1964-1974 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
It's not difficult in the sense that you can do it without having to take the @#$% engine out of the car. On a Sonett III, though, I would suggest taking the nose off -- you can do it without doing that, but having the nose off makes the job more comfortable and saves time in the long run.
I would say that a novice mechanic can do it (I was a semi-novice mechanic the first time I did one) provided that you have a shop manual with good, clear instructions that you're willing to follow exactly, and that you own a good set of hand tools including a torque wrench (essential for torquing the bolts when re-installing the heads.)
It IS a big, fiddly job, though, with lots of details to keep track of. You've got to disconnect the battery, swing the alternator out of the way, drain the cooling system, take off the valve covers, remove the distributor, disconnect the throttle linkage, take off the intake manifold and carb, and disconnect the exhaust system downpipes before you can even START removing the heads themselves so that you can replace the head gaskets. Then when you've replaced the heads, you've got to put all that stuff back on, correctly.
The manifold has its own gasket, which you'll also need to replace, and after everything is back together you'll have to do a lot of stuff such as adjusting the valve clearances, verifying that the rocker shafts are getting oil, checking the ignition timing, and bleeding air out of the cooling system.
Also note that a lot of us would figure that if you're going to go to all the bother of removing the heads anyway, you should consider getting the valves checked and lapped or replaced if needed (unless you know that your car already has had a valve job recently.) Taking off the heads is enough work that you really want to do it as few times in a lifetime as possible, and a valve job is pretty cheap when you just bring in the heads in a box.
Ignoring that possibility, how long should it take? Personally, if I had never done it before, I'd want to block out a weekend -- you really want to take it slowly and methodically, make sure you know what you're doing before you do it, and check everything as you go. There's no point in trying to rush it and feeling pressured -- besides, we work on these cars for FUN, right???
posted by 204.76.1...
No Site Registration is Required to Post - Site Membership is optional (Member Features List), but helps to keep the site online
for all Saabers. If the site helps you, please consider helping the site by becoming a member.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
