the head gaskets because the motor can overheat quickly. The rads don;t plug up so much as start leaking. If you see green stains it is time. Look first at the left side tank, that is where the coolant is the hottest and the rads start to fail there first.

[TTait]

I recently replaced the heads on my 3.0L engine, which is basically the same. I had the engine out of the car, so I did the timing as well. I was worried about the timing at first, but it's not actually that hard, as long as you follow the directions. The hardest part was getting the main crank nut off (the one on the main pulley). I'd suggest using a torch to heat the bolt off the bat; you're not going to be able to break the Locktite with a wrench. I actually cut half the nut off before trying heat.

I have some moderately detailed pages about removing the valve covers and heads, cleaning them up (although I didn't get them resurfaced), redoing the timing and reinstalling them with new gaskets on my site (http://www.tmproductions.com/repairs-and-maintenance/). The 3.0L engine is very similar to the 2.8L, so most of it should apply to your fix as well.

-- Joe

I had one hell of a time getting mine off too, then I picked up an electric impact driver and it came off in 15 seconds.

If you manually time the engine, you really want to pull off the rear fascia and bumper assembly, can't really do it as a novice IMO without that.

Note that if you have the heads milled, then the head is no longer the same "height" as the timing chain cover. The head will sit a little lower and the valve cover gasket is likely to leak where the two heights change. I used a form-a-gasket material to get it to work after I finally figured out the deal.

[jangell]

I tried an air impact wrench, but I had no luck. I didn't have electricity in my garage at the time so I couldn't try an eccentric one. I'm not sure how much of an issue space would be with it in the car, either; did you use the impact wrench with the engine in the car?

I bent my flex plate trying to use a breaker bar to get the nut off, so I don't recommend that (the engine/trans were mated but out of the car at the time). I have removed the nut on the 2.8L once before with the engine in the car, and I wound up cutting the nut off that time as well. I think I was worried about using heat for no good reason, really. At worst you might have to replace the front main seal, but you'll already have the timing cover off and it's pretty easy to do.

You're probably right about removing the facia, which I did both times.

The height difference didn't occur to me. The first time I did this was on a 2.8L engine, and I didn't notice any problems, but after 2k miles I found hole in the valley of death (which I'm quite sure was unrelated), hence the ongoing 3.0L conversion. Point is, there may actually have been issues I just didn't notice yet.

-- Joe

[TTait]

did you use the impact wrench with the engine in the car?

Yes, but with the rear fascia and muffler removed.