1995 Pontiac Grand Prix head gasket repacement

ANTON74

MEMBER
1995 PONTIAC GRAND PRIX

Engine Mechanical problem
1995 Pontiac Grand Prix 6 cyl Two Wheel Drive Automatic >100K miles

Hello,
I have a 95 Pontiac Grand Prix SE with a steady coolant loss. I replaced an intake manifold gaskets but it did not solve the problem. The car continues to loose the coolant, although at much slower pace (1 cup a month). However, I can see the sludge build-up on the passenger corner of the rear head (the area of cylinder #1), and, sometimes a few drops of the green coolant could be seen there in the morning. Also, it seems that the intake gaskets should be replaced again since the engine leaks oil from the S-shaped area of the intake where I placed some sealant. I described the above symptoms in my previous post and got excellent answers (thank you, 2carpros experts). So I decided to remove the heads, send them for resurfacing and replace the gaskets. Since I already did the intake job, I hope that I will be able to remove the heads as well. However, I have some questions regarding this repair:
1) It seems that the engine supporting bracket on the right front should be removed. The bracket is bolted to the A/C compressor. Does it mean that I need to disconnect and remove the compressor?
2) I checked both heads visually. The front (left?)Head seems to be OK. May I remove the leaky (rear, right) head only?
3) How difficult is to disconnect the exhaust manifold?

Thank you,

Anton.

1 Reply

MMPRINCE4000

MECHANIC
8,549 POSTS

Don't remove the AC compressor, just unbolt and hang it out of the way, use a coat hanger bent to proper shape.

You can leave the good head alone as long as you are sure it is OK. Did you perform a compression and cooling system pressure test?
When head is off, use a thread chaser or tap to clean head bolt holes (it is always a good idea to change head bolts).
If any head bolts go into coolant passages, coat end of bolt with sealer.

Unbolt exhaust pipe to header, then remove header bolts. These are aluminum heads so be carefull when installing. Chase or use a tap to clean the exhaust bolt holes in head, and torque to specs, DO NOT overtorque.

1 day before you start this, spray all bolts that you are taking out with PB Blaster.

MAKE SURE the block and head surface are clean before to install head.

If head bolts are "torque to yeild" in other words if installation instructions say torque to 50lbft and then an additional 90 degrees, then the head bolts MUST be replaced.