Post Over-Heat Repair

[sketchman]

Little sister inherited my 93 L.
Somehow the fan wires came loose one day and it got hot and blew the head gasket so it's been sitting. I mean to fix that now.

My question is, what would you guys recommend I do besides the obvious things I can think of?
As of now those are:
Head Gasket (duh right?)
Hoses, belts, T-stat, oil change, and coolant flush.

Anything else I'm forgetting?

Oh, and what do you guys normally do to prep the gasket surface? The Haynes manual actually says to use a hand file if needed. Seriously?

[fastivaca]

While you're at it you may as well replace the timing belt and water pump

[Pu241]

Yeah, 2x the timing belt and water pump!
Depending on how long its been sitting drain, the gas (via drain bolt) and refill with fresh fuel.
This might save your fuel pump!
Probably not a bad idea to do a rotor, cap, wire, sparkplug renewal.

[Team Lightning]

^^X2

[sketchman]

I figured that would come up.
Timing belt and pump are on the list for next month's money.

Can't tell you guys how nice it is to work on a Festiva again. Been in my neon for the last few years and I can't believe some of the stupid stuff that's needed to do simple jobs on those things.

Another question. I'm seriously thinking of looping the coolant lines to the throttle body. Any downsides to this that are known? Reason is I want to try a larger throttle body to see if I can get the HP to match the torque a little better. Seems it's getting choked off somewhere.

[qlopp]

Little sister inherited my 93 L.
Somehow the fan wires came loose one day and it got hot and blew the head gasket so it's been sitting. I mean to fix that now.

My question is, what would you guys recommend I do besides the obvious things I can think of?
As of now those are:
Head Gasket (duh right?)
Hoses, belts, T-stat, oil change, and coolant flush.

Anything else I'm forgetting?

Oh, and what do you guys normally do to prep the gasket surface? The Haynes manual actually says to use a hand file if needed. Seriously?

The piston rings may be stuck from piston expansion/contraction during the overheating, as well as the cylinder walls and piston surfaces may have been scored or damaged from warpage and heat. Take the head off and inspect the cylinders for signs of damage; perhaps get an experienced eye to give a second opinion.

If that part looks good enough to procede, then check the engine deck and cylinder head for straightness with a machinist's straitedge, or get someone with the proper tool to do it for you. If the deck is past spec (look in a factory service manual for specs) then the block is toast IMO. If the head is past spec it can be milled cost effectively up to a point. Your machine shop should know the limit and not exceed it.

To back up a bit and cover another question, clean the deck surfaces with a scraper by hand before making straightness measurements. Make sure the scraper blade doesn't scratch the surface; if it isn't dressed properly this may happen. You can buy a gasket disolving spray that will aid in removing heavily adhered portions of composite gasket material, but treat it like it will kill you - the fumes are dangerous and the fluid is highly caustic. Fill cylinders with rags to catch droppings and be careful around oil and coolant ports on the engine deck.

Replace hoses only if the OE show signs of bulging. If you already have aftermarket hoses you might as well replace them at any rate because they are junk in comparison. Replace the thermostat with OE only unless you like to gamble over a few measly bucks.

Oil change and coolant flush go without saying.

Timing belt and waterpump would be OK to replace but they're easy enough to do anytime and the head being off really doesn't spped the process up too much. If they are old, replace them because they are old. If not, keep them if cost is a concern.

Haynes manuals are a piece of crap. The hand file comment may have been a generic tip for small surface imperfections, but in inexperienced hands it will probably do more harm than good. If you cup or round off an edge you will never get it back so that casting is now ruined.

[sketchman]

Everything is already checked. It's all straight, smooth, and true. The head is back on already. I was just curious. The file sounded pretty far fetched, and I wouldn't try it. What I did do made some people soil themselves. I'll explain if anyone's curious. I'm sure I'll get the same reaction though.

[qlopp]

Everything is already checked. It's all straight, smooth, and true. The head is back on already. I was just curious. The file sounded pretty far fetched, and I wouldn't try it. What I did do made some people soil themselves. I'll explain if anyone's curious. I'm sure I'll get the same reaction though.

I'm up for a good laugh :-)

[sketchman]

I used a modified 1/3 sheet finishing sander on the head. There were some pretty deep scratches that I honestly probably did myself getting it off and out. Took off .010" in the process, and made a very nice surface from it. I've gotten reactions from, "You're a moron.", to "I think it'll work." We'll see.
Here's the finished product.

[TominMO]

Ha! I didn't soil myself (much). As for the reactions you got, I guess the middle of the road would be, "I think it'll work, you moron." Good luck with the repairs.

[sketchman]

To be fair, I got the reactions before anyone saw what the end result looked like. If any of my friends my age told me they were going to sand their head, I'd have my doubts too. But I'm not normal, a lot.

[sketchman]

Hmm. So the sacrilege is "working" sort of. I had no idea the stock mazda TPS was more than a potentiometer, so the Chrysler one is a no go. Found that out the hard way. Shouldn't be too hard to make it work. It is running, just not well.