Head gasket change on a 95 SR 3.5 L question

[RichardT]

I used to be fairly active on here, but due to life in general I have been on a bit of a hiatus. My Monty is still running strong, except for ...you guessed it, a blown headgasket..

Just wondering who of you have had to deal with this situation, and if you did the repair yourself, what was involved? And how hard was it? Was it straight forward, by just removing accessories, hoses, etc, then the heads, replacing gaskets, and maybe getting the heads machined? or was there more to it? Were there any other gaskets that had to be replaced at the same time? I'm planning to do my plugs then as well.

Thanks in advance.

 

[PA_JERO]

Use dealer gaskets and there should be a top end gasket kit with all exhaust, intake, water pump, valve seals gaskets. Yes, get the heads machined if you have the heads off. Clean the surface of the block really really well, and make sure there is zero oil residue on the block surface or head surface before you put the gaskets and heads down on the block. Also buy new head bolts so you get the proper torque on the heads. Also, a bit of advice, when you get your heads machined, make sure the shop puts the correct cams back on the correct heads, and on the correct side. Take a picture of the cams or label or something, you would be surprised how many times this has happened.

 

[PA_JERO]

Mind as well just do all the timing belt work too. I would.

 

[normal_dave]

Read through this one, DJPurdue, tackled a similar project with limited experience and came out a winner.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/159696-Replacing-Gen-3-Heads-(Like-a-Virgin)-Any-Recommendation

 

[RichardT]

Thanks for the input guys. To be honest, i thought it would be much simpler. Other than of course getting the heads machined, I didn't realize there would be so much involved. I'm going to look in to having a shade tree mechanic do it for me.

 

[PA_JERO]

Shade tree mechanic = shade tree quality. Not as bad as you think it would be to do the work yourself. It's your truck though.