Well by not removing the heads bolts in sequence you very well could have warped the heads beyond remill. You will have to pull them and bring them to a local machine shop to be remilled if they can be remilled.

This isn't a hard task to do, but it is time consuming and I know how confusing it is the first time though.

Now the big thing to remember is when reinstalling the valve train you have to turn the engine to TDC and torque each valve (intake and exhaust) while that cylinder is at TDC. That's the hardest part to do. Also you will hand tighten the valve train bolts (you can use a socket to help) before you torque them down to the 18-24 ft lbs. This believe it or not, is by far the easiest thing to screw up. If you mess this up you could ruin the valve seats and possibly bend the valve. You will also have improper torque settings on the valves causing them to either float or not open enough.

 

btw, you should really KBB your car and call yourself very lucky that he is interested.
As soon as a head gasket goes it will run even the cleanest SN95 into the poor rating which they dont even have a price for, fair is only $1750 in my area and fair means it runs.

SN95's with a blown head gasket are worth anywhere from scrap to $500-800...

Very lucky that he wants to buy it.

 

Don't make the guy waste his time and money. Yes, technically not removing them in order could warp a head. But unless the car was just driven and it's nice and hot and you pour a bag of ice on the head as you're removing the bolts out of order, your chances of warping one are pretty damn low. I have NEVER removed a head on any engine, iron or aluminum heads, in sequence and have NEVER had a single issue, unless the head was warped from overheating before removing it.

OP, I wouldn't worry too much about this.

Also, the by valvetrain bolts, I assume you mean rocker bolts? That TDC thing isn't that important. As long as they're torqued down properly you're fine. If it's a stock rocker and there's no valve lash adjustment, then just torqueing them down is fine. Most rocker bolts have a stop on them so you can't crank them down too far anyway.

Don't get me wrong, doing these things are fine and aren't going to hurt anything, but they are not absolutely necessary.

 

My point is let him bring it to a machine shop and let them do a quick check. He'd waste even more time and money if he just reinstalls the heads and they are indeed warped. I've worked with aluminum heads and they warp a lot easier than one would think.

Also you can't properly torque a valve (stock or not) if that valve is open in any way as it's gonna have more stress on it and won't get the proper torque seqence. A lot of people have screwed up their valves by not properly torquing them.

 

I'm not disagreeing with you, I'm just saying that you're making these two things seem like absolute necessities when they're not.

And who are the lots of people who've ruined their valves? I have never used the TDC method of tightening rockers on any engine, and never had a problem. I've actually done 2 today. I finished a lifter replacement on a Sierra pickup this morning. I didn't unbolt the head in sequence or use the TDC method to tighten the rockers (heads have to come off of GM Gen III and IV small blocks to remove the lifters). Then I did intake gaskets on a 3100 Buick (the 31/3400's the pushrods come out to get the gaskets off). Didn't use the TDC method. I've done hundreds of these jobs and similar ones with no issues, and have never once used or seen another person I work with do either of the things you mentioned.

But this is trailing off topic and becoming a debate, so before we derail the thread any further I'm going to end this now.

 

So...in other news, ...guy is coming to look at it tomorrow. Described his friend and himself as Mustang gurus...so we'll see. I'll probably just tear a little bit more into it tomorrow, because if he doesn't want it, I'll be finish it anyways.

 

Well there is another more complicated method of accurately torquing the valves without being at TD and only doing minor rotations of the crank, but that's way too hard to explain.

Reason I emphasize this is because several people in the 5.0 forum have royally screwed up things by not doing these two simple things right. Grated that's a 5.0 and not a 3.8 but same logic implies as both are similar.

But yeah, no reason to debate, we all have our own ways of doing things, I take the safe way out because in not having done so the first time I have costed myself down the road.

But to OP that's great he's coming to look at it, just ensure you tell him everything you done and what he should do to ensure it's good. You don't want this to go bad on you.

 

Guy came by, looked it over. Swore it was the same one he looked at around the time I bought it..said it very well could have been. Rolled up in a 98' GT, knew something about cars (or talked a good game), so just has to talk to his roomate and see what happens.

As said, I don't need the cash, so I'll finish the job grudgingly if I need to and sell it or keep it (offer my sister a free car, and she doesn't take it - wtf?).

 

Guy hasn't gotten back to me, so gonna keep on it. Jacked it up today to get to the cat to remove the headers, but those bolts is stubborn as hell.

I wish I could put a new set on, and keep the car for my sister...but she doesn't want a 5-speed.

 

Hello . I was hoping you guys could help me out. I am breathing some life back into my wifes car , a 94 3.8. I have tons of parts as my model a has a supercoupe engine(well, mostly) her heads are shot and I happen to have some low mile 97s on the shelf. They look to me like they will work. What say you?