Started gen1 headgasket replacement yesterday

[95Viper]

Have a few comments so far
1. Don't assume just disconnecting the electrical connections at the driver side terminal (where you jump start or hook battery tender) will do the same thing as disconnecting the battery.

2. Coolant plugs need to be removed. The 1995 will require you to remove the starter to access the driver coolant plug. These plugs are so darn tight if they haven't been removed, you'll be amazed.

3. When removing starter, before #2, if you didn't pay attention to #1, the connections are live, I sparked my socket extension and had a fireworks display.

4. The coolant plugs are a 5/16" square drive. I purchased a 1" long 5/16" square stock from a local h/w store for $1.29. I inserted this in a deep socket and it gave a square tight fit in the coolant plug. I used a 10" long 1/2" extension and ratchet to get good leverage to remove the plugs.

5. I purchased a reverse torx socket set from Sears for the intake bolts. Problem is that the socket is too large on some bolts and hits the intake. I went to a star socket in 1/4", can't remember if it was metric or std and it fit perfect. I guess the torx set I bought wasn't needed.

Tonight I'll finish removing the intake bolts, pull it a little forward, and remove the quick connect fuel line. I hear this is a pain and the manual says use an open wrench. Any tips?

 

[got one]

Keep this thread going!!!!!

 

[Cal Cobra]

Yep good info 95Viper. If you're not affraid to tackle it yourself, you'll save a ton of $$. I see that Arrow Racing still shows head gaskets for $400, I wonder which set they have? Where did you get your gasket set?

Cal

 

[Early93Viper]

I know how you feel.........Jerry and I just finished mine. Was a hell of a job.

 

[95Viper]

Cal, Arrow might have just the headgaskets for $400 but this job takes about 9 other gaskets to complete. Intake, exhaust, thermostat (I think there are 4 there on a gen1).

I got mine from Tator, complete set 20% off, no tax, delivered, still a stupid price but at least Tator gives you a deal and always has the right answers when you call for advice.

 

[95Viper]

Last night, marked injector wires with tape, cut zip ties with razor blade and long needle nose plyers, removed intake, slid it forward a few inches with rags under it to support it, removed thermostat housing (put rags in inlets after removing hoses as a little coolant is trapped in there and will spill), took housing apart and scraped old gasket with razor blade. Will assemble with 180 degree thermostat tonight.

Corrosion on thermostat bolts, definite leaks were coming from there. I will smear a little RTV silicone on gaskets and bolts when I reinstall.

There is a fuel line question I'll have in another post, when I'm completed I'll put it in a post.

 

[95Viper]

Update - Only had an hour since the Pistons were on, maybe should have kept working on Viper.
Removed fuel connection at manifold, heck with the quick disconnect. Have a bunch of rags handy and under the intake, a lot of gas came out when it popped off. Removed intake, removed more hose connections and black metal coolant tubes under valve covers. Removed spark plug brackets. Tonight have to assemble thermostat housing, I'm spreading a little RTV on the gaskets and bolts, thread chase bolts, especially corroded ones in thermostat housing and almost at getting to the heads.

 

[95Viper]

Update from weekend - Tool tips I keep forgetting about that will make life easier
1. Adapter sockets from 1/2-3/8 and 3/8-1/2 and 3/8-1/4 and 1/4-3/8
2. 3-4 different lengths of 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 extensions each. I'd recommend 1 to 2", 4", 6", 10"
3. Torque wrench in foot and inch lbs. Sears has them on sale, nice clicker inch one for $60
4. Marine or lithium (spelling?) grease for hose to metal fittings when reinstalling
5. Straight edge razors
6. 6 cans of starter fluid - Chuck said this is better for aluminum than brake cleaner or carb spray, works great
7. Rust treatment spray to touch up bolt heads or anything with rust - it turns parts black when it dries
8. VHT1500 flat aluminum spray if you want intake and exhaust shield bolts to look new again. Can use to respray center of rotors too.
9. RTV for thermostat gaskets and all thermostat bolts
10. Good breaker bar
11. Plastic scraper

Disconnected spark plug wires from plugs and at rear of heads, marked on paper drawing which number went in which spot on back of heads. When reassembling thermostat housing, the service manual says to ensure the weep hole on thermostat is pointing up. My new 180 Napa thermostat doesn't have one. I called Chuck and he said no problem. Removed exhaust shields, sort of a pain to get out but be patient, and exhaust bolts. Have a coat hanger ready to hold manifolds away from heads. Removed valve covers, rockers, pushrods, labeling everything in separate bags so rockers and pushrods go back in the exact same spots. Removed serpentine belt from one pulley, removed alternator bracket bolt on front of passenger head, removed ground connection below it and electrical plug next to it. Removed head bolts, breaker bar necessary, and 6 small bolts at top. Tapped head with rubber mallet, removed. Prepped block and head surfaces the same way. Start with rag and starter fluid, carefully scrape excess off with razor, finish with rags and lots of starter fluid. Took a lot of time here. Cleaned piston tops with rags and fluid and used plastic scraper to break up stubborn carbon deposits. Same process for exhaust manifold surface, do this now with head off.
Placed new gasket on block, head goes right on locators, easy. Now for the fun part. Needed to maneuver exhaust manifolds around many times to gain good access to lower head bolts. Torque sequence 40, 80, 120 and used a series of extension and socket combinations. 120 lbs really is a lot so be patient and move around to get a good stance. Wiped exhaust surface on head and manifold again with rag and starter fluid just in case sweat dripped on it, installed gasket and bolts. Everything was the same for driver side except the power steering bracket needs to be removed, 3 bolts you access through holes in pulley and another mounting bolt below that I think needed to come out but I wasn't sure if it was necessary. This will be easy if you have the right extensions I suggested. A wire connection and zip tie also were in the way.
Heads back on, rods and rockers on and slowly torque rocker bolts per service manual.

 

[Qualitywires.com]

I would ARP stud the heads.

 

[got one]

Thanks Craig...this is a great thread.

 

[95Viper]

Monday update
Waiting on spark plug wires, found two boots cracked and Tator will have a new set to me tomorrow. I highly suggest you replace these, mine are 10 years old but only 4K miles so I thought no problem. I was wrong and am now delayed a few days.
Installed coolant plugs, used high temp low strength thread sealant and lightly coated all the threads. Used small rachet and held it in one hand at the center (did not hold it out by the handle), turned until just snug with a twist of the wrist. Installed starter, easy but you need the right extension because there isn't much room since the O2 sensor is in the way. Put small dot of sealant at bottom of those threads too.

 

[95Viper]

Installed spark plug wires, coolant tubes and hoses, poured a little oil over rockers, installed valve covers, spark plug wires harnesses. Flushed facia tank with distilled water, added 1 quart of oil, let drain just to flush things out. Will fill completely tonight and am probably an hour away from starting it.

The work with the plug wires and hoses was tedious to get it right since everything routes around each other, especially by the thermostat housing. I referenced the pictures I originally took about a billion times. I sure was lucky I did that.

 

[Jerry Dobson]

The only other thing I would recommend is to check the cylinder head for warpage. If the head is warped, the new gasket will only be a temporary fix. It is a long five cylinder aluminum head, so there is a pretty good change that it might need a mild resurfacing.

I too was reminded not to turn the motor over once the head is out. The Viper uses Cylinder liners that might come out if you piston moves up and down. They make liner clamps to hold them in place if you must turn the motor. I say this because so many people want to turn the engine over to clean out debris in the cylinder.

 

[Jay Herbert]

Installed spark plug wires, coolant tubes and hoses, poured a little oil over rockers, installed valve covers, spark plug wires harnesses. Flushed facia tank with distilled water, added 1 quart of oil, let drain just to flush things out. Will fill completely tonight and am probably an hour away from starting it.

The work with the plug wires and hoses was tedious to get it right since everything routes around each other, especially by the thermostat housing. I referenced the pictures I originally took about a billion times. I sure was lucky I did that.

Excellent thread!

Did you reuse the old hoses? Mine were pretty sad, so bought a set of black silicone ones from Roe Racing. How did the metal coolant tube look? Mine was pretty rusty, not rusting from the inside-out, but rusting from the outside-in. Ed cleaned it up and painted it, but I plan to fab a SS one once it's home. I also had to replace the plug wires as you did, went with Magnacores at Doug Levin's recomendation.

 

[95Viper]

Jerry and Jay, Those are both great posts and I addressed them but forgot to type the info here. Checked heads and to my luck they were perfect. Arrow Racing is around the corner from me so I knew I could have them resurfaced correct if needed. I didn't consider turning over the motor to clean out things because Chuck said I would want to kill myself afterwards. I was extremely slow and careful with a vacumn in one hand when I was cleaning anything. I used a lot of starter fluid when cleaning the top of heads and sides of cylinders so I didn't get big chunks of anything falling down.

I checked the hoses and reused them. No cracks, spongy feel inside or out. I was anal about this because I was really worried about the age. Going to the silicone ones is a great idea but I wanted to keep mine looking stock. My metal tubes had a small amount of rust from outside in too on almost all the fittings. I cleaned really well, sprayed with rust convertor, used lithium grease. Went with stock wires from Tator.

 

[95Viper]

Completed last night and in time to see the Pistons spank the Spurs.
Used wood blocks on inside of valve covers and rag on alternator to position intake close enough to connect fuel line and give me a little room. Thanks Ed for the tip. removed wood and lowered intake on gaskets. Made a bunch of misc. connections as in Service Manual and following everything I labeled and bagged. Filled with distilled water, battery, and STARTED!!!
Now simple steps left like drain water, fill coolant, burp a billion times, battery shield, hood, drive, drain oil to be used in Explorer lease, new fresh oil.

Tools used: lithium grease for hose to metal connections, electrical grease for plug wires and any electrical connection, RTV for thermostat gaskets and bolts, high temp low strength thread sealant.

Tools: thread chase, torque wrenches in inch and foot lbs, I carefully used the hacksaw blade to cut the zip strips inside the intake where I couldn't get anything else, be so careful though to not scratch the intake. Torx socket set was a waste, side of socket hit intake on many bolts and couldn't be used, a std or metric 1/4 socket worked perfect. I'll post the coolant plug tool in another thread.