i got a leaky head gasket! now, i haven't done much work on cars but i do know the basics as far as oil changes, belt changes and basic stuff like that goes. and i was reading the haynes manual on how to do the gasket and it seems pretty simple. my question to you guys is, is it? i really want to do my own work on my car and everything the book says seems simple enough but i'm just not sure about the right amout of sealant and stuff like that go. and it said something about a circular seal? what is that? i know i may sound dumb to some of you but i've never done this stuff before and i'm just trying to learn. also what about the gasket itself. i've been told to get a copper one so what kind is the best? thanks guys.

edit: one more thing... what are all of the materials i'm gonna need to do it? and i mean everyhting!

www.vfaq.com


How do you know your headgasket is leaking? Where is the oil coming from? Just curious.

yeah do a compression test first, its easy, quick, and could save you a TON of time....


are you sure its not the valve cover gasket OR just the oil cap?

Not to be insulting, but I almost did my HG until I realized it waj ust the cam angle sensor going...

Vandy

doh! didn't mean to type head gasket meant valve cover gasket! may bad. yeah it's leaking out the valve cover on the driver's side mostly. and the oil cap isn't leaking but i think i'm gonna replace the gasket on it anyway just to be safe.

I kinda thought you meant the VC gasket when you said "circular seals". To change that, you'll need the gasket, spark plug seals and some RTV. There's write ups DSMTalk and VFAQ about changing it.

If you put RTV to help seal the valve cover gasket, be careful. If you put on enough RTV to make some squish out when you reinstall the valve cover, thats too much. If it is coming of the seal on the outside, then its coming out on the inside as well. You dont want a bunch of RTV in there :D I changed the VC gasket on my 93' turbo FWD and didnt use any type of sealant, and it never leaked afterwards.

Originally posted by SaberKhan
If you put RTV to help seal the valve cover gasket, be careful. If you put on enough RTV to make some squish out when you reinstall the valve cover, thats too much. If it is coming of the seal on the outside, then its coming out on the inside as well. You dont want a bunch of RTV in there :D I changed the VC gasket on my 93' turbo FWD and didnt use any type of sealant, and it never leaked afterwards.

I read in a post from NEDSM awhile back that some need it, some don't. Try it w/o and see if it leaks.