LN2 / L43 head gasket difficulty - Maintenance and Repair Forum

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LN2 / L43 head gasket difficulty
Wednesday, May 18, 2011 8:51 AM
Hello all. First post here at j-body and i come with a question that shouldnt be too suprising. I am about to get a 2000 sunfire that has a blown head gasket for a very convincing price.

What i would like to know is how difficult is it to replace the head gasket on these motors (if you know of some type of guide please send me a link). I've been looking online here and there but havnt found much documentation about it.

I am aware that new head studs are going to have to be purchased, aswell as the head possibly getting resurfaced. But id like to know if there are any main retailers i should be buying the gaskets/ misc items necessary to do the job, aswell as any insight you can send my way.

I am somewhat mechanically inclined, and do plan on doing this job by myself so ANY useful information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks all!

Re: LN2 / L43 head gasket difficulty
Wednesday, May 18, 2011 4:43 PM
It is all pretty straight forward. Get the felpro gasket kit as it should have a mls headgasket. Some parts that you can not get from advance, auto zone, etc are the coolant o-ring that goes into the head from the crossover coolant pipe(pipe that runs along the head by spark plugs) along with the gasket for the coil mounting bracket(it acts as an egr block off as well, shouldnt need to remove it anyways).

Its a pain but I removed the intake manifold from the head instead of leaving it attached when I pulled it. There is hardly any room behind there. Also you will need to use a floor jack to hold the motor up as you need to remove the upper mount and the accessory mounting bracket. The biggest problem I had was when I reinstalled the ps pump. I couldnt get the freaking bolt holes to line up for nothing. I was finally able to get them in but it was a pain.
Re: LN2 / L43 head gasket difficulty
Wednesday, May 18, 2011 8:57 PM
Hey thanks for the fast response, any known retailers that carry that o-ring? ive got the haynes manual and it all seems to the point, but to be honest i havnt even seen the car yet. im still just hoping the head isnt warped, apparently it was shut off right after rising in temp.
Re: LN2 / L43 head gasket difficulty
Wednesday, May 18, 2011 9:12 PM
I just replaced my head gasket on mine but i have the older 2.2 (100% pain in the ass!) but i believe gm did a little better design on the 2200 ..but its pretty straight forward, i got all my parts at advance and auto zone..felpro headset,felpro head bolts, i also went ahead and changed my thermostat and flushed my coolant and replaced my plug wires while i had the head off..but just be sure you find the torque specs,head specs should be easy but the rock arm nuts i found have a 22lb spec...and my head wasnt warped but i went ahead and had it resurfaced for good measure
Re: LN2 / L43 head gasket difficulty
Thursday, May 19, 2011 7:39 PM
thanks for all the info! i feel slightly more educated now that i have the service manual. seems like its just going to be time consuming, hopefully next week she'll be running. i should have her towed to my house by saturday, and all day sunday (if the weather agree's) she'll be under construction. Ill post back with pictures and whatever hiccups i may run into. thanks again guys!
Re: LN2 / L43 head gasket difficulty
Thursday, May 19, 2011 9:05 PM
ur welcome be sure to post if u have any troubles..like i said i just replaced mine last weekend so its still very fresh
Re: LN2 / L43 head gasket difficulty
Tuesday, May 31, 2011 7:51 PM
I had tried finding local places to get the coolant o-ring but no one could get it. I ended up getting one from the chevy dealer as it was the only place I could find it. Most everything is pretty straight forward on this motor. Mark what rocker goes to which valve along with its pushrod so you can put them back in the same spot. Since you are down this far into the motor I would replace the water pump for good measure. They are not to god awfully expensive and it is much easier to get to with the accessory mounting bracket out of the car.
Re: LN2 / L43 head gasket difficulty
Wednesday, June 08, 2011 5:02 PM
Thje rocker arms are non-adjustable. I always used a 3/8 impact and just buzzed the rocker arms down. Make sure the tabs on teh rocker trunions line up though or you'll have problems. I have also found that it is easier to remove the head with the intake and exhaust manifolds still attached. You can straight edge the head surface after cleaning it. I'm not sure of the tolerances, but if it needs truing up, then you can take the manifolds off, otherwise I would recommend leaving them attached. As far as the position of the rocker arms and push rods, I have never marked them for position. I can't remember if the intake and exhaust push rods are of different length, so if they are, that I would recommend marking for (same with the rockers). Otherwise, a haynes manual should provide you with enough information to tackle the repair.



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