Guest Anonymous Posted July 9, 2004 Report Posted July 9, 2004 anyone with info on head gasket replacement please fill me in. Quote
Guest Anonymous Posted July 9, 2004 Report Posted July 9, 2004 3.4 DOHC Whats involved/ how hard is it/ what would a shop maybe charge to replace? Quote
WhiteOut Posted July 9, 2004 Report Posted July 9, 2004 3.4 DOHC Whats involved/ how hard is it/ what would a shop maybe charge to replace? The answer to all three of those questions is "more than you'd like to know." Replacing a head gasket basically involves removing the entire top end of the engine. This includes, upper/lower intake, cam shafts, valve train, heads, etc..VERY labor intensive. I would plan on spending at least $1000, if not plenty more. Quote
Guest Anonymous Posted July 9, 2004 Report Posted July 9, 2004 I guess thats why the previous owner never had it done Quote
Goph Posted July 9, 2004 Report Posted July 9, 2004 I guess thats why the previous owner never had it done that don't sound good. the heads may need to be planed if they are not perfectly flat but you don't know that tell they are off and you check them. for my 3100 it was $800 with heads planed and that was with a discount also because we were not informed when we bought the car that it had water in the oil and the head gaskets went 2 weeks after. and I'm sure it is easier to do and cheaper on a 3100 then a 3.4 dohc Quote
WhiteOut Posted July 9, 2004 Report Posted July 9, 2004 The real question you've got to ask when you tear it down is "why did my head gasket fail?" Because its likely to fail again unless you fix the underlying problem. Quote
Robby1870 Posted July 9, 2004 Report Posted July 9, 2004 the main problem is usually just plain old age of the gasket Quote
cryptnix Posted July 9, 2004 Report Posted July 9, 2004 or just some retarded idiot who rebuilt the motor and not replacing gaskets Quote
musthavemuzk Posted July 12, 2004 Report Posted July 12, 2004 i just did head gaskets for the 3.1 in my 90 cutlass. local shops started at 800. i said hell no i can do it for much less. so with some searching and asking here i managed just fine. had some in person help as well. took us a day to tear it down. the machine shop had the heads for a month. then 2 days to reassemble it. runs like a champ now 100 for head work and valve job 100 for head gasket set just about 150 or so for the rest of the gaskets and head bolts. exhaust gaskets, intake gasket set, oil, filter, coolant, anti seize, RTV sealant, pipe thread sealant... i had most of the tools but not all so i bought many tools as well that were not included in the project as they will be used for other projects as time goes on. would i do it again? hell yeah just take your time and do not be afraid to ask for help. while mine was not a DOHC it was still quite an adventure for someone who had never been that far into an engine. Monty Quote
Guest Anonymous Posted July 13, 2004 Report Posted July 13, 2004 Im still thinking on either doing the head gasket or doing a 3800/L67 swap. Ive got a few months to decided. Thanks guys. Quote
musthavemuzk Posted July 14, 2004 Report Posted July 14, 2004 i really want the l-67, but with all the other items on the want list this one gets put towards the bottom of the stack not to mention i still need to learn alot more before i go taking on a project of that nature Monty Quote
SUPERDUTYD Posted July 14, 2004 Report Posted July 14, 2004 i did the head gaskets on my z-34. the only problem i had was keeping the lifters from falling out the bottom of the head when installing. i ended up coating them with vasoline. not bad otherwise. made it easy to replace the o2 sensor and oil pump o-ring also with the head off. Quote
Guest TurboSedan Posted July 14, 2004 Report Posted July 14, 2004 i just got a cylinder head resurfaced at a local machine shop for $30. it was my 2.2 Turbo SOHC head, but from the sounds of it that was $30 for any head. they are charging me $30-$40 for replacing the valve seals (i supplied the valve seals). what do you guys use to clean the head & block surfaces just before installing a cylinder head? i'm going to be doing one tomarrow - i was thinking of using Brakleen and a clean new rag. i already cleaned the surfaces and ran a tap thru the head bolt holes....i just need it to be free of any oil/residue. Quote
dalejr Posted July 18, 2004 Report Posted July 18, 2004 I just did a top end gasket job on my LQ1. Got an estimate of $1700 from the local GM dealer. Advance Auto supplied the gasket set-$118. Took me two days working at my own pace(case and a half of BudLight).I also replaced the timing belt and dist o ring while I was in there. I probably had $300-350 in the whole deal. Beer included. Sucker runs so smoothe now. I cant beleive a stretched belt made that much difference! Its really not that bad of a job either. Most of the cost was in the belt and pulley stuff. Quote
Robby1870 Posted July 19, 2004 Report Posted July 19, 2004 I just did a top end gasket job on my LQ1. Got an estimate of $1700 from the local GM dealer. Advance Auto supplied the gasket set-$118. Took me two days working at my own pace(case and a half of BudLight).I also replaced the timing belt and dist o ring while I was in there. I probably had $300-350 in the whole deal. Beer included. Sucker runs so smoothe now. I cant beleive a stretched belt made that much difference! Its really not that bad of a job either. Most of the cost was in the belt and pulley stuff. Thats the best way to work on a car....with some beer. I never do a head gasket or anything taking more than an hour without beer Quote
lukee1982 Posted July 19, 2004 Report Posted July 19, 2004 Thats the best way to work on a car....with some beer. I never do a head gasket or anything taking more than an hour without beer You must not own a lq1 otherwise you would be drunk all the time Quote
DOHCRagtopguy Posted July 19, 2004 Report Posted July 19, 2004 The correct phrase is 'comfortably numb'! You can never have too much beer when working on the good old LQ-1! Quote
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