hey guys, i'm fairly new on this forum, mainly use fordforums.com.au

i was wondering if there is any post's about how to change a head gast, a set of instructions or something. and possibley wats the correct way to fit new lifters while doing the head gasket. thanks in advance.

Dan

Go through the search function mate, this question is asked so often there are TONS of threads on it.

Here is a very good written doco with pictures for you en enjoy.
and as for EF/EL this doco will do you fine.


http://www.eseries.com.au/portal/kb.php ... ticle&k=15

Bon Appetit

Hi guys,

I've just blown my head gasket, 2 months after installing gas
The cars done 270,000 km's, so its getting along. BTW its an EL.

I want to change the gasket and fix it up myself.
However a number of people have been saying just forget the old engine and put in a recon one, or low k motor.
They keep saying the head would be completely corroded and the bottom end would give out in under 6 months, especially with gas.

What are peoples general consensus? Go for new engine or fix up the one in the car.

It's hard to say man, you can't always go by k's as it may have been highway use or driven like a p***y.
When they say especially with LPG is a load of s**t, you'll get more life from LPG than petrol, the main reason being that LPG doesn't wash the oil from the bores, petrol does.
The head might be like brand new when you remove it, or it might be rooted, you'll never know until it comes off, it might not be corroded but it could be soft, get a hardness test done while you're at it.
If it runs sweet, doesn't use oil and doesn't rattle then get the head done.

I've always thought the same about lpg.

Well I will take the head off anyway, cant hurt right?
Lets say worst case and the head is rooted, does that mean the bottom end is not far off too? Or will there be different factors which untimately affect bottom end life.

I managed to catch the water in the oil within a day, so the car is off the road. What can I do to prevent further damage being done to the engine, I was thinking empty oil and coolant and maybe add a little oil after done.

In the above case, If I buy another head (get it checked and its ok) and slap it on, should this be enough to bring it back to life?

Thanks guys.

if you check out Ebay there is a cheap reco head for sale. they normally cost around $600 but i reckon you could get it for $250 with a gasket and thats a bargain. With your bottom end unless your keen dont bother its massive and unless you plan pulling out the motor you have to remove so much stuff like the rack subframe break calipers basically everything to get out your pistons. i did it about 6 weeks ago and it took me probably 30 hours to complete the whole job. also as it turns out it looks like the bloke didnt do my valve seals when he recoed the head so now i have the pain of changing my seals without removing the head. suss out the head before you stick it back on and ask if they replace valve seals. Also stay away from cheap gaskets as you will end up with similar problems also check your block for levelness especially near the front of #1 piston what some people do is use an abrasive block on it and then your stuffed you need to remove the engine and get it surfaced otherwise you could end up with an oil leak everthing needs to be 100% level otherwise once you drive it for a while its really frustrating to find out that something has gone wrong. regards

So much easier and faster to 'lift the bare engine out'