Just wondering if anybody has done it.I am getting ready to do it so I am looking for any tips/tricks/problems I may encounter

 

1. Make sure all gaskets and surfaces are clean.
2. Find my post on adjusting rockers/valves. Proper "Set" is 1.25-1.50 turns (after reading post, you will understand)
3. double torque the lower intake. By time you set last one, first one is finger loose again.
4. mark the distributor good, and then mark it again

 

Take the heads to a machine shop after you take them off, tell them to check them for cracks and for planeness. Believe me, it's necessary, you don't want to have to remove them again.

 

Yeah definately get the heads checked! Also, don't mix up the pushrods or rocker arms or valves or etc- they all have to go back in the same spots they came out of. Grab an old cardboard box, seal it up, poke two rows of 6 holes in the top. That'll help organize your pushrods and keep 'em from rolling around.

A copper pipe that's flattened at one end (by a hammer) can make a good scraper for the deck since it won't gouge the block.

Use compressed air to blow the gasket pieces out of the water pasageways. You might want to stuff COTTON rags into the water passageways (around each cylinder) so stuff doesn't fall inside.

Felpro makes an intake gasket kit for the 2.8/3.1... get it. It comes with the head-to-manifold gaskets, manifold-to-lower plenum gasket, lower-plenum-to-upper-plenum gasket, EGR gaskets, throttle body gasket, and valve cover gaskets (although I used blue RTV). Don't re-use any plenum gaskets because you'll cause vacuum leaks. If your budget is cheap, get a $2 roll of flat black gasket material and an Xacto knife and cut your own gaskets. I do that all the time for the lower-plenum-to-upper-plenum and throttle body gasket.

I had to change head gasket's on my friend's 2.8/2.8 swap... and that motor was OUT of the car, and it was hell- I could just imagine the job with the motor in the car! Ugh. Good luck!

 

I just did mine not too long ago with the help of these guys you see above and some others.

Hardest part is the exhaust bolts. Pb blaster works wonders!

If the exhaust bolts wont come out of the head unbolt the exhaust from the y pipe instead.

Great time to port/polish or paint anything!

Dont forget to unbolt the engine ground strap on the back of the drivers side head (on my 2.8 it was anyway)

Mark your injector wires to what injector they go to.

Vaccume hose route!!! Believe it or not that was the biggest PITA i had doing mine! i totally forgot what went to what.!

Buy alot of cheap oil! I changes my oil 3 times before i started driving it again. You dont want ANY coolant left in the oil.
I cant remember anything else right now but its really not that hard. It took me forever because i was working out in the snow in the dead of winter. My head gasket went on xmas night!