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Cadillac shorty
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Dec 11, 2011, 11:04 AM
Post #1 of 7
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head gasket repair
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I own a 98 deville with a 4.6 Northstar. Can i cut cost on having head gasket replaced by pulling motor at home and truck engine to Cadillac man to timesert it? Even considered ordering kit myself to save money. Times are tough but gotta get it done. Any ideas?
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Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky
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Dec 11, 2011, 11:10 AM
Post #2 of 7
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Re: head gasket repair
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You'll save money because the labor for R&Ring the engine won't be included. I honestly don't know how the dealer will handle that situation, so you should call and ask them.
Instead of taking it to the dealer, why don't you take it to a machine shop?
Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.
(This post was edited by Discretesignals on Dec 11, 2011, 11:12 AM)
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Cadillac shorty
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Dec 11, 2011, 11:36 AM
Post #3 of 7
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Re: head gasket repair
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Cadillac man used to work for dealership. Has his own shop. 50 bucks an hr is better than dealership. Didn't know machine shops broke down engines. Still researching in Houston. Any exp. With studs from jake? $550. I can timesert it for about $375 to $400. Read the studs are better but haven't talk to no one that actually used them.
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Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky
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Dec 11, 2011, 11:46 AM
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Re: head gasket repair
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Just curious, but is Caddy man's business licensed and insured? Have seen many backyard mechanics do things for people and something goes wrong or was done wrong and it all ends up in nothing but heartache and more money out of your pocket.
You could stud the engine, but if you pull a bunch of threads out getting the old head bolts out, your still going to have to time-sert.
Call some of your local machine shops and see what they can do for you. The heads will probably have to be checked for flatness and possible machining anyway. Many machine shops know all the ends and outs when it comes to the engine's mechanical's anyway. They know the weak points and can tell you if something needs an upgrade to make it more reliable.
Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.
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re-tired
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Dec 11, 2011, 6:47 PM
Post #5 of 7
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Re: head gasket repair
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Bear in mind the northstar was designed to come out the bottom with car on lift. You can wigggle it out top if you strip it down including removal of balancer.If you stud eng any future head work (hopefully none) will require eng removal.
LIFE'S SHORT GO FISH
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Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky
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Dec 11, 2011, 8:13 PM
Post #6 of 7
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Re: head gasket repair
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If you going to have the engine out, you might as well reseal the half block also.
Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.
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zmame
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Dec 11, 2011, 8:18 PM
Post #7 of 7
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Re: head gasket repair
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4.9 N* engine might be more then you bargain for. More then likely you will have to put coils inserted into all the head bolt bores by a machine shop. I ran into this on my mothers caddy. If the leaking at the head gaskets more then likely the head bolts are starting to pull out of the threads. Depending how much damage was done to the head too from being overheated. I was able to get my mothers heads machined, but they were close to the limit. Then you have to send the shortblock out and have inserts put in. I had it done by the machine shop I recommend this method.
Just the machining came to over $400, not including the parts to put it back together and my time.
Your best bet is to find someone who knows these engines so it gets properly rebuilt and you will get what you pay for.
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