Blown Head Gasket... What's next?

To keep this sweet and simple I'll leave the story of the blown head gasket realization on my build.

I have decided to tackle this project on my own along with my Dad to help. This is going to be the first time I have ever done this job and am looking for any helpful hints or tips before I get started. I have been doing some research and found out that the things I will need to replace:

Head bolts: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/arp-134-3601
Fel-Pro gasket kit: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/fel-hst7733pt16

Is there anything I'm missing? Is there anything I should replace while I'm in there? Any shop manuals anyone could recommend?

Also, while I'm in there I'm going to replace the valve covers with something a little more interesting... anyone have experience with these? https://www.summitracing.com/parts/pro-141-131/

Any help is appreciated. Thank you.

You don't need to replace the head bolts on a gen 1. Check on rock auto and you will see the same part numbers for vortec vs tbi.

skylark said:

You don't need to replace the head bolts on a gen 1. Check on rock auto and you will see the same part numbers for vortec vs tbi.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. Sorry for the delayed reply, it's been a blur the past couple of days and my mind has been running all over the place. Would it beneficial to replace/upgrade the head bolts while I'm in there? If not, would I be OK to reuse the factory head bolts?


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There's no advantage to replacing them. Just reuse the originals and call it good as long as they are in good shape.

Yeah
I recommend removing the hood
Unbolt the compressor from the motor and lay it on the windshield with a towel under it
Don't break open the lines

^^ A/C compressor ^^

Also be careful with the fuel injectors
They love to break
I'd soak and clean the intake and TB
So add some B-12 and use plenty of PB blaster on them head bolts
I recommend ensuring you have plenty of quality tools for the job as well

Air tools would help a lot after you break them loose by hand
When removing the heads use a similar pattern to remove the bolts as is used to fasten them

Be sure to check all the threads on the head bolts, if good reuse if not then replace, follow what eskimomann said and be careful. Removing good definitely gives you more room. A good repair manual would be Haynes or Chilton. Really best advice is take it slow, make sure you label everything. Oh an it would be good to have the heads checked out to make sure there's no cracking and make sure to drain all the coolant so none gets into the cylinders.

skylark said:

There's no advantage to replacing them. Just reuse the originals and call it good as long as they are in good shape.

Click to expand...

Duly noted, when I get in there I'll inspect the head bolts and see if I need to replace them or not. Thank you again for your help.

Eskimomann209 said:

Yeah
I recommend removing the hood
Unbolt the compressor from the motor and lay it on the windshield with a towel under it
Don't break open the lines

Click to expand...

I would be doing this in my driveway, so unfortunately I wouldn't be able to remove the hood unless I cover the truck. I will definitely be taking extreme caution to not break open the lines. Thank you for your help.

Eskimomann209 said:

^^ A/C compressor ^^

Also be careful with the fuel injectors
They love to break
I'd soak and clean the intake and TB
So add some B-12 and use plenty of PB blaster on them head bolts
I recommend ensuring you have plenty of quality tools for the job as well

Air tools would help a lot after you break them loose by hand
When removing the heads use a similar pattern to remove the bolts as is used to fasten them

Click to expand...

I'll definitely need to stock up on PB blaster and B-12 to break the head bolts loose. I don't have access to air tools, but I do own a 1/4" electric impact wrench so I am hoping that'll get the job done. If not, I'll upgrade to the next step up,I never thought about removing the head bolts in a similar way to the way they were torqued, but that is a great idea I'll use when I get to that step. Thanks for your help.

GarrettGmc said:

Be sure to check all the threads on the head bolts, if good reuse if not then replace, follow what eskimomann said and be careful. Removing good definitely gives you more room. A good repair manual would be Haynes or Chilton. Really best advice is take it slow, make sure you label everything. Oh an it would be good to have the heads checked out to make sure there's no cracking and make sure to drain all the coolant so none gets into the cylinders.

Click to expand...

Is one of the manuals better than the other? I was thinking about picking up a chilton manual but wasn't sure if there were any better alternatives. The one thing my garage is notorious for is making sockets and bolts disappear so I will definitely label everything I take off and bag the bolts that are removed. I was planning on sending the heads out to a machine shop to get checked. Also, I will be draining the engine fluids before I start the project to minimize the mess made on the driveway. Thanks for your help.

UPDATE: Before I start taking off anything on the truck, I'm going to do a compression test to check the condition of the motor. Once I get around to doing that I'll know what needs to be done.

Compression check is a good idea but the blown gasket will show