phatphil

I've blown a header gasket on the passenger side back cylinder. How difficult is it to replace the driver side header gasket? Can it be done without dropping the K-member or jacking the motor up? I've called several local places and the price of replacing both sides comes in at around 400.00 bucks.

Dex

how did ya do that?

phatphil

To many wide open throttle runs and dyno pulls more than likely, I googled kooks header gaskets and found that they're kind of notorious for failing.

modaddict

Phil;

I don't want to scare you and I'm not suggesting anything else is wrong, but some friendly advise is to do a leak down and compression test on the car. Not expensive and well worth the piece of mind. Lifting a head is common and usually nothing else is wrong if it's not driven hard after but it's always a good idea to do a leak down and compression check after your lift a head just to be sure.

phatphil

Mod, are you saying it might be a head gasket that made the header gasket spring a leak?It took me sometime to locate the leak in the header gasket, I kept hearing a tapping sound when I started the car in the morning, and it sounded like valve lash noise. Ijacked the car up and crawled underneath with aautomotive stethascope, it sounded like the tranny but it was the header leak reverberating off the firewall. Funny thing, as the car warms up it seems the heat makes the header leak close up and is not as noticeable. Noticeable brown stain on the head, where the header bolts up to the head.

MexGT

Its very easy to replace just the header gasket since you dont need to take out the header (thats the PITA part) just unbolt it, take out the old gasket and throw in the new one and bolt again the header. You dont need to lift the engine at all, but i'd suggest to loose the H or X pype so the header can be moved easier.

Cheers

phatphil

Mod and Dex,I've been having this noise for quite some time and just couldn't locate where it was coming from. It's had new lifters and a set of NSR cams put in and about 6 dyno pulls in the last few months. The car made some outstanding h.p. with the 3.2 pulley and the nsr cams, (493 rwhp). It's silly how the noise can be so hard to trace, I swore it was the lifters or followers and then I thought maybe it was the injectors and I finally found it when I jacked the car up. I just thought someone would have an idea on how difficult pulling the passenger side header would be, and maybe have some tricks to make it easier. Mod, congrats on getting your car back, I hope you get it into the low 9's or high 8's.

phatphil

Thanks Mex, I hope it turns out to be that easy. Gaskets should be here sometime next week.

MexGT

It will take some time yes, since the space down the headers for the bolts is small and it becomes hard to handle the tools, but its easier than installing headers since you dont need to unbolt the starter and the motor mount (pasenger side) or the steering column and motor mount (drivers side) to take out the header.

phatphil

Thanks again Mex, I've had zero problems with this car and the noise was driving me crazy. I was really glad to find out it was just the header gasket.