Time to do the Heads!

[yugo308guy]

So my son had been diving my Gen 1 LWB and, contrary to my explicit instructions, allowed it to overheat! Now the Head Gasket is blown.

I am going to do this project myself. I have found rebuilt and tested complete heads for $200 per side. I am going to replace the complete heads, water pump, timing belt, all the gaskets and whatever pulleys come with the timing belt kit. Is there anything I am missing? Any other recommendations? I'm pretty sure it has the updated crankshaft bolt, but will check that upon removal as well.

I figure I can do this for about $600 total. Any thoughts?

 

[KarmannMarco]

Not to sure on the prices for gen 1 parts but I just did timing belt job , water pump , all seals top and front , plugs , wires , new crank bolt and all new fluids. Total came to about $350. Granted I opted for the best possible parts and OEM parts. I probably could have saved $100+/- by choosing more China/Mexico parts.
Including your new heads I would budget $700-$800 and get the best parts you can get.

 

[Jay Ayala]

Consider a cooling system service as well. New radiator hoses, thermo switch & temp sensor, 180 degree thermostat, heater hoses, fan clutch and perform the bleeding service on the coolant as well.


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[Jay Ayala]

Another consideration prior to assembling the "new" heads is to place new valve guide seals on the heads while it is off the vehicle. This will prevent any burning oil symptoms. I have to admit that this 3.0L engine is notorious for that. Also, you will want new cylinder head bolts. DO NOT plan on reusing the existing bolts for the cylinder heads. You see, they stretch under torque but don't ever fully contract back to original length. This causes some bolts to bottom out in the bore when you attempt to retorque the bolts giving you false torque readings. And that will lead to too much of a gap in the cylinder head gasket and eventually a blown gasket. Do yourself a favor. Valve guide seals & new cylinder head bolts.


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[Jay Ayala]

One additional consideration. Even though the cylinder heads have been Remanufactured, get yourself NEW replacement Hydraulic Lash Adjusters. This will eliminate any lifter ticking noise. They are cheap and for this set of heads you only need 12.


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[Jay Ayala]

I have documented the valve guide seals in two different ways, with the heads off and with the heads on. I've also documented how to service the hydraulic lash adjusters if you want to try that. All of those procedures are fully documented here on the forum with a ton of pictures. Just look through my past posts to see what I'm talking about.


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[Jay Ayala]

Valve seal replacement.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123803
Servicing your hydraulic lash adjusters.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=124234


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[yugo308guy]

Hmm, I'm a little confused. The rebuilt heads I am looking at are complete. They already have the Valve Stem Guides replaced and the Valve Seats reground with triple angle grinds. I would assume that the replacement Hydraulic Lash Adjusters have been replaced as well. I thought I would just have to remove the old heads and replace them with the new. Am I missing something?

 

[Jay Ayala]

You know what, I think you are right. Please disregard my advice. I think my situation was "lucky". Good luck with your cylinder head replacements.


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[Jay Ayala]

On second thought yugo308guy, if you simply go press down on each of the rockers, you will get a sense of the lash adjusters. If it squishes easily, Service Them before installing the heads. If they are super stiff and don't budge, you can consider them new and should not expect any problems with lifter ticking. It's just that I know for a fact that sometimes these cylinder heads get Remanufactured and sit in storage for a while before actually being used. This can sometimes cause the valve guide assembly lube to become gooey and sticky. If not properly lubed up with engine oil, those seals can tear badly. What you do is obviously up to you. I'm hoping to share with you my collective experience with 4 separate engine overhauls of this specific 3.0L engine over the past 12 years.


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[yugo308guy]

On second thought yugo308guy, if you simply go press down on each of the rockers, you will get a sense of the lash adjusters. If it squishes easily, Service Them before installing the heads. If they are super stiff and don't budge, you can consider them new and should not expect any problems with lifter ticking. It's just that I know for a fact that sometimes these cylinder heads get Remanufactured and sit in storage for a while before actually being used. This can sometimes cause the valve guide assembly lube to become gooey and sticky. If not properly lubed up with engine oil, those seals can tear badly. What you do is obviously up to you. I'm hoping to share with you my collective experience with 4 separate engine overhauls of this specific 3.0L engine over the past 12 years.


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Thank you! That is great advice. I will certainly check those.

 

[MARKSMONTE]

Just a thought: I had noisy lifters on one side so I replaced all on one side. Then the other nside started making noise. These lifters where all new replacement with 30k on the rebuilt engine. I replaced all the lifters on the other side. A year later they started making noise again. Then I read a old article, from Hotrod magazine of all places. It said oil had changed and some additive where no longer put in oil as in the passed. I switched to Synthetic oil and have never heard a noise since. It's been four years on the same noisy lifters and no noise.
Just a thought.:sombrero: