I already told you the answer as to why you have to remove the intake manifold . The heads are held on by the manifold, and there are studs screwed into the heads that hold the manifold on, so the heads CANNOT be removed without first removing the manifold. Any idiot can remove the dist without removing the manifold on most engines, but studs hold the manifold in place, and guess where they are?... IN THE HEADS!

 

ok i ment "why did i have to remove the distributor" Not the manifold. I know i had to remove the manifold but the dist didnt have to come out.

 

You have to remove the dist to get at the two rearward manifold bolts, and I guess it's a precaution against breaking the dist, similar to when hoisting the engine out. Believe me, I absolutely did NOT want to remove the dist unless I absolutely had to, and I tried to get at those last two bolts with it in-there is not enough clearance to get at the last nut and manifold bolt to get the manifold out, nor is there enough clearance to pull the manifold once all of its fasteners are removed. So I removed the dist...

 

oh, ok thanks.Tomorrow im going to pull the water pump since its a good time to replace it, im down to the heads but i need to get a long ratchet to reach the y pipe to manifold bolts. I need to clean all the milkshake slim out of the top of the heads too, also turns out my number 1 cly has got the milkshake in it so i guess thats around where the head gasket went. And call me a dope because i just noticed it the other day, my car has no smog pump seems someone removed it.I removed the ac so now the only acc i have to spin are the alt and ps pump. (ac didnt work anyway)I know if i had the time and money i could of been done this job like ten times already. Im just short on both of them right now. Thanks to everyone on here this has turned out to be a pretty easy job. Thanks again guys:hail:

 

Get a BRASS bristled brush to do the cleaning work... it won't scratch and works just as good as steel ones. You can get them at an Ace hardware store, but they are not cheap.. my small one was around $3.50...

 

Best of luck.
I did a head swap on my Blazer engine once.
MINE was a waste of time, that's why I stuck in a newer used running 3.4 mill.
Hope your turns out better.
Make sure you got to Ginos Or Pats often for instpiration. If that's to far, Lee's Hoagies should still be open.
Lived around Philly for over 10 years.
Good luck adjusting valves. I still have to do mine, properly on my 85 Blazer.

 

thanks maverick, Ked why was it a waste of time? lee's is much closer. I live in the Port richmond kensington section. Also the valve adjustment doesnt seem that hard.

 

Due to the age of engine & damage caused by gasket failing, the engine was (power after all that work) wasted.
I just tossed engine & stuck in the 3.4.
With age of project (you also have an 1985 engine) your results MAY be the same.
PS ya also may get lucky, too.
Oh, I also switched heads, I did not use the same heads originally on that engine. Didn't matter, same end results, I had wasted alot of time.
Hope yours works out better!
These little engines cannot take alot of abuse.
A Chevy V8 or inline six, they have more metal to absorb the abuse of a head gasket gone bad.
This is my instance & again, hopfully your luck goes better.
I feel lucky to have tried, failed, & gained better results by a better engine swap/upgrade.
Enjoy a Pats or Ginos Cheesesteak or Lees Hoagie for me HOW I CRAVE THAT GREAT JUNK FOOD!

 

I dunno ked, it ran very good right up to when this happend, rings all still good and all.Guy i worked with has a 2.8 camaro and i beat him by a car in a race. I drove his car and it seemed like a geo metro compared to mine. I Know who ever had the car before me worked on it. When i got it it had accel 8.8s on it(woohoo i know no biggie) the smog pump was already removed and all the little lines that went to it. And it already had a 342 posi in it. And except for my egr to plenum tube being blocked by carbon the motor has been very clean as i tear it down. Then again this is my first time tearing a motor down even this far but i assume a motor from 1985 should be very nasty looking inside with gunk and carbon.Like my pushrods,for example, they look new. When the head gasket went i thought about the condition of the motor and how it ran, i think it'll be worth it. As for pats and gino's, as soon as i get the car done ill be their gettin a steak and cheese fries. Damn between pats, geno's and tastie cake no wonder Philly has alot of Fat people living here.

 

I'm only tossing out what happened to me, just so you do know, be prepared.
My Blazer motor worked fine, until.......
I did the head swap (I wasn't into the newer engine, had all free extra parts including another set of heads, but) and in the end for me, it was a total waste of my time.
Forgot all about my Fav Tasty Cake.
Butterscotch!
AND THOSE APPLE/BLUEBERRY!
Inside of my engine was also spotless.
Due to the superheated water bath of water & oil mixing.
Yes, my 1985 F Bird, when it died, the upper intake was also caked in carbon, too.
I used long screwdriver to chip out & also laid/sprayed in brake cleaning fluid, let it soak and kept removing "stuff".
Best thoughts for ya, but too envious of the Cheesesteaks back there. After a 10 year+ diet of them......LA does have the best Mexican food!
And rust free stuff.

Best thoughts your way!
Just be aware of a bad end result.
That's why I upgrade to the 3.4s.

 

Hye guys getting ready to do a head gasket replacement as well :-(. Happened on new years what a way to start the year off. I was wondering if u guys think if i nly replace one of the gaskets if the other one will for sure fail. The car doesnt even blow oil on startup but this happens ahhh. Also, does anyone know if the mr. gasket engine overhaul kit ahs all the gaskets i will need?

 

JD, the engine overhaul kit has MORE than you need. It most definitely has all the upper end gaskets, plus piston rings, main and rod bearings, possibly cam bearings, valve seals, oil pan gasket, timing cover and water pump gasket, possibly rear main seal and front oil seals as well. I don't think you will necessarily need all that unless you are doing a complete overhaul or plan to do one in the near future.

 

well, im at autozone and carquest and their saying the head gasket sets without bolts are like 75-80 bucks. Can anyone find me a set that i would need to jsut change the head gaskets.I know i need other gaskets besides thoughs so a set would be nice

 

www.northernauto.com
800-831-0884
They can do ya just fine.
Ask for a top end kit including cylinder head gaskets

 

try having a HG fail while your doing a buck 20 down the road....

 

FELPRO HEAD GASKET for a 1985 PONTIAC FIREBIRD

Unit Price: $9.79
Core Value*: $0.00
Part No.: 8699PT-2
Weight: 0.31 lbs.
Warranty:
heres what i got when i looked up the price of the head gasket for my car. When i look at the head gasket set its $72 and it says that it doesnt come with the head bolts or exhaust bolts. Whats the set come with then, If its just two head gaskets why the price diff?

 

the set may/may npt come with the following.
timing set
head gaskets
water pump gaskets
valve cover gaskets
intake gaskets
valve cover gaskets
water outlet gaskets
throttle body gaskets
sealant (small tube)

 

doesnt seem like its worth it, the intake manifold set includes valve cover gaskets (pt#ms93020) and its $23. only other gasket ill need is the egr gasket, thats thats only $3.

 

well is the overhaul kit less expensive then since its only 53 bucks and comes with all the gaskets? or is it chaper to buy the intake manifold set for 23 and the head gaskets?

 

EGR gasket IS in the intake set... at least one is, anyways...

 

AHHHHHHHHH Philly weather sucks! When it was warm i didnt have all the tools i needed to get to the exhaust bolts(or the money to buy them). NOW i have the money for the tools but its WAY too cold!Supposed to be in the 20's all week! DAMNIT. Im too scared of breaking bolts to go out and work on it. Sucks too because i only have two exhaust bolts and the head bolts left.

 

Now you know how I feel living in NY! The only good thing about my exact location is that we don't get those lake effect snows much... we're too far south for Ontario to hit us, and too far east for Erie... it has to stink to live in Buffalo, though.... Other than that, I can go outside in five layers of clothing and still be frozen in ten minutes...

 

At least im not the only person who lives in a cold climate on here. Its not so much as me being cold. Its im worried about snapping bolts off because they are so cold. I miss driving soooooooo much! I just got a kenwood black flip face cd head unit too,4v pre outs . Listening to head phones doesnt cut it oh well , i hope we get a freak heat wave:hail: :hail: :lala: :hail: :hail:

 

Yeah, well, I'm about this far (_____________) from having the engine running again... If I could only find out what the heck is with the ECM....

Oh, and do you have a Home Depot or Chase-Pitkin near you? I saw in the Sunday paper that some store was having a portable heater clearance... they had one of those oil-filled radiator things on sale for $59.99. I'd get one, but I'm a little short on the dough... My neighbor has two of them and a four car garage, they work well to heat that garage up in like five min...

 

yeah i have a home depot near me and the heater would probably work great in a garage, except i dont have a garage. I live smack in the city. So i have no choice but to fix the car outside my house. It sucks too bacause after all the worrying i did about taking the plenum and manifold off, im down to the head, its just those damn exhaust bolts in the way now. Im ready to drap plastic around my open hood and make a tent to work on the car. Theres probably enough room infront of the motor

 

When I was back east, I used Brandy alot. Worked well going to different buildings between classes.
Heat wave for you guys back there?
Sorry...It's chilly in SoCal, too. Atleast from us, no bad weather for a while. Hey I do recall how much it snows back there. Atleast it's not that way yet!

I pulled exhaust "Y" pipe from exhaust manifolds & removed the exhaust manifolds with the heads. Then I removed the manifolds. Perhaps a plan of action?
I did my Blazer head swap gasket replacement on the street, too. When I lived in Soviet Monica

 

Thats what im trying to do too, take the y pipe off the exhaust manifold. Just gotta wait for some warmer weather, or at least not freezing weather.