Fitting the Cylinder Heads

595 Views 21 Replies 6 Participants Last post by Louisiana1975, 30 d ago

JordanS

Discussion Starter · 1 mo ago

Replacing the heads on my 04 Intrepid 2.7. This is something that I am completely new at all of this so do I use gasket sealer on the head gaskets? At the moment I still need to clean up the gasket surface and the tops of the pistons so I do have a little time before I need to put them on.

Thanks for your time and a special thanks to everyone who has contributed to my posts throughout this project! I don’t know what I would’ve done if I didn’t have access to such an amazing community full of helpful and insightful individuals such as yourselves. I really genuinely appreciate all the assistance I’ve received.

1 - 20 of 22 Posts

Daytrepper

· #2 · 1 mo ago

No, absolute no-no to use any kind of gasket sealer on the head gasket.

Make sure the heads have been to a machine shop and have been checked for warpage, and decked/cleaned if necessary. Also have them pressure tested to check the valve seats and to look for cracks.

The block is usually not too big deal, just make sure its cleaned, use a drill with a 3M Roloc surface conditioning disc, medium grit; make sure all the ports and any openings into the engine are covered. Once all the old material is cleaned off, use brake clean and a lint free rag to clean the head and block before reassembly. Spray it on the rag, then wipe it down, do not spray the engine itself.

Reactions: 2

JordanS

Discussion Starter · #3 · 1 mo ago

Daytrepper said:
No, absolute no-no to use any kind of gasket sealer on the head gasket.

Make sure the heads have been to a machine shop and have been checked for warpage, and decked/cleaned if necessary. Also have them pressure tested to check the valve seats and to look for cracks.

The block is usually not too big deal, just make sure its cleaned, use a drill with a 3M Roloc surface conditioning disc, medium grit; make sure all the ports and any openings into the engine are covered. Once all the old material is cleaned off, use brake clean and a lint free rag to clean the head and block before reassembly. Spray it on the rag, then wipe it down, do not spray the engine itself.

Alright. Taking it to a machine shop sounds really expensive though. Is it possible for someone like me to check it over at home?

JordanS

Discussion Starter · #4 · 1 mo ago

Daytrepper said:
No, absolute no-no to use any kind of gasket sealer on the head gasket.

Make sure the heads have been to a machine shop and have been checked for warpage, and decked/cleaned if necessary. Also have them pressure tested to check the valve seats and to look for cracks.

The block is usually not too big deal, just make sure its cleaned, use a drill with a 3M Roloc surface conditioning disc, medium grit; make sure all the ports and any openings into the engine are covered. Once all the old material is cleaned off, use brake clean and a lint free rag to clean the head and block before reassembly. Spray it on the rag, then wipe it down, do not spray the engine itself.

Also I feel like it’s worth mentioning they’re refurbished heads so they come with new valves, seals, springs, retainers, cams, cam bearing caps, and bolts. Idk if that changes things.

yevrah

· #5 · 1 mo ago

JordanS said:
Also I feel like it’s worth mentioning they’re refurbished heads so they come with new valves, seals, springs, retainers, cams, cam bearing caps, and bolts. Idk if that changes things.

hopefully they were checked for flat before assembly.
a good straight edge of metal like a framing square laid across and look for low/high points.
use different angles to make sure the mating surfaces are flat.
rest will be good to go.

if you had an old neon block, i'd suggest a little extra good sealant at the oil feed to the head, but our engines don't need it anywhere on the head gaskets.

Reactions: 1

JordanS

Discussion Starter · #6 · 1 mo ago

yevrah said:
hopefully they were checked for flat before assembly.
a good straight edge of metal like a framing square laid across and look for low/high points.
use different angles to make sure the mating surfaces are flat.
rest will be good to go.

if you had an old neon block, i'd suggest a little extra good sealant at the oil feed to the head, but our engines don't need it anywhere on the head gaskets.

Thanks for the info! That’s going to help a lot. How can I tell if I have a “neon” block? Would it say in the vin somewhere? I kind of just assumed it was an aluminum block.

Reactions: 1

yevrah

· #7 · 1 mo ago

JordanS said:
Thanks for the info! That’s going to help a lot. How can I tell if I have a “neon” block? Would it say in the vin somewhere? I kind of just assumed it was an aluminum block.

the car neon, with a 4 cylinder engine, not a type of our block.
should have made it clear i guess.
early ones were known for blowing out around the oil pressure feed to the head.
nothing to worry about for you. 😁

Reactions: 1

JordanS

Discussion Starter · #8 · 1 mo ago

yevrah said:
the car neon, with a 4 cylinder engine, not a type of our block.
should have made it clear i guess.
early ones were known for blowing out around the oil pressure feed to the head.
nothing to worry about for you. 😁

Ah ok. Thanks for the clarification! When I am able to, I will definitely check out the head case for warpage, verify the torque specs and the cam/valve clearances prior to instal.

polmanter74

· #9 · 1 mo ago

JordanS said:
Replacing the heads on my 04 Intrepid 2.7. This is something that I am completely new at all of this so do I use gasket sealer on the head gaskets? At the moment I still need to clean up the gasket surface and the tops of the pistons so I do have a little time before I need to put them on.

Thanks for your time and a special thanks to everyone who has contributed to my posts throughout this project! I don’t know what I would’ve done if I didn’t have access to such an amazing community full of helpful and insightful individuals such as yourselves. I really genuinely appreciate all the assistance I’ve received.

You do not need gasket sealant on head gaskets but make sure you install new head bolts because the head bolts on the intrepids are made to stretch. You can use a gauge type ruler to see if the heads are straight without having to take them to a shop.make sure you torque the heads bolts down in the current sequence otherwise you can warp the heads since they are aluminum

Reactions: 1

Daytrepper

· #10 · 1 mo ago

JordanS said:
Alright. Taking it to a machine shop sounds really expensive though. Is it possible for someone like me to check it over at home?

No, if you dont have them at least checked for warp and cleaned at a machine shop, you're wasting your time.

Reactions: 1

Daytrepper

· #11 · 1 mo ago

JordanS said:
Also I feel like it’s worth mentioning they’re refurbished heads so they come with new valves, seals, springs, retainers, cams, cam bearing caps, and bolts. Idk if that changes things.

Yes, as long as they were properly refurbished. If they were done correctly then they should have been cleaned, decked, and all that you list and be good to go.

Used heads though, no way, they must go get checked and cleaned at minimum.

Reactions: 1

Daytrepper

· #12 · 1 mo ago

yevrah said:
if you had an old neon block, i'd suggest a little extra good sealant at the oil feed to the head, but our engines don't need it anywhere on the head gaskets.

I used to use copper spray sealant on those -- and one other car; it was a Ford 4 cylinder -- can't remember which one.

There are instances where sealant needs to be used; but only spray sealant, and only in extreme situations.

Reactions: 1

JordanS

Discussion Starter · #13 · 1 mo ago

Daytrepper said:
Yes, as long as they were properly refurbished. If they were done correctly then they should have been cleaned, decked, and all that you list and be good to go.

Used heads though, no way, they must go get checked and cleaned at minimum.

Ok. I believe that is what it said on the eBay listing. I received the passenger side head, not too long ago, and just through a visual inspection, it looks great! They did lubricate all of the moving parts where the cam is it, so that’s definitely a good sign.

Reactions: 1

yevrah

· #14 · 1 mo ago

Daytrepper said:
I used to use copper spray sealant on those -- and one other car; it was a Ford 4 cylinder -- can't remember which one.

There are instances where sealant needs to be used; but only spray sealant, and only in extreme situations.

i used a finger smear of rightstuff and glue the composite gasket in that place as i torqued down the head.
they'd never spit back out after.
i'd never use anything across the block.
just around the oil feed hole only.

Reactions: 1

JordanS

Discussion Starter · #15 · 1 mo ago

yevrah said:
i used a finger smear of rightstuff and glue the composite gasket in that place as i torqued down the head.
they'd never spit back out after.
i'd never use anything across the block.
just around the oil feed hole only.

Ok. So this “rightstuff” solution is like loctite where it keeps the bolts from backing out right?

yevrah

· #16 · 1 mo ago

it's a silicone based gasket maker that sticks through light oil film.
if used on threads it would act more like a sealer than a locker.
it can be found at any good auto store.
makes good gaskets for oil pans, rocker covers, trans pans, intakes, water pumps.
seems a little stiffer/denser than regular off the shelf silicone.
but doesn't stick to coolant contaminated surfaces.
they need to be really clean and dry.
not recommended to replace raised silicone/o-ring style gaskets.
just flat mating surfaces.

Reactions: 1

JordanS

Discussion Starter · #17 · 1 mo ago

yevrah said:
it's a silicone based gasket maker that sticks through light oil film.
if used on threads it would act more like a sealer than a locker.
it can be found at any good auto store.
makes good gaskets for oil pans, rocker covers, trans pans, intakes, water pumps.
seems a little stiffer/denser than regular off the shelf silicone.
but doesn't stick to coolant contaminated surfaces.
they need to be really clean and dry.
not recommended to replace raised silicone/o-ring style gaskets.
just flat mating surfaces.

Ok. I’ll probably get some to reseal my transmission pan anyway but you’re saying it would be a good thing to use on the head bolts? I was assuming that I’d probably need to put some type of loctite type solution on the threads to prevent them from backing out. I’ll look into that rightstuff for my transmission pan gasket and the oil pan gasket (it it doesn’t take a regular formed gasket.) I need to drop the oil pan to retrieve some of the things I dropped in there.

cdmccul

· #18 · 1 mo ago

You would use either sealer, OR thread lock, not both, in any given situation... But hear bolts do NOT get thread locker that I've ever come across.

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

Reactions: 1

JordanS

Discussion Starter · #19 · 1 mo ago

cdmccul said:
You would use either sealer, OR thread lock, not both, in any given situation... But hear bolts do NOT get thread locker that I've ever come across.

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

Ok. Thanks for clarifying that for me! I don’t want to half-ass anything and get stranded on the side of the road.

yevrah

· #20 · 1 mo ago

good to seal your trans pan.
wouldn't use it on head bolts even if they needed a sealer.
a little oil on the threads to help torque them properly at most.
i've never locked head bolts.
torque holds them in place.
only place i might use locker in our engines would be cam gear bolts.

Reactions: 1

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