Blown head gasket

04gtdrop · Oct 18, 2011

Hey guys, last night I blew the head gasket on my Mustang. I need to fix it(sooner than later) so I'm looking for some advice OR ideas that I haven't thought of yet.

The car is a 2004 Mustang GT convertable 5 spd. It has 152k miles now. Mods are CAI, TB, plenum, mac pro chamber, mac cat back, aluminum driveshaft, 3.73's, ram stage 2 clutch, fidanza aluminum flywheel, diablo predator, MM full length SF connectors, ebaich springs, MM caster camber plates, cobra front brakes kit, mishimoto aluminum radiator, misimoto silicone hoses, cobra rims with Vredestein tires 275/40/17, everything else is stock.

Next week I'll have roughly 1k maybe 1,300 to spend to get my head gasket fixed. I don't have the tools or the experiance to fix this myself. What do you think my options are to get it repaired?

I thought about having a freind fix it for me for cheap, but I've head that you really have to know what your doing otherwise you can bend the valves, is this true?

also, would it be a good idea to have the heads ported and polished since they are going to be resurfaced anyways?

Can anyone recomend any good shops in Northern CA?

Thanks

wmburns · Oct 18, 2011

You won't like this but with only $1300, IMO this greatly limits the options.

Salvage yard motor from a 2002+ Panther based car (Grand Marquis, Crown Vic, or Town Car). Try car-part.com for example prices.

Why replace the entire motor?

Performing a "head job" in car is a PIA. Knowing what I know now, I would pull the motor anyway. It's so much easier to work with the motor on a stand.
Rarely do head gaskets fail in a vacuum. Consider what your response would be if additional damage is found.
It's not possible to square a deck with the motor still in the car
Options such as head shaving rarely work as well as expected.

Anyway, something to consider.

04gtdrop · Oct 18, 2011

Hmm ok, that might work. What's a good price range to "do it right"? Wouldn't be better to replace it with a used mustang motor instead?

Thx

GDawg · Oct 18, 2011

You're just talking about a head gasket right?

It's really not that difficult. But you do have to remove the head bolts in a certain sequence and you have to mark the cam location.

I wish you lived in Colorado cause I'd do the work for you at a fair price.

GDawg · Oct 18, 2011

Stangnet lost my post!

Anyways, you're talking about the head gasket right?

It's easy enough to do. The head bolts need to be removed in a certain sequence and you have to mark the cam location but other than that, it's not too hard to do.

If you lived here in Colorado I'd do it for you at a fair price.

Rougestang · Oct 18, 2011

I wouldn't recommend getting a new (used) motor just because of the head gasket. If you had long tubes then maybe...lol

Like GDawg said, it's not too difficult. Granted you'll want to take the timing cover off, intake manifold, disconnect the mid pipe, valve cover..etc...etc.., but your really just gonna be spending time on it.You don't absolutely need special tools (I've done two head jobs on SOHC 4.6's), although they make the job ten times easier, and take any guess work out of it. In theory, if you could try to use a couple of pairs of Vice-grips (this is what I used) to hold the cam in place after you remove the head. (assuming you also marked it and put it in "safe mode"). Obviously, if you don't have a good mechanical knowledge base, you need to take it somewhere. Additionally, if you do mess up the cam/ timing, your valves will hate you for it....lol

But it's surely not impossible. Could be done in a day, if you know what your doing. Call some reputable repair shops, and/or ask in your local Mustang community, and tell them (mechanic) your paying cash. Maybe they can cut you a deal.

And of course, good luck!

JymboSlice · Oct 18, 2011

if you were in michigan id swap out a gasket for you in a few hours. If you put all those mods on yourself, im sure you will be able to swap out a head gasket if you took your time and had the tools.

Pay your friend to do it and be done with it.

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