dumb HG question

[eastcoastS14]

about to change my HG on my KA for the first time, wondering if i absolutely have to drain the oil and coolant, my car is on a slant right now and my jacks and jack stands are being used right now. Retarded question I know but never done a HG job before

[Slidin240Wayz]

The coolant runs into the upper waterneck which is on the head.

The oil sits in the pan.

Just take the coolant out. You want to make sure the coolant stays out of the oil!

Carlos

[eastcoastS14]

my coolant is pretty much empty (but when i squeeze the tube going to the waterneck i can hear coolant inside)so could i just unhook the tube from the waterneck or do i have to drain it from underneath because getting under my car isnt easy right now and I have that plastic cover that covers the bottom of my engine so its hard to get to the coolant drain

[G-spec]

drain the coolant with the petcock-valve on the bottom of the radiator....the upper radiator hose MAY retain some coolant because the air-purge hole is on the top of the thermostate. might make a little splash when you remove the upper hose, but nothing major.

[eastcoastS14]

hahahah so i pulled the upper radiator hose and it was like opening the flood gates....a shit load of coolant came dumping out everywhere, and it smells awful because I guess the previous owner used straight coolant and didnt mix it at all.

Ok now for another question wondering if there is a way to simplify this whole process, like i said jacking the car up isnt too easy right now and there are steps like pulling the intake manifold braces off and removing the alternator etc that im wondering if are absolutely necessary. also Im wondering if i have to completely remove the exhaust manifold or if i can just unbolt it and move it out of the way while leaving it connected to the down pipe

[johngriff]

leave it connected to the d/p and pull it away.

Leave the oil in there, then when you fire up, put 1/2 a quart of atf in, and let it idle to HOT for half an hour to clean all the h/g material you dropped into the oil. You will probably want to do this a couple times.

Also run a garden hose into the radiator lower on the engine, to flush the coolant while running.

[eastcoastS14]

ok nice i will do all of that and what about the removing other shit like the alternator and lower part of the intake mani...it says to but i dont really see the point, it even says to remove the driver side engine mount which doesnt make sense to me either

[eastcoastS14]

^^ anyone???

[G-spec]

to do a ka hg job properly, you have to tear the whole thing apart just about..the entire front cover/oil pump, oil pan, etc...its not a fun job...i did a head gasket job recently on a altima, and it took myself and a friend (both experienced mechanics) amost 7 hours to get it done.

[eastcoastS14]

yeah it sucks Im trying to simplify it as much as possible...I want to do it myself and I really dont wanna pay to have it done plus Id like to have the experience...I dont even know how much I should expect to pay but i heard its pretty expensive

[G-spec]

easy $1,000 at a reputable shop that goes by book time. Much cheaper at "Bob's Backyard Repair"

Props for taking on the task, imo there's no better way to "conquer" something than to know how it goes together, and get over that "fear of the unknown"...take it slow, stay orginized, and it'll surprise you how simple it can be....its all about the order you do things in...you dont piss before drop trou' right?!

[projectRDM]

Head gasket does not require any of the work mentioned.

1) Drain coolant
2) Remove valve cover and upper timing cover
3) Separate intake manifold
4) Unbolt exhaust manifold
5) Remove cams
6) Remove head with intake manifold upper section together
7) Replace gasket

If you're good you're looking at 25 minutes to get it all apart and off the car. There is no need to remove anything below the head. Installation is reverse of removal. I've gotten it down to an hour from start to finish, that includes flushing the block and cleaning everything thoroughly.

[eastcoastS14]

ok well today i drained the rad, pulled off the intake and all that, pulled out the fuel pump fuse...cranked the engine for a few seconds to relieve the pressure. So whats the next steps? I was going to pull the fuel lines and then pull the intake and exhaust mani tomorrow and try and get started on getting the head off if i have time...am I on the right track? and are there any tricks of the trade that might help me out?

edit: didnt see your post 240na, yeah good to kno its not as complicated as it sounds

[gotta240]

no one mentions this, but be carefull with where the coolant goes... SMALL amounts(VERY SMALL AMOUNTS) will give an animal VERY PAINFUL and slow death. Don't let cats/other animals get to it...

Good luck!!!

[eastcoastS14]

ahahah well considering the full contents of my rad are now on the ground outside my house a lot of neighborhood animals might be kicking the bucket soon

[gotta240]

so be responsible and clean the shit up...

[eastcoastS14]

cant i spilled it into my lawn...I feel like a pretty big asshole

[projectRDM]

Bring a water hose out and dilute it, you'll be fine.

[eastcoastS14]

I just want to make sure im right about this: when removing the HG you remove the upper timing chain but leave the lower, correct?

[eastcoastS14]

^^ anyone?? trying to get this done asap so lmk

[eastcoastS14]

also how do i set my engine to TDC? I read a couple threads and it sounds like im supposed to remove the 1st spark plug and then turn the crank by hand until the first piston is at the top of its stroke Is that right? because it doesnt seem like it will move

[95Blue240sx]

That is right, but you cant move the crank by hand. Get a socket on it with a long handle or use a pipe to move it.

BTW how did you know your HG was out? Im kinda in the same situation, but I have bad rings as well. Whats your compression across the board?

[eastcoastS14]

well I actually just bought this one and the lady said that it overheated on her one day and she brought it to the dealership and they said it needed a headgasket...but fuck paying $1,000+

also when you run my car for a little bit the temp gauge starts to go up and when you shut it off you can here the engine guzzeling coolant

[95Blue240sx]

That could be just air in the cooling system. Have you done a compression check?

[eastcoastS14]

no I actually didnt bother which was probably a mistake on my part. Picked it up from her at a nissan dealership and thats what they told her it was, so I just got it and took their word for it

[Ninjabread]

Trust me, mine did that too, it was blown, don't worry about it. The gargling sound you hear would be the coolant either leaving or entering the overflow tank. Mine was so bad at one point that i couldn't drive the car more than 5 km. One day, I HAD to go further, pegged the temp needle and said FUCK IT! result = coolant everywhere and new KA. Was going to do the HG job, but my head was fucked anyway.