4agze head gasket, "please leave comments"!

[fatRA28]

Hi guys,
Pre 90 old model gze head gasket has gone, if anyone could please leave comments on doing this job or things like "things to be be aware of" or "where and how much TRD gasket kits" etc, would be much appreciated.

My brother was a mechanic and will be helping me with the job so just yet still unsure about shims, cleaning out, and things that can be done to slightly improve its condition/performance with little cost on completion.

Thanks all, again, any info or links to do with this job will be of great help.

Cheers

[hosking1991]

How do you think the gasket has gone, Like is it blown between cylinders or blown to a water jacket?

There could be a number of things to look for water jacket corrosion (which will require welding) block/head warpage

Has it overheated?

luke

[fatRA28]

Yep, until its out , i wont know forsure, though, im thinking due to overheating,after the water pump was changed, i still had overheating so i then found the thermostat bars were snapped and was permanently open.

When changed, as soon as pressure built, the sump filled with water and spewed out the sump gasket. There is some corrosion in the block because the water colour hasnt been good, so ill be getting a skim atleast, check for warpage and any cracks round the water galleries. Will do a compression test before it comes out to see if i can locate the area.

The car was running fine until i changed the thermostat, seems only under pressure it really took on some water, so hoping its not too serious.

[hosking1991]

Ok theres a possibility of head warpage when it over heated and that may be the reason you a blown a head gasket (exact same thing happened to my 7mge)

and if you need machine work done i can possibly hook you up if needed

[fatRA28]

Oh, and also , will i need anything unusual like an SST etc?

[TooF]

youll need a long 3/8 drive thin walled double hex socket to get the head bolts out. nothing that special but you wont be able to do it with a 1/2 drive socket as its very tight to get onto the bolts.

new head bolts are a must and cheap anyway, tgp gasket is the way to go for 99% of motors. inlet gaskets you can often get away with reusing as they are a MLS but the exhaust gasket is a composite one and generally will need to be changed. agian TGP.

you should consider doing the seals (cam, Front main) and the seal in the dizzy whilst its out. definantly do the timing belt and idler.

[fatRA28]

k, cool, thanks, timing belt and all the other belts were just changed with the water pump last week so thats one less to worry about

[fatRA28]

Also, if anyone knows of a link for a page for torque settings etc, that would be helpfull too !