Head gasket replacement questions

[mdregister]

Hi all,

It seems that my driver side head gasket is leaking a little bit to the OUTSIDE of the head on the bottom corner of the end closest to the driver.

I do not have any bubbles in the radiator at all, and no smoke out the tailpipe.

I gather it is uncommon for a head gasket to leak to the outside?? I thought at first, the "blockoff" plate under the glow plug controller was leaking, but no such luck, but it does look as if it has leaked in the past.

I will be reoving the engine to replace both head gaskets. Is there any other critical preventative maintenance I should do while I have the engine out??

I have recently installed the following:

DSG gear set
new (rebuilt) injectors
new glow plugs and controller
new lift pump

I think I will remove the IP and have it rebuilt while the motor is out.

Mike

[NH2112]

I'd go ahead and replace the water pump while you have everything apart. Do the balancer as well.

[john8662]

Since you've had the pan off before replacing your rear main seal I recommend taking the pan back off and adding the stud girdle kit. I say this if you ever think about adding a turbo, that way you're playing if safe when it comes to cracks. It would be so easy to install that kit while the engine is on the stand. I'd also want to point out that when you get the heads removed from the engine while on the stand that it will be MUCH easier to rotate the engine to work on the bottom end. When the heads are on the engine it is somewhat dangerous to turn the engine, because it will have a tendancy to really turn (and you will be holding against the weight) while rotating it.

[Dominique]

Where do you get the Stud Girdell kit that your talking about?

[mdregister]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

As part of the DSG gear install, I have already replaced the water pump, dampner, and fan clutch, forgot to mention them earlier.

I will look into the girdle. My motor is approaching 130k miles, I guess anythink to help strentghen it would be a plus [img]smile.gif[/img]

[rob1681]

GET SOME NEW HEAD BOLTS!!!

[5.7L oldsdiesel]

6.2 engines from the early 80's leaked coolant from the outside edges.The fix was to get a kit from the GM dealer which includes a special plug,sealant and a driver which allows you to hammer the new plug into the coolant port in the cylinder head.That fixed the leak.1985 and later engines were fine i do believe.1984 and earlier engines were the ones that leaked coolant externally.