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Head Gaskets??

F

Ford Junky

New CEG'er
Joined
Feb 18, 2008
Messages
15
Location
Prince George B.C.
Anybody on here done aset of head gaskets on one of theese? I have a 98 Mystique wit a 2.5 and ATX, and I'm pretty sure I'm gonna have to do em. Can I get the heads off in the car or am I better to drop the front subframe and do it on the floor?

Rod
 
From what I hear you CAN do it in the car but it's a lot of work. Search around a little bit because this has been brought up before.
 
It would be a pain in the tailpipe to do it in the car.

You'd need to remove the following;

Timing cover

DPFE sensor

unhook EGR and all vacuum lines

upper intake manifold

Lower intake manifold and fuel rail

wiring harness

valve covers

the cams

then you can get to the headbolts. The biggest problem would be the rear head. There is not alot of room back there to work. But is it possible to do in the car? yes.
 
I'm just not lookin forward to pullin the motor W/O a hoist to lift the rest of the car off the subframe, maybee it would just be easier to flip the car over then pull the motor with the cherry picker like normal :shrug: :laugh:
 
you could certainly put it on its roof, cut the subframe, roll it back over and have it sitting on the ground. That's an option...:crazy:

What problem are you having that is leading you to replace the head gaskets?

It's becoming almost cliche now, but if you're going to go through all the trouble of pulling that much of the motor apart, have you considered a 3l?
 
As 69Boss302 said: 1) Make darn sure the hg's are actually bad. 2) Easier by far
to drop or pull the engine than to do it in-car. How do I know? Tried to pull the
rear head for a low compression cylinder ( bad valve). Ended up having to pull
and replace the complete engine. The complete gasket set to do the heads costs 450.00 here, and the guaranteed engine was 700.00. Your prices may vary. Good luck.
bob
 
Kind of a wierd deal here. I bought the car to fix and sell, but the guy I bought it off of did the same but ended up hobbling around on crutches so he isnt about to fix it(especially after I told him that I was pretty sure the motr had to come out, and that it comes out the bottom). He towed the car here, but somewhere in the transaction, he lost the title. So now the car is at my house, but I have no title for it(and I have not paid for it). I went to do some checkin to make sure it is a head gasket like he says and found the starter drive to be bad, so I cant even start the thing. And I aint about to start fixin anything till I have the title in my hot little hands.
I would strongly consider the 3L route if I was planning on keeping the car, but I dont think thats my best bet resale wise. I can get a head set for $300+ bolts, so I think I might still be ok, as long as it isnt a cracked head or block.
 
Ford Junky said:
Kind of a wierd deal here. I bought the car to fix and sell, but the guy I bought it off of did the same but ended up hobbling around on crutches so he isnt about to fix it(especially after I told him that I was pretty sure the motr had to come out, and that it comes out the bottom). He towed the car here, but somewhere in the transaction, he lost the title. So now the car is at my house, but I have no title for it(and I have not paid for it). I went to do some checkin to make sure it is a head gasket like he says and found the starter drive to be bad, so I cant even start the thing. And I aint about to start fixin anything till I have the title in my hot little hands.
I would strongly consider the 3L route if I was planning on keeping the car, but I dont think thats my best bet resale wise. I can get a head set for $300+ bolts, so I think I might still be ok, as long as it isnt a cracked head or block.
Click to expand...

Motor doesn't have to come out the bottom...
 
it is a very tight fit but the trans and engine will come out as one piece. I took mone out by myself but it would have been easier with someone else to help guide it out.

Someone pulled the engine once without pulling the trans. I don't see how they did it but he did.

EDIT: If you get your parts through RockAuto.com, you'd only have to spend about $45 for each head gasket and $20 for a bolt set per head. I'm sure that they'd ship internationally. Even if it is Canada :rolleyes:
 
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I'm currently finishing up from replacing the head gaskets and other seals on my 98 SVT. I did it with the engine in the car. Not an easy thing to do at all but it's not too bad.

when estimating the cost, dont forget about any other gaskets/seals you want to replace at that time. I replaced...

throttle body gasket
iac valve gasket
egr gasket
uim gaskets
lim gaskets
injector o-rings
valve cover gaskets
spark plug tube seals
head gaskets
valve seals
oil separator gasket
crank shaft seal
camshaft seal
camshaft seal retainer gasket
all 3 front cover gaskets

I may be missing something but I replaced any gasket I removed or had better access to at this time.
 
You must be young, agile and very patient. I am none of those. I salute you!
My 2.5 was hard enough to remove and install as a unit. Only way I'll do it again is if my.......memory -that's it, worsens.
bob
 
haha, I'm 26 and I guess I have patience yes. But I don't care how flexible or small your hands are, it's hard to get into some places, no way around that. There were plenty of times I got frustrated and had to walk away for a while. But I'm nearing the end now and am getting excited, hope everything runs good when I start it up.
 
I hope everything works out well for you. Yes, the satisfaction is great when
a job is well done.
 
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