The head off the block, hanging from the hoist.
A few weeks ago I did a compression test and found that cylinder number one had 61 PSI when the other three were pushing around 140. That's a bad number. Coolant was getting pushed out the radiator neck when I cranked it, and the spark plug at number one came out wet. The diagnosis was pretty clear: head gasket failure, and possibly worse.
The wagon has been sitting since. I finally got a budget together and found a mechanic I felt good about, so last week he pulled the head.
Before he called, I was texting with my dad, who knows these engines. He was worried that the rust we could already see in the cylinders might have scored the cylinder walls. If the scoring is deep enough, you're not just replacing a head gasket. You're either rebuilding the whole engine or swapping it out. Either way, the cost goes from "painful" to "do I really want to do this."
The block with the head off. That's what my dad was concerned about, the rust you can see in and around the cylinders.
The cylinders look fine. The camshaft looks fine. The head cleaned up well.
He was positive. He's planning to take the head to the machine shop to get it pressure tested and surfaced, and once he has parts prices he'll send me a new quote.
The job is going to cover what you'd expect: new head gasket set, timing belt, seals, and all the gaskets coming off the turbo since they're old and breaking down anyway. He also mentioned I'll need to do a coolant flush and an oil change pretty quickly after I get it back, then another oil change not long after that, because of the corrosion that's been sitting in there. Not a surprise given how long this thing has been parked.
- + Machine shop: pressure test and resurface the cylinder head
- + New head gasket set
- + Timing belt replacement
- + New seals and gaskets throughout, including the turbo
- + Coolant flush on reassembly
- + Fresh oil, with a follow-up change shortly after to clear out the corrosion
The head cleaned up on the stand.
Engine bay with the head gone.
The head is going to the machine shop. Once the mechanic has parts prices he'll get me a new quote. The budget I've been working with is $3,000 for the whole job including machine shop work, so I'm hoping we stay in that range. I'll post the numbers when I have them.
From what I understand, if the machine shop comes back clean, this is a straightforward reassembly job from here. I'm not counting on anything until the quote is in my hands, but for the first time in a while, this project feels like it's actually moving.