head gasket help

[muchacho260z]

hey guys i now need a new head gasket and  i just wanted to know if anyone can help me finding a goods machanic.in  the liverpool area in sydney

Its has a L26 in it now or  would you recommend just changing the engine to a L28.

If anyone can help please let me know.

thank you

[luke_mcmahon85]

hey, i don't know about mechanics is sydney, but it's not a very complicated procedure, especially on the L series, so any competant mechanic should handle it...hell i did it myself with basically no experience whatsoever.

 

unless you have a cheap l28 available, stick with the l26. and if you have some spare time you can do the head gasket yourself, just need basic tools, a torque wrench, a hex head socket for the head bolts, and a chain tensior (make yourself from wood). the intake and exhaust bolts are a bit of a hassle, but it's not complicated. oh and if you do, get a die set to do the exhaust studs, it'll make it much easier. all up, if you need to buy ALL the tools, it's probably around 100 bucks, and the gasket set around the same, although you can pick them up cheap on ebay etc. you'd probably get a mechanic to do it for not much more, but this way you learn, and get tools, haha

[aegean]

I agree that it is not a difficult job, but I think you first need to understand WHY the head gasket has blown. Was it a cooling, or lack of, issue ? The gasket is there as a safety mechanism and you need to understand why it has "blown". There may be issues with the head having warped due to the heat required to blow the gasket. Are you running coolant in the system ? Did the thernostat sieze ? You should also look at changing the timing chain, chain guides, and tensioner while you are at it - unless you know that these have been changed. A stretched timing chain can add 10 degrees or more to your timing from standard, and is cheap insurance.