97 Etc N* Head Gasket Project

[tateos]

Zonie is correct - use the cradle as the stand - it is more sturdy than any engine stand I have ever seen! I had to remove my block from the cradle to replace the oil pan gasket and the rear main seal, but I still did the insert process BEFORE I removed the block. If I didn't have to change that gasket and seal, I would have saved a LOT of work by just leaving the block in the cradle. Let me think.... if only doing the head gaskets, I could have not messed with the 6 engine to trans bolts, the starter, knock sensor, alternator, AC compressor, the 4 flywheel to torque converter bolts, the crankshaft position sensors, oil level sensor, oil filter adapter and pressure sending unit, several braces between the trans and the engine, etc., etc. Now that I think about it, this project sounds almost easy if you don't have to remove the block and replace the steering rack.

0h yeah - I got some news for you guys: My father has ordered a 2008 DTS, and I will "inherit" his existing car - a 2000 DTS (back when the DTS was the top of the line Deville). His car has about 65K old timer miles on it, and has always been garaged. I don't want to part with any of my cars, so I guess we will have to have 4 cars in a 2 person household. We will add the 00 DTS to the 97 ETC, an 04 Grand Prix GTP, and an '05 Lincoln LS. Maybe I will find that I prefer the DTS to the ETC - if so, I will sell the ETC, but it will be hard to part with an old friend.

[Ranger]

I do have a small coolant leak on the front driver's side of the engine - in the water pump area.

Pump cover gaskets where known to leak and where redesigned. If it is original, that may be the problem.

[jevanof]

here is somthing that I have never understood, My 98 st would overheat rarly, only on long trips and when I turned on the heat he went back to normal, last week I changed my collant and now it overheats all the time. I am not driving it all and I will start the head gasket soon, I am just courous why it got worse after I changed to collant.

[Ranger]

Air in the system and a clogged purge line?

[mechanix]

This is to jevanof:
My theory on your overheating problem is that is just took some time for your head gasket(s) to leak bad enough to overheat constantly. When my HG failed, it was an intermittent thing, not constant, until it got bad enough to overheat every time I drove it. I believe the timing of your coolant change is merely coincidental. As for engine removal, I believe it is a personal thing, as someone else said. I found it much quicker to take it out the top. That way, I didn't have to break the A/C system and recharge it. I also did not have to take the front suspension apart and get it realigned. I also did not have to disturb the steering gear coupling, most of the engine compartment wiring harness, or the sub-frame underneath. That's got to be at least a four day savings in time. I know the Factory Service Manual says that bottom removal is the "prefered method," but not by me! *lol* It's kind of tricky - it must be done in the right sequence, but you can do it if you pay attention to "what has to go on next" during reassembly.

[97 STS]

tateos, congrats on getting it running. Thanks for the excellent narration.
Bob

[tateos]

Ranger - thanks for the pump cover suggestion. As I think of it now, it was actually leaking from the same area BEFORE the head gasket went south. I assumed at the time that the water pump was shot, and I never got around to checking it out before the head gasket blew. Then, I assumed that it was the head gasket leaking externally that was the cause of the small leak on the garage floor. Now I wonder...

I did change the "gasket" on the pump cover - actually more like an o-ring, but maybe there is still a problem. I think I did read somewhere that the pump cover itself was redesigned, right? I just hope I don't have to remove that crossover!

[Ranger]

Yeah, I think there was a redesign of the cover as well.

[tateos]

It's a little off subject, but it was part of my HG project so here goes:

I replaced the steering rack with a re-manufactured unit, and it works fine, but the steering effort at idle/slow car speeds is pretty high - requires 2 hands. The steering effort at higher speeds, ~30MPH+, seems low - maybe too low. If the Magnasteer leads were reversed when they re-manned the rack, would that cause these symptoms? The connectors only plug in one way, but I could cut the leads on the rack and reconnect them to reverse the polarity. Does anyone know about this?

Thanks all.

[krechtr]

Richard... congrats on getting your car running. I guess it is true that slow and steady wins the race. My squeal ended up being a pinched throttle body gasket. Got it fixed and now I am just waiting on the coolant reservoir to get in from gmpartsdirect.com (thanks for the tip.. got it for $80). We will prep the side for paint this weekend but we are going to have to spray it at 2 in the morning because my neighbors are getting upset (can't really blame them). Should be able to list it by the end of next week and hopefully it will sell quick. I am hoping to get $4K for it. I was going to just get one of those cheap kits from AutoZone to charge the air. Did you take yours in to get it charged or did you do it yourself?

[jevanof]

I know its a band aid fix but I put a bunch of bars leak tabs in my car and drove it all day with no overheating, I hope this holds me off until it gets warmer

[tateos]

Tom - you really are supposed to pull a vacuum when you open the AC system. In fact, according to the manual, you are supposed to change the accumulator/receiver drier - the aluminum tank next to the coolant tank. The accumulator has a desiccant bag in the bottom that absorbs trace amounts of moisture, but when you have the system open for awhile, the amount of moisture can be too much for the desiccant to absorb. In spite of what I just wrote, we are here in the desert so I did not change the accumulator and so far, so good.

To charge the system, you have to add 2 pounds - almost 3 full cans of R-134A, plus 3 ounces of PAG oil. I got the vacuum pump and a new set of gauges at Harbor Freight for under $60 - it was easy and I figured that was cheaper than paying someone else to do it, and I own the tools. You are welcome to use them if you want to drive up to FH sometime.

I was actually out your way yesterday - my Dad is visiting from Boston and we took him out to the Mesa Swap Meet. I was shocked to see how built up that area has become - those huge shopping centers and housing developments weren't there the last time we went to the swap meet.

I thought I tracked down the coolant leak this weekend. When doing the HG job, I had unbolted the water pump housing cover and changed that gasket/o-ring, but I left the thermostat housing bolted to the cover, so I had never changed the gasket/o-ring on the thermostat housing. It seemed like it was leaking, so I changed it - I already had it from the Fel-Pro kits I bought anyway. Well, this morning, I had a few drops of coolant on the garage floor again, so I will have to look further. It doesn't seem to be coming from the pump cover, but I will check again this weekend.

[jevanof]

I love this post, I read it 3 times a week. I just started disconnecting things, now sure what methods others use but I got a P-Touch Label Maker and I am labeling everything I disconnect.

[tateos]

Update - no more coolant leak.

A few weeks before the head gasket blew, I started seeing a few drops of coolant on the garage floor, and it was coming from the water pump area, so I thought it was the water pump. It was only a few drops, so I never got around to looking into it... then the HG blew. Now I thought that it was the head gasket that was the cause of the coolant on the garage floor, right?

So, I did the HG job and removed the water pump cover and never needed to remove the thermostat outlet off the pump cover, so I left it alone. I re-assembled the engine and I had a leak form the water pump area. Was it the water pump? Water pump cover? Coolant crossover? Nope. It was the thermostat outlet gasket. That sucker was leaking before the head gasket ever blew. The one gasket/o-ring/seal I never changed when I did the HG job was the one that leaked!

Question - how soon should I change the oil after doing this project? It has been around 3-400 miles since it ran again, and I did my best, but I'm sure, in spite of my efforts, there was some dirt left in the engine when I re-assembled it, so I was thinking of changing the oil and filter at - oh maybe around 500-1,000 miles. What do you guys think?

[zonie77]

After major work, like you did, I like to change the oil after a week or so. That would be roughly 500 miles. Get any junk out quickly.