Hi all,, I am new here and to Cavaliers,, I think my head gasket or head is blown, the oil is milky and there is steam coming from the tail pipe, I plan on taking the had and having it checkd and replacing the gasket just wondering if anyone had a guide or link to a guide on changing the head gasket on the 97 2.2L any help would be much appreciated.

Having just done the very same thing on my 96 2.2, I can tell you it's a fairly simple project, but it will take some time. Plan an entire weekend to be on the safe side if it is your daily driver. Before you do anything, GET A MANUAL! My personal preference is the Chilton manual, but the Haynes is fine too. I have them both, although I got my Chilton's online at chiltondiy.com.

From a high level you have to drain the coolant, at least a good part of it. Remove the alternator, tensioner pulley, power steering pump (don't have to disconnect it though), engine accessory bracket, exhaust and intake manifolds, valve cover, rocker arms, pushrods, etc. You're going to need an army of tools, some specialized although many autoparts stores do tool rentals these days. You didn't say mileage, but while you have the head off it's a good idea to check the valves and seals, and replace as needed.

Before you do anything you'll want to do a compression test. This will diagnose a multitude of problems by itself and give you a place to start. Like I said, get yourself a manual before doing anything else. I spent a couple evenings reading mine before I dug in. Good luck!

Steve
Thanks for the tips, I have the Haynes manual was just looking for tips from people like you that had done it and might save me some headaches, thanks again for the advice.

I have to agree with Steve, Just make sure you give youre self enough time to do the job, Also Have a manual for referance, I would also recommend getting a complete upper gasket set, That includes head gasket as well as intake manifold, Valve cover gasket etc. Also you are gonna need new cyl head bolts. As well you would be better off getting a rebuilt cyl hd, It May cost a bit more now, You will be saving youre self a problem down the road with a hair line crack could accur months down the road.

Good Luck youre cyl hd gasket job.


keep us updated.

I'll second what Rich said about the full gasket kit. I picked up the Felpro complete head gasket kit from Pep Boys for about $56 which also included the gaskets he mention plus valve stem seals, EGR gaskets, and fuel rail/injector gaskets too. Not a bad deal really. And yes, you'll need a set of head bolts since ours are torque-to-yield which means they stretch when tightened. Again, from Pep Boys expect to pay about $40.

The rebuild head isn't a bad idea really, I decided to skip the option at the time since I am doing mine on the cheap... I've only got 119k on the engine so te head should be good for a while. I did take the time to clean it and inspect for cracks, clean and polish the valves and pushrods, and make sure they are straight. For $200 on eBay, a completely rebuilt head doesn't sound like too bad of an option actually. This is the one I was looking at: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/92-97-Chevy-Cavalier-S10-Truck-Cylinder-Head-2-2L_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33617QQihZ005QQitemZ150113589121QQrdZ1

One thing.. One of the books (Haynes I believe) tells you to first remove the lower manifold before removing the head. That's a pain in the butt, I would leave it on when removing the head, and also make sure it's installed on the head before putting it back on.

That's about the only tip I have at the moment, outside of alloting enough time to complete the job.

Good luck!