Head gasket replacement 1998 K2500

[TommyJ1980]

Do you have your lifter pre-load adjusted properly?

So I adjusted them in the order shown, by tightening the nut while rotating the pushrod, until it got hard to turn and wasn't lifting up and down any more, then I went one more 360 degree turn. I did that for one set of them, then turned the engine over one crank rotation and did the other ones.

 

[Piratehunter]

Well if your valve lash is already set. Then no need to open the valve cover. Then just have someone stick their finger over the #1 spark plug hole as you turn the engine over by hand, when it starts pushing air past their finger, it is coming up on the compression stroke, keep turning the engine till the marks line up. #1 TDC

 

[TommyJ1980]

Well if your valve lash is already set. Then no need to open the valve cover. Then just have someone stick their finger over the #1 spark plug hole as you turn the engine over by hand, when it starts pushing air past their finger, it is coming up on the compression stroke, keep turning the engine till the marks line up. #1 TDC

I was trying yesterday but I didn’t have any help so I was trying to crank the engine and feel for the air at the same time but I couldn’t feel it. I’ll tru again and have someone else turn the engine over.

 

[Just Nobody]

Or attache a balloon with a piece of hose to a drilled out spark plug, or other type of adaptor, and hand crank. As the piston starts to come up it will push air into the balloon, that timing mark coming up next will TDC compression. Kinda hokey, but it works.

 

[TommyJ1980]

Or attache a balloon with a piece of hose to a drilled out spark plug, or other type of adaptor, and hand crank. As the piston starts to come up it will push air into the balloon, that timing mark coming up next will TDC compression. Kinda hokey, but it works.
Appreciate that! Tried again today and for whatever reason couldn’t feel hardly anything when my buddy cranked, either turn of the crank, probably just cold fingers. I’ll definitely give this a try.

 

[TommyJ1980]

So tonight me and a friend spent some time trying to get the exhaust on and ran into some more pain with this. It seems like the holes just don’t want to line up, and look to be offset by as much as a quarter inch from one side of the exhaust to the other where it bolts into the block. I took the bolts off when the motor was cold and I’m putting it back cold as well (obviously), so not sure what’s up here. Would they have warped or contracted while they were sitting there watching me work on the motor???

 

[TommyJ1980]

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[Just Nobody]

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Might need one like this,they do work.

 

[Piratehunter]

You might need to loosen the exhaust manifold at the tailpipe donut. That is also going to be a PIA, but the tailpipe is probably putting enough pressure on the manifold to prevent you from aligning the bolt holes. They are a pain as they are, without any other force on them. Or try getting one started in the middle and have your buddy try to apply up or down force on the tailpipe. Still a PIA though.

 

[TommyJ1980]

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