Thursday, September 22, 2011

Difficulty of replacing a head gasket on a chevy s10?

'95 S-10, 2.2 I4, 5 spd, 4x2 with NO AC. There is a small chance that my head gasket is leaking, I will be running the compression test tomorrow to find out for sure but was wondering how difficult is it for DIY and a few friends. Since there is no AC, alot of hoses are eliminated. I feel that once I remove the air intake assembly, radiator and all the belt accesories that it will be a straight forward job.I will have access to a warm garage with power tools for a week. I think that once all those things are removed that it should be a fairly straight forward job, am I wrong? Should I send the head to the machine shop, how much is the typical labor?

how long would such a job take an average person with experience to do?

I am not a certified mechanic or a tech with no schooling but I have done a lot of my own repairs and many for friends, from simple maintenance to changing the clutch and swapping out a turn key motor, I have done a valve gasket but never head gasket, anything to look out for%26gt;?Difficulty of replacing a head gasket on a chevy s10?
looks like this is probably a steel or cast iron head so I think it would be a pretty straight forward job just remove everything and replace in the opposite order. once the head is removed though I would have it magnafluxed to make sure that it isn't cracked...it's not likely to be warped considering its not aluminum. check autozone.com for removal and installation procedure.Difficulty of replacing a head gasket on a chevy s10?
Head gaskets should only take about 10 hours for someone that hasn't done it before. Some things you should watch out for is exhaust bolts will be hard to get out and could brake, check the book to see if you have to loostened in a spacific order, the head bolts will also have to be tightened in a spacific order and torque. For the exhaust bolts get a can of BP blaster and spray it all over all of the bolts the night before and the bolts should come right out. Unless you blew the head gasket by overheating the motor the head should not need to be machined.Difficulty of replacing a head gasket on a chevy s10?
BHGs are a ****** man.. inlines arent to bad but they take a good 10-12 hours for mechanic to do.

only need the head machines if its warped,, valve gasket is a piece of cake compared to hgs..

take off the top end of the motor is a ****** sure their is no ac theirs still 1000 wiring harnesses

and hoses, make sure u mark everything with tape and numbers when u take it all apart.