Head Gasket

[coryatver]

I blew my head gasket. Do you need any special tools to replace the head gasket? I have changed the timing belt before so I think I can do it the mechanic wants 1,500 bucks. Can anyone post the manual directions or know where to get them?

[d.o.h.c]

I am pretty sure you dont need any specialtly tools. I do recommend that you at the very least do a valve job and the rear o-ring. I would personally do the entire motor rebuild. There are many things that can happen when you blow a head gasket, its an iffy one to just put new gaskets on.

[coryatver]

yeah it isn't looking good for my car. It might be going to the junk yard. This sucks I love this car it was my first car but I think it is done for it is just to wore out to put more money into.

[d.o.h.c]

Wow, well if its a 94 they only made 3400 of them. I know becasuse I have one,haha. But yeah it was a half production run as they could not or were haveing a hard time selling them

[94GPGTP]

where you located??? i alwaysed wanted a z34? whats the condition of the car if your going to junk it?

[coryatver]

I live by meadville, pa. The head gasket is blown. It blew the top hose of the radiator and overheated. Would the head gasket blowing cause pressure to build up and blow the hose off? I didn't know the head gasket was blown and put the hose back on and tried filling it back up with fluid but it took like half a gallon and was full and i started it up and let it warm up and it didn't go down. It has about 155,000 on it. The mechanic wants 1,500 bucks for new head gaskets.

[94GPGTP]

yea the head gasket would cause that because the compression would be going into the coolant system.. depending on how the head gasket blew.. but if thats the case with all the compression going into the coolant system and how hot the coolant is the hose would blow off...

Now did you bleed the coolant system when you filled the system?? there is a proper way to fill the system and if you dont do that you get air in the block and can overheat too..

With the mechanic wanting 1500 bucks for the new gaskets it depends on what he is doing.. is he redoing the heads too??? new felpro gaskets?? timing belt??? 1500 seems a little high to me.. if you did overheat the car you probably warped the heads and they need a good valve job, vss, and resurface..

[TazMan]

I would personally do the entire motor rebuild. There are many things that can happen when you blow a head gasket, its an iffy one to just put new gaskets on.

How did it blow? Did the car overheat and it blew or did it blow and the car overheated. If you're not doing a full rebuild then it's very important you know if the car was driven for any length of time with that blown gasket, even if it was just slighly bad and still running okay. And even if you stop driving the second it happens, things can still go wrong. I can tell you first hand how much it sucks to spend a whole bunch of money on gaskets, resurfacing heads, new valves, etc. if 3 months down the line your gonna need new bearings or throw a rod. Both have happened to me, however with all the money I saved doing it myself the second time around, it wasn't too hard a blow. All of the mechanics I've dealt with won't warn you of this either if they are about to make $1500.

[heza]

$1500 high for a head gasket? how about $600 for an alternator or $750 for timing belt? i dont think $1500 is too far off...mechanics hate the lq1.

[coryatver]

The hose blew off then it started to overheat. I noticed steam pouring out of the vents and so I looked down at the guage and it was heating up. Yeah I realize I will need to replace more then just the head gaskets when I get in there which I do not have a garage or experience to rebuild the whole engine. And I have been driving my sisters cavalier and hit a deer and smashed it up bad the front fender, hood, light its not going good for me

[coryatver]

looks like I will be bringing it home until I decide what I want to do with it

[davida1_hiwaay_net]

The hose blew off then it started to overheat. I noticed steam pouring out of the vents and so I looked down at the guage and it was heating up. .......I didn't know the head gasket was blown and put the hose back on and tried filling it back up with fluid but it took like half a gallon and was full and i started it up and let it warm up and it didn't go down.

Are you sure the headgaskets are blown? How far did you drive after the steam came out? Did you continue driving after the gauge pegged?
A faulty thermostat will cause overheating, boilovers, and possible blowing off hoses. Then the same faulty thermostat will prevent the cooling system from re-filling properly, especially if the air bleed procedure isn't followed.
Why are you so sure the gaskets are blown? If the headgaskets are blown, there would probably be compression escaping out the radiator filler while you tried to pour in the coolant. It would start blowing coolant back out the instant the engine is started.
Based on the info you gave, I would get a second opinion.
Just my two cents!
David

[coryatver]

I appreciate the feedback from everyone. I might need a second opinion. How do you test for a blown headgasket? The mechanic did a Diagnostic test for carbon leaks and that is how he came to the conclusion that the head gasket is blown. He said it was blown in two places

I was about 5 minutes from home when the hose came off I turned around and I headed back and it pegged after a mile but i shut it down and let it cool off and then made it home.

From what I understand the head gasket blew which caused the radiator hose to blow off not from it overheating. It wasn't overheating before the hose blew off because i looked at the gauged after i noticed all the steam and it was normal temp before starting to rise.

I have been having problems with the cooling system for the past year. First the hoses behind the engine rusted out, then a hose rubbed on the front tire and got a hole on it, then the heater core went bad on it, and the low coolent light flashes on and off even when full. And it has been leaking fluid somewhere becuase I have been adding some once in a while.

From all this I take it that the head gasket has probably been getting bad for a while do they do that?

Also I drove the car home tonight, about 3 miles. The mechanic filled up the antifreeze i am guessing he bled the air out and everything. The car warmed up and the thermostat worked and it kept the temp regulated and ran as normal?

I am thinking I might be able to drive it but I am not taking a chance I don't feel like walking. By the way if anyone wants it its for sale make an offer. It would be nice if I had a garage space for it until I had some time and money to rebuild and restore it

[davida1_hiwaay_net]

The mechanic did a Diagnostic test for carbon leaks and that is how he came to the conclusion that the head gasket is blown. He said it was blown in two places....

This comment alone is enough for me to want a second opinion. Unless this guy has x-ray eyes, there is hardly any way to tell "how many places" the headgasket is blown without a teardown of the engine.

I have very little faith in chemical headgasket leak test kits and "CO sniffers." They are sort of like 'drug tests.' The amount of combustion residue required to indicate a compression leak is extremely small, and other substances can cause a false positive. People may argue with me on this but I've seen it more than once. A cooling system flush followed by a second combustion leak test showed no leakage.

However; since you've been loosing coolant slowly you may have a headgasket leak afterall. Is the coolant contaminating the oil?
Is there always great pressure on the radiator hoses when the engine is running; even when it's not "very hot?" Is it always blowing bubbles out the overflow into the coolant recovery bottle? These two are almost 100% definite headgasket symptoms.

Bottom line in my opinion; if the headgaskets are leaking it must be fixed or the engine will be damaged. But I would not condemn it based on a blown-off radiator hose and a chemical headgasket test; especially if it is running fine now after refilling the cooling system.

Good luck with it!

[94GPGTP]

do you have a ballpark price??