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GodDa**ed F**king Electronic Cars!!!
Replacing Head Gasket in my 94 Corsica. Hope y'all don't mind me blowing off steam here. Nobody home to yell at, and throwing a brick through my windshield would be pretty childish :P
Just got finished Putting a Head Gasket on My 81 Pick-up a couple of weeks ago, why couldn't the car builders keep it that simple?? :'(
* tilen76 gives RPerry a cold beer and tell him to take it easy
;)
Head gasket, is that the one between the cylinder head , and the block?
Anyway, I think most manufacturers do this on purpose, so you have to go to a dealer to have it done for you.
I always try to find a workshop manual when I buy a car. Saves you a lot of aggravation, time and money in the end. :)
@ Tilen76 - Thanks for the beer ;)
@Ron - Yes thats the correct gasket. On purpose or not, I have never had any of my vehicles to the shop for anything other than tire work,I don't have the machines to do it. Everything else, I have done, but damn it just keeps getting harder the newer the car. I have two manuals for my car, Chilton, and Haynes, but that doesn't make the pysical labor any easier, plus I haven't had to look at the manual yet
I have the front side done now, have to get ready to start working on the backside, and thats where it gets rough, thats the intake manifold side that has the fuel rail. :(
Well, in my experience, the manuals don't make the actual work easier, but they do prevent you from doing unnecessary things.
The tools you mentioned are becomng a major problem though.
It seems to me that car manufacturers go out of their way to design engines to fit the (specialized, hard-to-find, expensive) tools, rather than ergonomically. <_<
I agree.Quote:
Originally posted by Ron@4 March 2003 - 19:04
...the manuals don't make the actual work easier, but they do prevent you from doing unnecessary things.
Those generic manuals are a godsend!
After 160,000 miles of abuse, I replaced the entire engine in my car, all on my own (found out who my friends were, fast). I took digital photos, tagged every piece, and jotted down a lot of notes and illustrations.
Basically, I took everything OUT! Then put it all back in (with a brand new motor and many small parts), in reverse order.
The MANUAL, guided me on how to lube and prime the engine properly before the initial first-time startup.
It took me 2-1/2 month's in my spare time to do all of this, after work.
Honestly, I was amazed that the car started up instantly. An engine with ZERO miles on it. Running smoothly. All by myself with little prior experience.
It took longer to wait for the new engine to arrive, than it did to install it, so in the meantime, I used oven cleaner, degreaser, sand blasted the inner parts of the car, cleaned it up. Painted it. Rust proofed it etc.... Cleaned all of the other parts that didn't need replaced. Polished them. Replaced wires, plastic conduit, and battery cables. Anything to make it showroom new looking.
Now, under the hood, it looks like a new car! I just had to brag. If I can do it, anyone can.
Replacing the engine would be 10X easier than what I'm doing. Trying to save time by replacing the head gasket with the engine in the car. I think I would have been better off pulling the engine the first place. Just got to where I have to pull my power steering pump, and got pissed off again because I just replaced it right before the head blew :angry: Anyway, just as much as its a pain, I'l have the satisfaction soon enough. ;)