While replacing the head gasket, what else should I do?

[lurobi]

I'm replacing the head gasket on my '89 Suburban. It has a 350 small block and is otherwise in pretty good shape. This is the first time I've been this far into the engine, and it's entirely new territory for me. The Haynes manual has been helpful, but is incredibly brief. I'm looking for advice on how to best clean things, what I need to keep an eye out for and replace, etc.

I don't have it quite torn down yet (currently stuck on the exhaust manifolds) but here's what I've got so far:

The lifter valley and the valve area are both VERY cruddy. What's the best way to clean these?

The valve covers were a pain to get off, and I may have banged them up pretty bad, so I'll probably replace them.

The exhaust manifold is incredibly rusty and at least one of the bolts looks like it has damaged threads. At the very least I'll be replacing the bolts, should I replace the manifold too?

Are there any other tips you guys have for what I should replace or what's the best way to clean things?

I haven't actually ordered the new head gasket yet, are they all created equal? Anything I should be aware of? Are there partial rebuild kits that might help me out?

 

[Burbdood 74]

You might as well change the timing chain while you have it apart for piece of mind.

And depending on what kind of performance you want from the engine once you have it back together and what your budget looks like, you might want to look into a good cam that's compatible with your EFI, (assuming you still have EFI).

Headers might be a good idea to replace those stock manifolds and they're a good power adder too. Again, this is all dependant on what kind of budget you have for this kind of project.

 

[shadowwalker_02]

Is the engine still in the truck or out of it? I'd replace the valve covers and the exhaust manifolds if there really messed up. If the manifolds aren't too bad then I'd leave em alone unless you wanna swap em out. Pictures would be helpful.

 

[str8axle55]

Is it just a gasket failure? Are you sending the heads out to get checked/machined? How deep do you want to get into the engine, how many miles on it? Is it dried up carbon type crud in the valley? I have used a shop vac in past to clean out the valley. How was the oil pressure before teardown, that stuff will get into the oil pump screen.

 

[wasted wages]

First ... Why did you pull the heads?

Overheating ?

Valve issues ?


FWIW... If I was going this deep on an old high mileage engine, I would pull the entire motor and do a mini rebuild or go full bore once I took a look inside....then,

I would at the very least get the heads reworked and magnafluxed,,

Look the block and cylinder walls over for any issues...

knock the oil pan off.. roll in some new bearings ( if everything on the crank journals looked good and the engine was making good oil pressure prior to pulling it out )

replace the front and rear main seal...

new timing chain and gears

new cam and lifters

new oil pump and shaft

new water pump

new fuel pump

new felpro gasket set...

At least this way you can clean some of the crap out of the lifter valley, freshen up the motor with a little more peace of mind..

there comes a point when you have to decide whether to work with what you have,,, or pull the pistons and do a full on rebuild.. If the motor was down on compression and the cylinders have a large ridge at the top...don't waste your time...have it bored...

also it would be a good time to send the radiator out for a cleaning,
and replace the front pump seal in the trans while you have the engine out..take a good look at the flywheel / ring gear...
or replace the clutch disk and pilot and throw our bearing if yours is a manual..



and here's a little tip....

pick up a set of taps and dies.... run a tap into every bolt hole and wash the threads out with some brake clean,,,and then blow out the grit with compressed air....(wear eye protection !! )

run the bolt threads thru the dies to clean them up as well..

lube your bolts with oil or thread sealant ( if they penetrate into the water jacket ) prior to torquing them down. you will get much better torque readings...

 

[nsxxtreme]

Headers might be a good idea to replace those stock manifolds and they're a good power adder too. Again, this is all dependant on what kind of budget you have for this kind of project.

Headers are a pain in the butt!!!
Unless you get something like this http://www.summitracing.com/parts/STG-8911/ I wouldn't even contemplate headers they will just come loose.

 

[Deuling]

Headers are a pain in the butt!!!
Unless you get something like this http://www.summitracing.com/parts/STG-8911/ I wouldn't even contemplate headers they will just come loose.

I bought the alluminum header gaskets, super thick, reusable, tightened them once, almost 1000 miles since i dropped the motor in, gone wheeling, not a leak. They cost $30 or so but they work. Never even retorqued the header bolts

 

[Burbdood 74]

Headers are a pain in the butt!!!
Unless you get something like this http://www.summitracing.com/parts/STG-8911/ I wouldn't even contemplate headers they will just come loose.

Oh trust me, I know how much of a pain headers can be. Had some on a 78 3/4 ton GMC and they leaked all the time. I just know that they are somewhat cheap and give good power so they are usually the first thing people go for when they look for power. Myself, I prefer manifolds and a good 3" single exhaust.

 

[4X4HIGH]

First off, you keep saying "head gasket" (meaning one) PLEASE make sure you do them BOTH.

I highly suggest you DO NOT try to "clean" any of the carbon out of the lifter valley. This is what causes oil pump failures afterwards from any little pieces that fall into the pan and get past the oil screen and sieze the oil pump.

Take the heads to a maching shop and have the magnafluxed to check for any cracks and also have them checked for any warpage (more than .003" and they need to be resurfaced). I would suggest using either Fel-Pro or Victor gaskets and make sure they go on DRY (NO SEALER).

Like was already said now is the time to change the timing chain and gears.

 

[lurobi]

Thanks everyone for the responses so far. To answer a few of the questions, I'm trying to keep the budget low for the fix, and I'm not really looking to add a lot of power. I am doing the work with the engine in the truck, so I'd rather not get any deeper than I have to.

I am certainly changing BOTH head gaskets, and plan on sending the heads to a machine shop for checking/resurfacing.

The truck has 220K miles on it or so. I'm replacing the gasket because I was having overheating issues and oil in the coolant.

 

[lurobi]

I do have some videos of the engine. Ignore my confusion about the intake manifold being plugged, it was just the gasket. The lifter valley can be seen at the very end. Most of the crud is dryish oil so sounds like the shopvac is the way to go.

video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDUdJR276JM

 

[jeroundt]

Do yourself a favor and get some "Right Stuff" made by Permatex. Use it on the front and rear of the intake manifold(rather than using the ruber gaskets that come in the kit) when you go to reinstall it. You can also use it on the timing cover, oil pan, and valve covers. Its pretty much a guarantee against leaks. But +1 ^^^ on changing the timing chain and gears. After 200K+ miles I would bet money that it is stretched. Plus a timing gear and chain set are pretty cheap too. If you ever thought about changing the cam, now would be the time. Good luck with the project!