I was ouside doing some yard work and noticed a puddle under my car. popped the hood and took a look. Didn't take me long to find a gross soupy mess in my radiator overflow tank. looks like I'm replacing the headgasket this weekend

other than the headgasket and obviously, the fluids, what should I replace. I'm thinking the head bolts but is there anything else. dowel pins maybe?

and how do I clean the radiator and block coolant passages out?

I feel sick

 

you must always replace the head bolts when changing out the head gasket.......

I would also replace any other gaskets you have to take off to get to the heag gasket such as exhaust and intake.....

you can use compressed air to clean out the passages when you have the block apart and then flush them with distilled water........

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by YeuEmMaiMai &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">you can use compressed air to clean out the passages when you have the block apart and then flush them with distilled water........
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yeah that is pretty much my plan, I'm just worried about there being leftover oil residue. I guess I'll just start it up and flush it with water a few times once I get it back together


Modified by jweller at 6:39 PM 7/18/2003

 

just in case anyon tells you different: The reason you need to replace the head bolts has to do with the expansion and contraction of the metal when the engine heats up and cools off. This introduces stress into the bolts and they become longer and prone to failure if used again. It may also cause problems wit the gasket sealing properly......

 

yeah I knew that they stretched. The Helms gives specs on when you can reuse them, but a set of new bolts is cheaper than a good micrometer to measure them would be....soooo......new bolts it is