Well some of you know my recent troubles with the car. I dropped the car off at the shop on Monday for what I thought was an ignition problem. Bad misfire on at least 1 cylinder, not throwing a code. I figured it was the crank angle sensor or possibly ICM. Turns out it was the head gasket as well as one of the plugs was crossthreaded into the head. My parents, who still possess ownership of the car (long story there) didn't want to fork out another $1500 for a 164k mile car. But I've fallen in love with it too much, especially over the last 2 months since I've got it looking purdy. They wanted to just scrap the car, have the shop tow it to a junkyard. At first I said not without all my @!#$ out of it and I was going to try and part it out. After a LOT of fighting with my parents and everything, I am leaving here right now to go get my car back. It still needs to be fixed, but I'm going to helicoil the head and replace the gasket and then it'll be alive again. So I won't be at the meet this weekend.

Take care guys


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Headgasket isn't hard to change at all. Sorry about your luck man, but what would the $1500 be for? Sounds steep.

just got done doing a head gasket, no problems here. props for so much 2200 love

[quote=ScreamSayonara|aranoyaSmaercS]Headgasket isn't hard to change at all. Sorry about your luck man, but what would the $1500 be for? Sounds steep.

that is alot for a head gasket..the last head gasket i did on a 2.2 went out the door at like 600-700.00 bucks

Well the price estimate was for the head gasket, labor, to send the head to the machine shop and have it milled in case there was any warpage, as well as reboring the spark plug threads because the plug on cyl #2 is still seized in the head. I'm going to the junkyard in the next few days to try and find a head.




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That's ridiculous! I'd go to the yard like you said and pick up a head. Shoudln't be more than $100. Then just get a gasket kit from Autozone (~$70). Save yourself $1300+ and do it yourself.

2.2l head gasket kit 53$ plus tax at murrays, and I'd suggest getting new head bolts, being that the bolts are "torque to yeild", and I only recommend cause I'd guess your going to be pushing the motor. They might be special order though, just so you know.

if i had more time i'd just go ahead and order the ARP head studs for it. but i really don't. i'm going searching today for a head




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We began the teardown today. I woke up at about 9:00. Got over to Steve's around 10. I got started on pulling the car apart. Pulled the valve cover gasket and discovered about 3" of it missing along the front of the head between cylinders 3 and 4. Pulled the intake manifold off. Pulled the rockers, studs, and pushrods out and then got the head studs out. The head is ready to come off tomorrow, provided we can figure out what it's still suck on. It just got too cold today and we were hungry as @!#$. Then we went to Chipotle and met up with some people, ate some food, and then went back and watched the Chief's game. I'm worried about what we might find once we lift the head either tomorrow or Tuesday. Hopefully nothing major is wrong other than the gasket, getting the plug out of cyl #2, and the surfaces are fine. I might have the head surfaced anyways just to play it safe. Tomorrow I've got to get a ride over to the auto parts store to order all the gaskets, spark plugs, thermastat, fluids, and @!#$ to put everything back together once it's done. Hopefully the Cavalier will see life again by Saturday so I can throw it on the dyno at the slow car day at Dieman Motorsports. We'll see what happens.




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Did you pull the powersteering pump and all, because the brace that holds the power steering pump/alternator/idler pulley is bolted onto the cylinder head. I only ask cause ya didn't mention it above. That all has to be pulled, I just set the alternator on my workbench, and let the power steering sit in the engine bay, just unbolted it. That and the coolent hoses should be it since you got everything else. Keep us updated and all the luck to ya.

Ah I completely forgot about that. I wondered why the head was giving on the driver side but not the passenger side. I have to remove the belt tensioner too if I remember right.




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how much fun a run on the dyno at Dieman Motorsports?? what kind of dyno is it??



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firebug wrote:how much fun a run on the dyno at Dieman Motorsports?? what kind of dyno is it??

This saturday at the KCSR Annual Slow Car Days meet, it's $45 for 3 pulls. $55 for 3 pulls with A/F monitoring. And the dyno is a Mustang AWD dyno (the most accurate dyno known to man)




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I took the head to the machine shop today. We couldn't get the spark plug out in the garage so I figured I'd let the machine shop have a try at it. Car has been dead 2 weeks today lol. Probably one more week. Anyways. So we got the head up on the mill and drilled out the plug. The threads were @!#$. After drilling it out, they tapped it again with the original thread pitch and test fit another spark plug in. It holds. They also resurfaced the head for me so it's all ready to go back on the car, hopefully this weekend.




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just wondering, what ever happened with your cavalier, get everything set?

Fiddled around with it all week, didn't accomplish much. Friday night I retapped the holes in the block for the head bolts, got everything lined up and ready to go. Saturday, installed the head and valvetrain, lower intake, upper plenum, header, and everything else. Yesterday, got the motor mount on, all the accessories, drivebelt, adjusted the valves, double checked firing order, and started it up. She lopes. But I've got a small leak in the fuel return line fitting that I need to address this afternoon. She runs though.




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I drove it home tonight. Got a new o-ring for the fuel return line fitting and retightened up a few things. It runs and pulls good.




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Thats awesome, and ya know what, I had the same problem with the fuel return line, except it leaked from behind the fitting, through the metal tubing. p.i.t.a. Anyways, happy to hear everything turned out well for you buddy.

The only thing I have to do is replace the EGR vacum solenoid which I lost during the project, and run new vacum lines because I broke those @!#$ty plastic ones.




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