I started a head gasket replacement this afternoon that I will pick up tomorrow. Everything has been pretty straight forward but I do have a couple of quick questions.

(1) I broke the upper pipe (photo below) leading to the secondary air tube on the passenger side while trying to free the secondary air valve. Any suggestions on a repair? Does this mean a new part or can I replace it with something a little more flexible? I have to admit, secondary air makes most tasks a PITA. Is there really a benefit to the system? Can I just remove it and plug the inlets on the head?

(2) When fitting the head gaskets, RAVE says to fit them "dry". Does this mean I do not use any RTV on the head gaskets?

Thanks for the help and I hope everyone is having a nice holiday.

 

2. YES! Always install head gaskets dry. No RTV on the gaskets, the block, or the heads. You want to make sure the block, heads, and gaskets themselves are clean and dry also. Make sure there is no grease or oil residue on anything that comes in contact with the head gasket. Perfectly clean and dry.

As for the head bolts (which need to be new; you CANNOT reuse the old ones), there is some debate on whether to lightly oil them, or use another method during install of the bolts. When it comes time to do mine, I am going to lightly coat them in oil (apply a few drops to each bolt and make sure all of the threads are covered, not submerge the bolt in oil).

 

Don't use any sealers on the headgaskets, replace the headbolts and lightly oil them completely, they are stretch bolts. tighten to 15ft Lbs, mark top of bolts then 90 and 90 degree turns.

 

There are also a couple of head bolt thread lubricant that will give you a more accurate torque setting over standard oil. When using any of the lubes, put a very small amount and wipe off the excess cause to much will not allow you to torque the bolts right.

 

Thanks for the replies. Looking at new posts, there seem to be a ton of people replacing head gaskets at the moment. I have been working slowly and following RAVE, but somehow I managed to break those pipes (could the cold temp have something to do with it?). I still cant find the part on either AB or Rovers North. I may check out Home Depot if all else fails.

 

#1 - I broke mine as well...brittle piece of crap...

...I taped it together with gorilla tape about 4 weeks ago and haven't gotten around to replacing it yet...you should be able to replace it with any type of lightweight flexible hose from any hardware store...no high temp air passes through it and you can reuse that fliexible heat shield covering on whatever you replace it with.

 

1/2 drive Craftsman Breaker Bar, Impact 1/2 swivel, 5/8 inch impact socket - Tighter fit up than a metric, 3 to 4 foot of 1-1/2 inch pipe to slip over Breaker bar handle for when the going gets tough and wipe and wipe again all the oil off the heads bolts when breaking the loose as this will help keep the socket from slipping off and rounding. Have an assortment of different ententions 1/2 and 3/8 on hand - I do not have air tools but a good set of craftsman sockets in 6 and 12 pt and did fine. You need the 12 pt on the valve cover gaskets and exhaust manifold bolts. Keep a paper and pen close by to keep notes as the rave manual is good but not totally complete. I did buy the special fan wrenches from AB and found them very useful on another steps/removing pully hubs. A set of crows feet will help you if you do not pull the fuel rails and torque the manifold bolts. a good sheet of cardboard to fold to make it double thick and throw it across the top of the motor and belly surf your way back to get at the electrical stuff. If you bear that plastic tube fitting on the right side of the intake manifold, i replaced mine with a brass fitting - Good Luck

 

I wanted to give an update on how I permanently fixed this on mine just in case it can help out anyone else -

I bought a section of 3/4" heater hose, reused the quick disconnect fitting on the SAI pump side, and ran it from that fitting straight to the metal SAI tubing...I secured the section of heater hose to the quick disconnect fitting and the SAI tube end using regular worm type clamps.

Works well so far and now I don't have to worry about breaking that brittle pipe into any more pieces.

Total cost of repair ~$5

 

Thanks for the help. Quick question, I didn't reallylook at it but how exactly does the quick disconnect come off? Push, pull, twist, or all three? I spent 10 seconds trying to get it off and quit!

 

TBH I'm not sure...I did a combination of the 3 for a good 2-3 minutes before it popped off.