blown head gasket

[fuhSHO]

im picking up my next SHO next week, and its got a blown head gasket. i originally was planning on parting the whole car out, but with my engine in my car going on 170k, and i dont have enough money to pay someone for a another 60k, i kinda want to rebuild this one with less miles. so the owner says the head gasket is blown and leaks water like none other (overheats in 3-5 miles) It doesnt seem to hard to tear appart the top of the engine and replace the gasket, and replace anything else above i can for maintanence. what are the chances that something is busted as well taht is really hard to fix. (warped heads? shrug ) im willing to do tons of labor i just dont know how much money i will be willing to shell out just to make this dead engine live. maybe a few hundred is all

im lookin to you SHOveterans! gimme some advice

<small>[ August 27, 2003, 01:52 PM: Message edited by: fuhSHO ]</small>

 

[Mr Anonymous]

If he knows it over heats in 3-5 miles, chances are he's overheated it more than once and the likelyhood is high that the heads have been warped -- possibly beyond repair. There's only a very minor amount that the heads can be decked to bring them true, and if that amount is machined and they're still not true you've just wasted your $$$ on it!

The block should still be fine unless he really tried to damage it, but you'll want to inspect it carefully, and I'd want to replace the rings and bearings to be safe.

Is there a problem with your current motor at 170K that it requires a rebuild? If it's been well-maintained, it's only about 1/2 way through its useful life! IIWM, I'd forget buying another SHO for parts and just invest that money in another 60K for the one your have...

 

[fuhSHO]

i dunno, its got high mileage and the guy never really did 60ks but he had the stuff replaced that would be in a 60k over periods of time. all in the same 10K roughly. i woudlnt have done it that way...but oh well. i heard thats bad cuz u have to replace certain stuff with other certain stuff so they dont wear the new parts out faster. correct?

i bought a SHO plus for $400 with the dead engine. im not giving up that deal! the slicers and rod shifter are worth that too me alone!

so the only way to tell if the heads are warped beyond repair is to tear it appart and have an expert look at it? how much is it to have a mechanic machine heads? then do you have to modify parts like put differnt size parts in some places?? thanks - chris

 

[jelloslug]

I really would not drop a lot of money into that engine if the heads are warped. Strong running 3.0Ls are fairly easy to find so dropping lots of cash into one just to get it back to normal does not sound like a good idea.

 

[fuhSHO]

exactly what im thinking. so, how can i tell if the heads are warped beyond being able to be fixed?

 

[Mr Anonymous]

You could try a straight edge in accordance with the procedure in the Helms manual.

 

[Doug Waschenko]

The problem with many engines with a blown head gasket is that on many the head has cracked between the valves.
Many are repairable but it isn't something you can do yourself.
You really can't tell if the head is cracked until you take it off.
It doesn't seem to be something that the SHO is particularly suseptable to like the ****** 1.9 but it could be what you will find. I hope not but be aware of the possability.
Also I have noticed a tendancy of the "newer" cars to have the head gasket rot from corosion in the cooling sytem rather then actually blow out from compression.
If this is a valad observation it would be a great idea to replace the gaskets on a period of time rather then it being a milage thing.

 

[shojuan]

Doug Waschenko:
Also I have noticed a tendancy of the "newer" cars to have the head gasket rot from corosion in the cooling sytem rather then actually blow out from compression.
If this is a valad observation it would be a great idea to replace the gaskets on a period of time rather then it being a milage thing.

Or better yet, change your coolant on time.

 

[jelloslug]

I would think that any decent machine shop would check you head to see if it was warped for free. It only take a second to put it on a surface plate (if you where near me I would do it for you, I have access to surface plates)