2001 grand am head gasket

[fish92]

Does anyone know anything about the GM 3400 engine? I found a cheap grand am with a blown head gasket and I was wondering how hard it is to replace. I would just like to know if it is something I should attempt or if it is something I should just stay away from.

 

[BRUTUS_T_HOG]

i've done a few. not that hard..

the MOST IMPORTANT part of the entire job is that you make damn sure the pushrods go back exactly where they came out from, they are different lengths.

somebody else misplaced pushrods and bent valves and said pushrods and ended up doing the job again

you can get away with just removing the exhaust crossover pipe and leave the manifolds attached

be sure to check the heads for warpage because every one of these engines i've done with a blown headgasket ended up having the heads warped. 1 time over .012"

 

[fish92]

ok thanks what specialty tools would I need?

 

[BRUTUS_T_HOG]

torque wrench, torque angle gauge. scrapers.

new head bolts.

can't think of anything else its been a while

 

[BlackBII]

New head bolts for sure.

Victor Renz makes the BEST head kit for this engine, and make sure you use a quality brand of black silicone across the valley.

The torque applied to the lower intake manifold bolts critical with this motor.

 

[exbass94]

Those engines are notorious for intake gaskets. Get the Fel-Pro problem-solver gaskets while you're at it and thoroughly flush out all the Dexcool and start using G-05 coolant instead.

 

[snake]

sometimes it is cheaper, and certainly a lot faster to swap the whole engine with a low mileage boneyard unit. I use car-part.com