Party Wagon head gasket thread

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irowiki
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Party Wagon head gasket thread

Post by irowiki »

Down to pretty much no cars (had to get a rental today to travel to Buck to get our stuff), it's time to tackle the head gasket in Party!

I'll post any questions or problems or comments (and pictures!) in here.
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Re: Party Wagon head gasket thread

Post by Vienna »

IMG_20150215_142856134.jpg
Head gasket looked fine but wet when we cracked her open, problem actually may have been when her engine was rebuilt by the previous owner of the engine they failed to torque the head down properly. Several of the head bolts broke loose with little to no effort. The gasket was not even stuck to either side of the engine and just fell off to the side like it had no pressure on it to compress it down.

It also looks as if the engine has over sized pistons so she was over bored with her rebuild, meaning at least when we were told she had work done the guy was being truthful.
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Re: Party Wagon head gasket thread

Post by irowiki »

Some pictures so far.

Vienna will post more of the head.

Stupid aluminum atf cooler fitting broke. Gotta figure out how to replace it.
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87 Corolla FX16, 105k
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Re: Party Wagon head gasket thread

Post by Petros »

do not use the ATF cooler built into the radiator, get an after market ATF cooler at any auto parts store, or from and ebay/amazon store, they do not cost much. It will cool the trans better and give you extra radiator cooling capacity you will want where you live.

As a temporary measure you can by pass the cooler all together by just connecting the ATF cooler lines with a short length of metal tube and two clamps. Do not drive it at high speeds (freeway), it could allow the ATF to get too hot, but short in town drives at moderate speeds should be fine until you get the auxiliary ATF cooler.
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Re: Party Wagon head gasket thread

Post by dlb »

paul, is that broken fitting from the trans end or the rad end? i have a few spares from rads i could mail to you.
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Re: Party Wagon head gasket thread

Post by irowiki »

It is from the rad end but it is a spectra premium aftermarket, and the fittings are a bit bigger than the OEM, unless you happen to have the bigger fittings.
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Re: Party Wagon head gasket thread

Post by Gottolovem »

If you purchaced that rad at a parts warehouse yourself it's under warranty and they'll replace it for free
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Re: Party Wagon head gasket thread

Post by dlb »

i'm not sure. if you give me some measurements i'll see if any of mine will work for you.
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Re: Party Wagon head gasket thread

Post by irowiki »

David, it's late and I don't have time to find the caliper, so here's some quick scale pictures. I'll get some more detailed measurements tomorrow!

the fitting from the OEM radiator was about half the diameter.
Petros wrote:do not use the ATF cooler built into the radiator, get an after market ATF cooler at any auto parts store, or from and ebay/amazon store, they do not cost much. It will cool the trans better and give you extra radiator cooling capacity you will want where you live.

As a temporary measure you can by pass the cooler all together by just connecting the ATF cooler lines with a short length of metal tube and two clamps. Do not drive it at high speeds (freeway), it could allow the ATF to get too hot, but short in town drives at moderate speeds should be fine until you get the auxiliary ATF cooler.
'
Peter, I had thought of this, but aren't you supposed to leave the radiator ATF cooler in the system too for best results (such as cooling when stopped)

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=9329&hilit=transmis ... ler#p68459
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Re: Party Wagon head gasket thread

Post by irowiki »

A wrinkle. I have a 2nd gen head gasket and the engine is from an 81 (1st gen) and apparently the head gasket was changed between 1st and 2nd gen:

1st gen head gasket:
41Y-vizME8L._SX450_.jpg
2nd gen head gasket:

Image

I didn't think the head changed that much...looks like the 1st gen allows for more water passages?

Edit: The head gasket we pulled off of it was a second gen head gasket though, so does it matter?

Edit 2: Contacted Amazon about the radiator warranty, instead of doing an exchange, they just wanted us to send back the radiator for a refund! So we're sending it back, and ordering another from Rockauto, two day shipping for less than an amazon one. Needed a new pipe flange gasket anyway as the old one was terrible after only being on there for half a year!
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87 Corolla FX16, 105k
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95 Camry Wagon, 170k
97 4runner, 275k
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Re: Party Wagon head gasket thread

Post by Petros »

that first gen gasket looks far better than the 2nd gen. I have altered the gaskets to similar config (see my head gasket thread), just cut the holes yourself, will not harm a thing. the 2nd gen head gasket has no way to get fresh coolant in between the paired exhaust valves (the hottest part of the head), and I think the reason for the low tolerance to running hot. the 4ac head gasket also looks similar to the first gen one, with the extra coolant holes between the cylinders right under the exhaust valve area. Just punch the extra holes that are missing in your gasket.

there is a layer of metal in head gasket so be careful you do not tear up the layers of gasket material. best way is to use a sharp hole punch on a hard wood block, or soft metal block (like alumium or brass). I use my drill press with a really sharp drill, and clamp the gasket between two layers of heavy plywood. I have the pattern on the top plywood layers (be careful to line it up accurately), and have the holes predrilled like a template. This keeps the drill from ripping up the gasket materiel. Super accurate location is not necessary, the holes it covers are large, so just keep it away from the edges of the water jacket hole.
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Re: Party Wagon head gasket thread

Post by irowiki »

Could not get the timing belt back on, it is like it snagged in or on something. Not long or wide enough to go over the cam pulley.

Will take off the crank pulley tomorrow but not sure how to retorque it on an auto?
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Re: Party Wagon head gasket thread

Post by dlb »

couldn't you re-torque it using the same rope-in-the-cylinder trick? you just to make sure that both valves are closed when you do put torque on it. i think, anyway.
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Re: Party Wagon head gasket thread

Post by irowiki »

What's the best way to know they are closed? TDC?
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Re: Party Wagon head gasket thread

Post by dlb »

thumb over the spark plug hole while you crank the engine in the direction you are going to be turning the bolt. when you feel pressure build up, the valves are closed.
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