Theres Water In One Of My Cylinders :( (sobs)

[cee7resh]

I was driving home this morning and my engine (4a-F) started spluttering. I got home thinking it was one of the spark plugs but when i pulled them out i discovered water on one of them. I cranked it with all the plugs out and out burst water from the fourth cylinder ):

 

This would mean my head gasket is stuffed. Or theres a crack. I'm realllly hoping its the first possibility.

 

I've never done this before, nor do i have any idea how its done, but i have google, all of you, and plenty of time on my hands (i deliver pizzas for a living so no car means no work). So i need all the help you can offer me on how to replace the head gasket.

 

1. If theres someone with enough time on their hands, could you post a step by step for me?

 

2. Are there any specialised tools which i'll need?

 

3. As someone with little mechanical experience, how long would you say this would take? (my boss wants to know how long i'm gonna be off the road.)

 

4. Are there any other parts i might need in pulling it apart? (other than the head gasket)

 

5. How much damage can i do if i do this wrong?

[Trev]

More like the water was sitting on top of the plug and ran down when you pulled the plug out.

[ke70dave]

buy an engine manual for your car mate! its about the only way to do it, will give you step by step for anything on your car, and has pretty pictures too.

 

once you have the head off take it to an engine machinist and get them to pressure test it, they will tell you if its stuffed or not.

 

as for specilist tools, a torque wrench to do the head bolts back up again, thats about it.

 

and yes if you don't do it properly it will all go pear shaped!

 

as for time to be done, if you study the manunal for a bit before you start you should have the head off within a few hours, down to the engine shop and depending if you need a new head or yours needs work that might take a few days, then a few hours to put it all back together.

 

where you live mate?

 

note: before you do anthing, do a compression test. don't want to pull your head off for nothing!

Edited March 27, 2010 by ke70dave

[cee7resh]

i've got an old manual and it has lots of big words and no pretty pictures to explain. I'm really inexperienced with these things. What doe a compression test involve?

 

Also, i want to do it myself because i'm extremely broke. I barely have enough to cover the cost of the new gasket. How much would a mechanic charge to pressure test it?

 

I live in campbelltown, sydney.

Edited March 28, 2010 by cee7resh

[ke70dave]

unfortunately you are going to have to work out what all those big words mean if you want to do it yourself.

 

try and get yourself a proper engine manual, the "gregories" ones are good. lots of pictures. prolly $40 or so from repco etc.

 

like this

 

 

compression test will involve a tool called a compression tester, you screw it into your spark plug hole, and crank the engine, and it has a little guage that tells you how much pressure your cylinder is holding.

 

from this test you can have a pretty good guess as to what is going on.

 

just for interests sake, for a mechanic to change your headgasket its going to cost about $1000 and that is assuming that your head is good. and a mechanic prolly isnt going to be too keen to pressure test it for you, you can try though.

[cee7resh]

ok, so i've taken off the exhaust manifold, the air filter, the distributor, and the valve cover. Now i'm looking into it and i can see the bolts which (i think) will get me down to where the gasket is. Theres a problem. They're under the cam shafts! Is there another way of doing this or do the cam shafts have to come out too?

[KENut]

While I'm not familiar with these engines, I'm pretty sure the camshafts have to come out

[cee7resh]

well that makes things more difficult. Meh. I've got plenty of time.

[ke70dave]

sounds like you are doing well!!

 

yeah well on the 4age the camshafts have to come out, so i guess the 4af would be the same.

 

remember to keep the cam shaft caps in the right order. i think they have stamps on them.

[Trev]

Have fun aligning the scissor gears back up on the cam shafts, Put bolts through the gear alignment holes before hand as it is easier, I still think you are going the long way about a diagnosis.

[Instigator]

If you can put it back together and it still runs I can do a compression test for you if you come to me (Penrith)

[Johno]

I had the head go on my ea ford (as they always do) and my mechanic took out the sparks and water shot out of the hole, so to me it sounds like the heads gone but I'd prob listen to the guys, get a compression test and Gregory's manuals are really good. They show you pics of everything.. think of it as XXX hardcore porn for cars.. :D

[Instigator]

You don't really need to spend money on a Gregory's manual. The 4age manual is floating around online, won't cost you a cent :D

[anastasios]

Yea before you pull it all apart I would be going to get a compression test from a mechanic, it shouldnt cost much and it would be cheaper than buying the tool yourself.