Replace Head Gasket Or Go Aftermarket Heads

[EOLIVER]

Discovered a small leak on the driver side rear of the head tonight on 87 coupe. The car is getting up there in years and mileage (135k) I;m torn between having the heads redone (barring any cracks) or purchasing a new set from Edelbrock or Dart. How hard is to change out gaskets if I choose that route and what can I expect to pay to have someone remove the old and install new heads?

 

[Ken]

Mechanics (or "Technicians", whichever you prefer to take your car to ) usually run anywhere from around fifty-dollars an hour, to a high of seventy-five dollars an hour or so. The job would take them at least two days probably.

What else do you have planned for the engine in addition to the heads? Cam? Headers? Building a stroker engine? All of this makes a difference, as well as the condition of your existing heads and whether they are in fact rebuildable, in what choice you make.

Nothing wrong with the Edelbrock or Dart heads (or AFR or many others for that matter) except that if you're not building for power, you don't need to spend the two grand for heads. You might want to spend it on something else that will give you more of a rewarding feeling, like maybe some "bling-bling." :L

At 132k, a complete rebuild of your existing engine should be all you need to provide you with many more years and many more miles of exciting driving pleasure.

 

[EOLIVER]

Thanks Ken. Generally, what's the cost for a complete rebuild?

 

[Ken]

Check out Tom's lengthy thread regarding the engine build-up for his Corvette:
Project Anti-Ken-A Very Low Budget 350 build.

He built an engine that'll deliver some power, yet not break the bank. He titled his post "Anti-Ken..." because his build is the antithesis of mine - it cost him a grand total of $1249.91.

 

[WhalePirot]

Plus, there's a good chance that new, tight valves in those heads may cause oil burning, past those old rings.

I don't suppose you have the only (older) Chevy around that doesn't leak oil past the crank seals or somewhere else.

 

[wx briefer]

If it were mine, I would perform a LEAK DOWN test to check the ring sealing. If all is OK, I would then purchase the new, better felpro gasket set (around $100) that has the head gasket that resists 'scrubbing' between head and block. The scrubbing is your problem. It leads to a leak. The original GM gaskets don't control that problem. The new Felpros do. Or I should say the new UPGRADE felpro do. A friend and I replaced his a couple of years ago. All is A OK. Oh yeah, do a valve job on the heads from a reputable, local shop while you are at it.

BTW, his leak was driver side at the rear, too.