I blew a head gasket. Is it worth it to replace it? Should I junk it? I have a spare 280 with an engine, should I swap the engine? Help!!??

Thanks!

 

You blew a headgasket, or your car??? That hurts just thinking about it.

Depends on how bad it is... PLEASE GIVE MORE DETAIL...

 

Make sure you did not crack head. A head gasket can be replaced. And would be worth it if you did not crack head. I would try to replace headgasket before motor swap. Also, most likely there's water in 0il, tell us the color.

 

Junk it. HELL NO! If the spare engine is in good shape then swap it. Then have the head from the blown engine checked out for absolute straightness at your convenience. Changing the head gasket and swapping the motor are probably about the same difficulty on this car. Both are fairly easy since there's so much room in the Z to swap the engine. If the spare engine isn't complete and you're going to have to dissasemble the blown motor anyways (and you got the money) pull the head and have it checked. If it's alright (or you can afford to have it fixed if it's not alright) then just get the gasket and change the thing. Just make sure you figure out why the gasket blew in the first place or you'll be right back where you started.

Just consider your resources when considering which option is the best for you. Good luck.

 

Oh and by the way, depending on circumstances when the gasket blew, there may be absolutely nothing wrong with the head. But you should have it checked to be absolutely sure it's not damaged. Or check it yourself if you've got a keen eye, a straightedge, and feeler gauges. I've seen many blown headgaskets and had a couple blow on me, and it's not all that often that the head actually has to be resurfaced. The initial blowing of the gasket usually doesn't cause the damage. It's continuing trying to operate the vehicle with the blown gasket that causes the damage. i.e. trying to limp it home. That's a bad idea.

 

I got stuck in a freak flash flood (it has not rained like that in 30+ years). It was dark and I hit a "lake" deep enough to play with the water with the window down. I did not get the engine killed soon enough. Hell, I was on the interstate going 65! I hit the water so hard it pushed the carpet up and back and got my knees wet. I tried to let her dry out for a few days, and got the engine running again, but the oils (engine AND tranny...yep, it was THAT deep) were foamy...not good. I know. There was water in the air intake. I could pout. I tried to fill the radiator and heard the water pouring, not dripping, out. There is just so much not good about this. I am 100% sure that the water in the engine did the damage, but no idea how much...but it's enough to keep her stationary for a while. I could still pout.

 

Uh... Hydrolic sieze... you probably got bigger problems then just a blown head gasket.

At this point, I would just swap motors and then take the time necessary to figure out how extensive the damage is.

Last time that happened to me, it required a new motor. I was surprised to find out first hand what it takes to bend the rods in an L6...

I was in muddy river water too, so the entire intake runner was coated with a 1/16" thick coating of mud...

Pulled the plugs and cranked the starter and quarts of water came spurting out from every cylinder...

It was pretty ugly.

 

Well, at least this was rain water...it was an extremely heavy rain that came from no where...even the weather people were surprised. The whole things just sucks. I got the engine running again, so it is not completely dead, just singing "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot..." ARRRRRGGGHHH!

The water in the tranny is from being under the water, it was far enough above the dipstick to let water in. Luckily I have a spare tranny, too. Wow, this is going to be....uh...fun?

So, I guess the engine can be my new project. I expected this to be my project car, but this is crazy!

Any takers on the left overs? I will have one, maybe two bodies, lots of spare parts, and a headache that could kill an elephant!

 

Hydrostatic lock is such a nasty sound..

 

Where you live at Diva. That sounds like some gnarly weather. Supposed to get hit here in VA pretty soon too. They said winds of like 85mph. No fun there.

 

That's what is really sad...I live in West Texas! It rarely rains, so when it does we are either spit on or washed out. This was a wash and rinse.

I have already started to do the exchange. These engines are the hose-iest MF's I have ever seen for being so old...gotta love it.

Wish me luck!

 

You might want to get some new vacuum hose as well. A lot of those old rubber hoses will be dried out and brittle after all these years.

 

I don't think "dried out" is gonna be a problem here, lww.

Sorry that was stupid, but I couldn't resist.