Head gasket build thread

[slayerized6]

For the past two years or so, my Aveo, has been burning coolant. For the past month, its gotten to the point where I need to refill the coolant every other day. I have coolant in my crank case and oil in my spark plug tubes. I also have to replace my plugs every few thousand miles because they keep getting fouled with oil and coolant.

Being that it has been extremely cold out lately and I just got a nice tax refund, I had elected to bring my Aveo to one of the more trustworthy and experienced mechanic shops near me and hoped for the best. My mechanic was very honest with me; after performing a few tests and taking into consideration what I told him, he told me that at minimum, to fix the head gasket it would cost $1500. He told me that the fix was worth way more than the car itself and that if would be more cost effective just drive it into the ground.

So now here are my two options. Take the $1500 I would have spent anyway and buy another Aveo (and part out my current one), or spend $200, do the work myself, and hope for the best. Luckily, the Aveo I have now is my 'beater' car, so I still have another working car. While the head gasket maybe on its way out, the braking system, suspension, and tires are all fairly new, which makes me want to fix this Aveo. My plans right now are to pick up my Aveo at the shop tomorrow morning and start to remove the cylinder head and see what I am working with. I changed the head gaskets on my Trans Am years ago, so I am confident that I can handle this. Worst comes to worst, I can always part it, scrap it, and get another Aveo. So today begins planning and tomorrow begins disassembly....

[avguy]

JMO, but the fact that coolant has been mixing in for that long, would make it highly likely the oil has not been able to even come close to properly lubricating the cylinder walls, bearings, etc. It would come as no surprise to get a major engine failure once the HG has been repaired. But, OTOH, $200 is not much to roll the dice on and, most importantly, it won't be a big deal to you if something does happen after the repair. So good luck with the work, and who knows, maybe it will last a good deal longer than I'm expecting.

[slayerized6]

The coolant in the crankcase is fairly recent. It was only getting into the combustion chamber for the longest time.

[xintersecty]

Fix it. Pull the head. don't remove the intake side and just pull the head with it on. I would assume that the cams/valves are good.

[slayerized6]

The other day I was able to successfully remove the head from the block. Only took me a few hours to do, but I took the extra step of labeling the bolts and pieces as it will be another week or so until I get the chance to put it back together. I ordered the parts I need (head gasket rebuild kit, timing belt kit, DOHC lock tool, water pump wrench, etc.) which should be arriving within the next few days. I got the head cleaned up already, I am going to clean up the block probably today or tmmw, and then should be putting everything back together by Saturday.

[xintersecty]

DOHC lock tool

The last one I bought did not work in between the cams. ARRRGGHHHHH!!!!!!

Once you get the intake cam close the right position the spring keep just few degrees more clockwise. You will need to move it contra-clockwise to align the marks. I have managed to use vise grips to keep the cams aligned after much cussing, screaming, and praying. Also you can use a ton of tie wraps.

[slayerized6]

Got everything back together yesterday. The engine runs, but it runs like ****. All the timing marks are lined up, and the spark plug wiring is in order. On top of that, I still have coolant entering the crank case. Im getting a few quotes to see how much I can scrap this car for now as I don't expect it to be running for much longer.

[avguy]

Did you take the head to a machine shop to check for warp?