CharlieHustle

Head Gasket finally went out on my 3.0. I'm About to send my heads to the machine shop and was wondering if I needed to re-install the camshaft before I hand them over?

Does anyone who has done a head gasket job on a 3vze know what needs to accompany the head when sent out?

TrikeKid

Call the machine shop and ask... Make sure you install the caps in the same location and orientation as you took them off, they're all machined on the head and don't like being moved around.

scope103

They need to have the cams off to remove the valves to grind them, but they need the cams back on to adjust the valves. (They DO plan to adjust the valves, don't they? It is much, much easier for a machine shop to do than for you.)

So send the cam with, but don't worry about torquing it down. (And as Charlie Hustle says, keep the caps in order. They were numbered on mine, but they were not in numerical order! So I attached a note telling the shop what order they were in when they came off.)

CharlieHustle

Well, I was just opting to get the head pressure tested and resurfaced. I wasn't sure I wanted to do the whole valve job since this car isn't my daily driver. I still want to have this car to do my dirty work around town, but i'm trying to keep this project to the bare minimum in regards to cost.

scope103

Suit yourself; it would cost still less if you skipped the pressure test and resurface.

When I did my heads it turned out that I needed 6 new exh. valves. Once it was at the machine shop it didn't add much to the cost. It's hard to predict exactly what you'll find in any rebuild. You could probably use a good (expensive) straight-edge to see IF you need a resurface, and very carefully look for cracks (and skip the pressure test if you find none.)

I'm very big on spending money intelligently; I'm not going to (for instance) re-bore the cylinders on an 18-yr old truck. But once I went to the trouble to get the heads off it made no sense to me to overlook a valve job. ($472 total here in the big city, including the cost of the gasket set I needed to get somewhere)

abecedarian

Spending a little extra now may save you money in the long run.

If the heads are off, it's more expensive up front but in the end more cost effective to have them checked properly and repaired if necessary. Even if things are apparently okay now, that doesn't mean they'll stay okay another 100K miles or whatever. How hard would you kick yourself if you needed a valve job 5-10K miles after putting things back together? I mean, if things fail in 6 months or so, it's another head job and gaskets AND valves, seats, seals, etc on top. Which basically means the money you spent on the first round of head work was wasted.

Asuarez737

hey i could really use your help. since your heads are off can you maybe get this info for me please? https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...-heads-255777/

abecedarian

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...0-3vze-134367/

search is your friend

Asuarez737

Thank you so much! I've been trying to get the stuff filled out but no one was helping. Thanks!

abecedarian

badbob94

I just got mine back from the machine shop. Total bill $606!

Clean
Surface
Replace 7 bad valves
Pressure test
Set valve lash
Replace guides
Grind valves and seats.

We only pressure tested after shop found some cracks between the valve seats. Turned out they didn't leak.

Put the cams back in but don't tighten the bolts. I numbered mine with black pen the photographed them so I can make sure the cam bearings get put back the way they came off. You'll need to remove the cams to put the heads back on.

Now to rebuild the bottom end.

Badbob

CharlieHustle

OK got my heads back from the machine shop...a little concerned though.



Will I have trouble with the head gasket sealing correctly around that orifice next to where the dowel pin goes? It's missing metal around the edge and am not sure how to go about this.



Also noticed this crack in one of the combustion chambers. The shop didn't mention anything regarding the head failing a pressure test. I didn't see any dye remains anywhere on the head also. With a crack like that, is it worth putting back on my block?

scope103

You have a sharp eye.

Unlike some of the rest of us, your shop didn't paint the heads. Which might have concealed the slight erosion near the dowel pin. When I put my heads pack on, I sprayed the gaskets with Permatex Copper Spray-a-Gasket, on the recommendation that it should help seal. Mine haven't leaked in the past 15k miles, but that's only a sample of one.

I have no opinion on the crack in the head. Since it was pressure tested, it probably doesn't "go all the way through." Yet. I will note that I haven't seen anyone on this forum report having to replace a head due to a crack, for what that's worth.

CharlieHustle

You mean machine shops also paint the surface of the head that comes into contact with the head gasket?

scope103

Yup. (At least mine did, and a recent post here showed pictures of beautiful heads that were clearly painted.) The paint on mine (and on those of the recent post) were an aluminum color that LOOKED like perfectly clean aluminum, until you scraped it with a fitting.