Might as well do a Head Gasket?

[locovaca]

Just picked up a new to me 3.0 (93 with only 128k). The engine is in fairly good shape except some faint ticking and a slave cylinder on its way out.

One of the exhaust manifold bolts snapped off, or so it seems, by #3 cylinder. I'm thinking there's a leak there. So I'm going to try to pull the exhaust, rusty bolts be damned, to put some new manifolds on there. I'm also going to pull the intake so I can get the valve cover gaskets replaced as one side is leaking, and when I did them on my old Taurus I found it was way easier with the Intake off.

So pulling the Intake, pulling the Exhaust, pulling the valve covers... is there any reason I shouldn't just go ahead and replace the head gaskets while I'm in there? I haven't done any sort of compression/leakdown test, engine seems strong otherwise, so I doubt there is a need to do so, it just seems silly with having to do everything else not to take the extra step. Plus, from what I've read, it's alot easier to get broken off exhaust bolts out of the heads with them off the engine. I know I already have one, I'm sure I'll end up with more...

 

[Big Jim M]

Your head gaskets absolutely don't NEED to be replaced.. I'd for sure leave everything I could alone. Are the exhaust manifolds leaking? If yes then they should be repaired.. What intake leak does it have. I never fix anything that isn't already broken.
Big JIm

 

[locovaca]

Your head gaskets absolutely don't NEED to be replaced.. I'd for sure leave everything I could alone. Are the exhaust manifolds leaking? If yes then they should be repaired.. What intake leak does it have. I never fix anything that isn't already broken.
Big JIm

There is a gap between the exhaust manifold and block where the one stud is missing by #3. I could probably get a feeler gauge in there, a box knife blade just about fits.

There's no intake leak. The driver side valve cover is leaking. When I changed the valve cover gaskets on my old Taurus I didn't pull the Intake like Haynes said to do and I regretted it, made it into an ordeal.

My "Don't fix it if it ain't broke" side is in conflict with my "Since we're already 90% there, spend the extra time/money and go 100%" side. I had read another post on here that said it's easiest to pull the heads to clean out any broken off exhaust bolts, and I'm all about doing things the easy way. If you think I can get them extracted with the head still on I'd gladly go that way.

 

[HareRazor]

If your exhaust bolts are broke off flush or in the head and since you are pulling off the intake you might as well just pull the heads mostly so you can get the broken bolts extracted or drilled and tapped straight. If there's some bolt sticking out and you can get vise grips on it with it in the truck I would just get the head a little warm around the bolt and try to get it out that route

 

[trail B2]

I took a 4.0 out of a 93 and it needed head gaskets in about 6 months.I've heard quite a few people say it's a chemical break down over the years from the coolant.Not changed regularly and gets acidic.Another thing to remember is when you loose a head gasket it's a process to figure it out.You overheat change the t- state then the radiator cap wonder why your fluids low.So if you decide to, your going to sidestep all that shit too.The way I see it it doesn't take that long to unbolt the heads and bolt them back on and your going to get a lot of that time back on the exhaust bolts.It's also going to take a lot of the misery out of the bolt problem just unbolt at the pipe and fix on the bench.I would change them and that's why.When you figure your cost though don't forget head bolts and intake gaskets.

 

[dbp]

I would do the head gaskets also if I were you...much easier to work on those studs and get them just right with the head off. Send it to a machine shop and have them tested for cracks and have them machine it too. They can get it all cleaned up for you too.