Head Gasket Replacement Parts and Procedure - What's needed?

[Beastlee]

Having fruitlessly searched for an article I now have to ask the question of those in the know, what are the bare minimum parts needed for a full HG replacement and what would be the process for this? I have a copy of the Workshop manuals but I would like to draw on peoples experience and advice as it never goes quite like the manual states.

I'm hopng we can provide a list of links to the part and if I undertake this task I'll be creating a guide for it. My Cambelt was done as part of a major service 4 years and approximately 30,000 miles ago and I'm going to do this, along with the water pump as it wasn't changed by Mitisi, as a matter of course. So to start the parts list.

Per Engine
Cambelt kit. - http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.p...2b0s1398p63506 - £86.76
Hydraulic Tensioner - http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.p...22b0s1398p6901 - £91.41
Water Pump - http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.p...22b0s1394p5562 - £33.69
Plug Seals - http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.p...2b0s1399p11349 - £41.73
Coolant and Flush -
Oil, filter and sump washer - Amsoil products -

Per Head
Rocker Cover Gasket - http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.p...22b0s1399p6900 - £14.04
Head Gasket - http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.p...2b0s1399p11586 - £80.45
8 x Headbolts - http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.p...2b0s1399p37152 - £46.96

So far I'm looking at a cost of £540 plus the fluids and filter just for the above, not accounting for other gaskets I think I need. Also looking at replacing the metal coolant pipe between the heads along with the gaskets and other hoses under the throttle body so I guesstimate another £100+ there. Add in the likely requirement for skimming the heads (god knows how to get that done here!) although I'm hoping there's no need and I reckon my total is going to be nearly £1000.

Thanks for any info.
Lee

[Davezj]

Having fruitlessly searched for an article I now have to ask the question of those in the know, what are the bare minimum parts needed for a full HG replacement and what would be the process for this? I have a copy of the Workshop manuals but I would like to draw on peoples experience and advice as it never goes quite like the manual states.

I'm hopng we can provide a list of links to the part and if I undertake this task I'll be creating a guide for it. My Cambelt was done as part of a major service 4 years and approximately 30,000 miles ago and I'm going to do this, along with the water pump as it wasn't changed by Mitisi, as a matter of course. So to start the parts list.

Per Engine
Cambelt kit. - http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.p...2b0s1398p63506 - £86.76
Hydraulic Tensioner - http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.p...22b0s1398p6901 - £91.41
Water Pump - http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.p...22b0s1394p5562 - £33.69
Plug Seals - http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.p...2b0s1399p11349 - £41.73
Coolant and Flush -
Oil, filter and sump washer - Amsoil products -

Per Head
Rocker Cover Gasket - http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.p...22b0s1399p6900 - £14.04
Head Gasket - http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.p...2b0s1399p11586 - £80.45
8 x Headbolts - http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.p...2b0s1399p37152 - £46.96

So far I'm looking at a cost of £540 plus the fluids and filter just for the above, not accounting for other gaskets I think I need. Also looking at replacing the metal coolant pipe between the heads along with the gaskets and other hoses under the throttle body so I guesstimate another £100+ there. Add in the likely requirement for skimming the heads (god knows how to get that done here!) although I'm hoping there's no need and I reckon my total is going to be nearly £1000.

Thanks for any info.
Lee

What happened to warrant the head gasket replacement, this will dictate if the head need skimming and a lot of extra work carried out.
if the engine overheated and knackered the gasket then skimming is requied, to be on the safe side. If it is just an annoying oil leak then no skimming needed in my opinion which means you can leave the turbos and exhaust manifold, on the head, this will cut down on gaskets required and potential stud snapping. but is up to you if you want to try and do cheaply.
personally i like to change all parts for new when i get a major job like head gasket done, but you don't need to change the following unless they are damaged, and it is not likely they will be.

Hydraulic Tensioner - http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.p...22b0s1398p6901 - £91.41
Plug Seals - http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.p...2b0s1399p11349 - £41.73

Per Head
Rocker Cover Gasket - http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.p...22b0s1399p6900 - £14.04

it does not save much but it is a start.
when i had my head gaskets replaced back in 2006 on my old VR4 it cost me about £1000 all in (inc labour and VAT) to get the job done, but i supplied a full engine gasket set and spark plugs and cambelt kit for the job to be done.
I could have done a better job myself now but back then i was still a bit green with the VR4 and i did not know what the final cost was going to be.

and the kicker is it didn't fix the problem i thought i had.
which was loads of steam coming out of the exhaust at start up and i mean loads. well for the first 2-5 mins of driving, it was due to the 3" exhaust and 5" back box. it collected a massive amount of condensation/dew on cold wet mornings and we had about month solid of them and just got parinoid.
Very expensive mistake.

I presume you are going to tack the heads off with the turbos/exhaust manifolds still attached.

[Gowf]

As has been said by Dave, do you know its definitely head gaskets?

Now with regards the list you've got there, yes that would be fine but i do agree with Dave on not replacing the hydraulic tensioner.

Now there's 2 schools of thought on head skimming:

Theres the dont do it, same some money and hope for the best tactic, or the do it and do it right 1st time approach. You really should have your heads skimmed and pressure tested depending on how badly they've overheated. now when having the heads skimmed, I cant remember exactly on these heads, but its more than likely that you will need to strip the heads to allow it to be done (dont want to be skimming valves also) and so then you're as well changing the stem seals whilst your there. So by the time your finished you are just as well getting a full engine gasket kit and changing what needs doing.

I have had a few that have come to me with this, and after pricing it various ways for people, the resounding answer has been to put another engine in. I personally dont agree with doing that as it just fuels todays throw away society, but it can be financially beneficial.

All in all though, its not a nice job and will take you some time to strip it all down.... but then if you're not paying for labour, and your only buying the bits and paying for the skimming (unless of course you have access to experienced machinists and a milling machine) then its worth doing

[Mark 4]

When I had the heads done on my current engine they skimmed them with the valves in and then put the heads in the parts washer. I think it cost me about £30 per head but not sure.

If you want Lee you can send them to me and 'll sort it out for you.

[Beastlee]

Dave/Gareth, my concerns lie with loss of coolant via the expansion tank and nothing more. I posted a thread up some time ago (http://www.clubvr4.com/forum/showthr...Cooling-System), basically losing coolant from the expansion tank and some bubbling in here after a run. Has always had coolant loss issues(had car 4 years in July) but never once overheated and runs perfectly with no mayo or oily coolant.

I'm not necesarily planning the cheapest option as I too would rather do many of the jobs that make sense whilst the engine is in pieces. Where things really aren't needed and expensive (like the tensioner) I am happy not to include them given it was a major service that was done at Mitsubishi and it wasn't so long ago.

Mark, that's very kind of you but shipping between the UK and Germany may outweigh the costs of having it done locally.

At the moment I am still wieghing up doing this or buying another car. I would like a change anyway but I also really don't want to get rid of this after the time I've spent, all for the sake of a coolant loss problem. I've found a couple that I really like and the idea of simply swapping some parts over rather than a top-end rebuild is more appealing. Preferably I'd get a manual but I still like the tip box.

[Beastlee]

Looks like I may be following this through. Car has still never overheated but the loss of coolant can only lead to other issues so I want to stop it whilst I can.
Would really appreciate a brief rundown of the steps involved, I've read the translated workshop manual but that's about as much use as a chocolate fireguard.

I'm not looking forward to this as leaning over the engine bay is going to kill my back, took me 4 hours to do the spark plugs and I felt that for 3 days!

[crazydriver81]

Lee, how mauch coolant do you loose? I just stumbled across this thread...

I had a loss of coolant too with my ST-R and thought about the head gasket. In the end it was a leaking seal of the water rail which was not seen easily, as the coolant came out only when the engine was running. Further the coolant ran over the engine block and so never reached the ground. So I eneded up with filling the expansion tank monthly until the workshop found it one day.

I think it were the seal rings pictured...

cooling_system.gif

Maybe worth to check in detail?

[Beastlee]

Stefan, I definitely know where the coolant is leaking, it is overflowing the expansion bottle. There are air bubbles in it constantly when I come to a stop now too although it is impossible to make it do it if you don't race the engine.

However I have replaced the two pipes those seals are supposed to be at the end of and I never saw any seals. I suppose there is the potential fo rit to be drawing in air at that point but certainly no loss there.

[crazydriver81]

Lee, only thing I can offer is to let this be done in a workshop you can trust. I can get this done locally, in the Mitsi workshop of my friend here. I have no idea about the cost but I can figure that out, no doubt.

They will skim the heads (as they always do this when replacing head gaskets). They will also change the bits like hydraulic tensioner and timing belt rolls (with blueprint parts, so not as expensive as Mitsi originals). Further they will replace all parts like valve seals etc. which are included in the full head gasket set.

I'll talk to him today and will let you know about the approx cost.

Stefan

[Beastlee]

Stefan, many thanks for offering this but if I were to get the work done in a workshop I would take it to (Nutter)John. It's a 1320km return journey which I'm not sure would be good for the car, on the way there at least, and would cost me at least as much as going back to the UK to see John. I am able to get the parts from Camskill tax free and most of them wil be genuine Mitsi or Blueprint but I am still interested to know what sort of price the parts/work would cost.

[amsoil]

You will find many garages have a kit that attached to the expansion tank, a fluid is then put in this 'trap' and the engine run. Any combustion gasses bubbling through will change the colour of the fluid and positively confirm whether a gasket has gone or not.