for those who have replaced their own head gaskets.....

[01d2Jeff]

I have a few questions - 1) how critical is it that you have the heads milled? I have an '01 with 68k and a leaking head gasket that I'm replacing. It has NEVER overheated. 2) did you remove the fan when you were disassembling the motor? also, I was lookin on AB's site for 8mm wires - but all they have for a d2 is 7mm magnecors? where do I obtain the 8mm magnecors from?

[Savannah Buzz]

You will want the fan out of the way. Brace the serpantine belt, put a wrench on fan/water pump nut, and hit sharply with a hammer to break it loose - toward passenger side.

As for milling, you can check for flatness when head is off. Spec is .002 inch. To see what that would feel like, slide your finger over a single piece of printer paper - which is .0038 or close. Not a lot. Page from overhaul manual part of the RAVE attached for your review. Machine shops usually charge about $200 to do this and valve seals (not guides) with seals from your HG kit. But I would guess they would charge less to inspect. You can do yourrself with good straight edge and feeler gauge.

[01d2Jeff]

Originally Posted by Savannah Buzz

You will want the fan out of the way. Brace the serpantine belt, put a wrench on fan/water pump nut, and hit sharply with a hammer to break it loose - toward passenger side.

As for milling, you can check for flatness when head is off. Spec is .002 inch. To see what that would feel like, slide your finger over a single piece of printer paper - which is .0038 or close. Not a lot. Page from overhaul manual part of the RAVE attached for your review. Machine shops usually charge about $200 to do this and valve seals (not guides) with seals from your HG kit. But I would guess they would charge less to inspect. You can do yourrself with good straight edge and feeler gauge.

Thanks, Buzz. Just to clarify - the fan is RH thread, like the RAVE says? so, lefty loosey?