What i know about my topgasget. My ute is very thirsty the last couple of days, i have to give it about 1/2 litre of water for every half hour of driving. The radiator water smells like exhaust fumes and the motor is running warmer than usual.

Now that i read this, it can also be a cracked head :((
Lets hope for the best and say its a blown gasget.

How hard is it to replace a top gasget? How will i know if the head needs to be skimmed(is there an easy way to test this)?

What i know i need: Torque wrench, 8 stretchbolts and gasket kit for inlet, outlet, thermostat thingy and top gasget.

Any tips, tricks, opinions and help appreciated.

doh! fogot to mention its a stock A14 motor.

Waz up

Im also from SA but down in durbs.

Not hard at all to replace the head gasket.

6 screws t take out the tappet cover then i tink its another 8 bolts t take off the head.

take of the old gasket, clean d block n head up proply. Use some silicone or lock tite (i prefer the lock tite) n pu the head back on with the new gasket. u dont really need t change the inlet/outlet gaskest cos its metal n dont break easily.

as for the head been cracked, send it in to ur local engineer. i recently did my complete motor n it cost me bout R2000 in total. Down here in durbs its bout R200 or R300 t test ur head n takes bout a day.

You don't need any sealing agent on a head gasket...

Thanks Widget.

Ah thank goodness its not to expensive(unless head is cracked) to repair. Its been a long month so far, getting the ute ready for road worthy.
Just wanted to make sure there are no hidden tricks involved that i needed to know about.

FAT-12H: I think Widget uses the silicone/nutlock on the strecthbolts.

PLEASE at least get the head vac and hardness tested and milled
the vac test will see if any valves are damaged by ingesting water and will see if they are all sealing
the hardness test will tell you if the head has been overheated excessivley (in which case it will be soft and needs replacing)
adn the mill will remove any slight bend or warp and give a fresh sealing surface

i have yet to see a genuine gasket failure on a stock car it is usually due to corrosion of water passages, or a soft head.

please get it checked

ben

thanks orangeb10. The guys at the engineering shop recommended me to get all of that done c'ing its an old head. There also going to do a pressure test to look for small cracks(I think). I'll only know the condition of the head late tomorrow or the day after

sweet
pressure test is a good idea too but with the simple heads they can be visually inspected
good on u

ben