Mobile 1 every 3 to 4 thousand miles. I just changed it about 15000 ago. It always comes out a little darker.

Still wondering if i have to remove the accessory bracket!

 

Well I've had that head off three times now without having this issue.
Maybe lift it up from the exhaust first so it clears the pin on the block.
I have not had to remove the accessory bracket. Worse case is they put a longer plug in than required and you need to pull it out.

 

You don't have to remove the accessory bracket. However, if you choose to it's held in place by 3 bolts, one of which is behind the tensioner.

 

with that many miles the motor and the build up present as well as water having been run through the bearings now, you will have more time trying to pull and replace heads then simply pulling the motor. my opinion on it anyways. your engine can benefit from some TLC and some new parts, you may as well turn this negative into a positive experience.

Chris

 

The plug was hanging up on the accessory bracket, so i just unbolted it and moved it out of the way. Heads are off, next step is to take them to the shop and check for any warping.

The gasket gave out on cylinder 7.


Cylinder 7


Heads
Left to Right 7,5,3,1.


Cylinder head 7

 

If you still have the catalatic converters on there. Be aware Anti-Freeze turns the ceramic in them to a solid chunk. Watch out for this when you get it running again.

Thanks for the pictures, head gasket fire ring wore out.

 

I agree Ive had motors with 300k on them that looked cleaner, Always use Syn. oil and change every 5k.

 

I was wondering why you had the heads off 3 times. Is there something that we sould be looking out for?

 

Might as well straight edge the block too. I got a long straightedge from Sears for less than $10.

Don't forget to suck out any oil and coolant from the head bolt holes or you won't get proper torque. I don't like to chase the bolt holes because this tends to remove metal and makes the threads fit looser.

Torque to yield head bolts should always be replaced. Plus it's a pain in the azz to clean all the crap off the old ones.

 

I apologize, but what do you mean by torque to yield head bolts?

 

Sorry guys, shes not perfect.

 

So, i have looked on a hand full of sites and i need to know where you guys have bought your gaskets from. Entire kits vs individual purchases.
I checked Ecklers, Zip, and corvette central.

 

These bolts are designed to strech. If the cylinder head torque specs say to turn the bolt another
1/4 or 1/2 turn at the end for example, they are probably torque to yield. If you're not sure just replace them anyway.
It can be difficult and time consuming to remove all the old crap on the threads from the original ones.

I buy Fel-Pro gaskets and Fel-Pro head bolts from Kragen or Autozone. They work just fine.

If the intake gaskets come with cork strips for the front and back, don't use them. They are unreliable and in my experience too thick. The base would sit too high preventing me from getting the intake bolts started. Instead lay a bead of sealant on the front and back of the block slighly overlaping the side intake gaskets, and around each air and coolant port on both sides of the gasket. My favorite is Permatex "Right Stuff". With sealant still tacky, you need to set the intake base down exactly without shifting it around to align the bolt holes, even if it takes you several tries. You don't want to shift the gasket. I stradle the motor standing with one foot on each tire and lower the intake straight down while looking at the bolt hole aligment.

 

1st time - head gasket failure
2nd time - I used the WRONG thread sealer and it tried to make a milkshake
3rd time - I burnt a valve because of weak springs and badly adjusted rocker arm from #2

So nope, nothing to watch out for unless you use the wrong sealer, I always use the permatex now. Don't do it cheap, follow the FSM to the letter. This time I had the heads cleaned and a valve job, had them replace the springs and keepers, adjusted the rockers correctly and we'll see how long it lasts at 4k - 6.5k rpm for 20 min at the race track.

 

Well one of Summit Racing's warehouses is less than an hour from me.
I walked in, got two Felpro head gaskets and the Felpro intake gasket kit and walked out. (2) FEL-9966PT ($22 ea), (1) FEL-MS95580 ($19+)

The intake kit includes the two intake gaskets, injector o-rings, Throttle body gasket and black rtv.

 

An old trick is to use silver paint to paint the head gaskets with. Just fog both sides and install them. The aluminum powder in silver spray paint acts as a lubricant so expanding & contracting doesn't wear the head gasket out. I've done this on all head haskets for the past 35 years. I've even seen big name builders do this. It's something that's been around for decades. Do it and forget it. I know this makes the head a little harder to remove later on, if something else goes wrong but it will encourage you to continue doing this the next time because that head was stuck on there good.

 

It's a good idea to start thinking about how you're going to adjust the valve train when it comes back together. The FSM has you doing it one way, but the machine shop guys have you do it another. I found out that the machine shop method is far better.

From what I remember, the FSM for the 87' L98 said to put it on No. 1 Cyl TDC and adjust all the valves. The machine shop method is to adjust each lifter separately. Worked really well for me and had no lifter or valve noise whatsoever.

Word of caution though. Adjust each valve ONCE. Don't go through them and adjust them again, because you'll find that they're loose and you'll adjust them again and then, like a dumbass that I was, I went through a third time and RE-ADJUSTED them. What I ended up doing, was pushing all the oil out of the lifters each time I adjusted them and they were actually all bottomed out! So I had to undo, what I did, loosening them all up and give the lifters time to uncompress, so I could do it again (for the fourth time....).

 

It's becoming more mistakenly and frequently posted that because GM changed the procedure for torquing the head bolts that the bolts, themselves, are torque-to-yield bolts, when, in fact, most of them are not TTY bolts. Only the torquing procedure changed, not the bolts themselves.

Seems European engines have been using that procedure for years and GM finally jumped on board. My thinking is the different recommended procedure is, in part, to eliminate the inaccuracy of the torque wrenches being used resulting in more accurate clamping force.

I've been trying to find the exact year GM changed to TTY bolts but, so far I've been unsuccessful. I do know it was after the LT engines though.

When it comes to adjusting lifter pre load, most guys fail to consider the increased overlap that aftermarket cams have. That causes the TDC method go out the window since using it can result in both valves being open (during over-lap) and give a false base circle indication. With the piston at TDC, both the intake and the exhaust valves would still be open due to the increased cam overlap.

Hence, the IC/EO (Intake Closing/Exhaust Opening) method is now the most commonly recommended way to do it. With a stock cam you can get away with the TDC method shown in the FSM, Chilton's, etc., but many guys still have problems using it. I've lost count of all the Private Messages I've received from guys all "stressed-out" using that method and not succeeding in getting it right.

A couple of Forum Moderators have asked me to post a Tech Tips STICKY explaining how to do the IC/EO method, which I did. I tried posting it on this Forum but the Tech Tips section won't work for me.

When it comes to the actual pre load amount, the recommendations are all over the map. Best thing to do is use the lifter manufacturer's pre load recommendation. The amount of pre load differs from lifter make to lifter make.

Using too little lifter pre load can result in extensive damage to the engine should the lifter fail. Crane even warns about that. Always consider what you could potentially gain against what you could potentially lose. That's the smart way.

Noisy valve trains are often the result of too little pre load but many guys just can't resist setting their pre load at 1/4 turn or less. Is that just the result of more bad information being passed around so much that it becomes thought of as accurate?

Jake

 

Ok, Update Time!

I am dropping in the LT4 motor.

Right now i am searching for good threads on pulling the motor/installing the motor. You guys have any good threads saved on what needs to be disconcected ect?

 

Huh?

Jake