Hi to all...

I am new to the board, just checked in a couple of days ago for some general info. I noticed quite a bit of experience here, so I decided to become a member. My Roo is a 1987 carbureted EA81 1.8 GL hatchback with hydraulic lifters. My Dad bought the car brand new, I bought it from him about 5 years ago. It has about 150K miles. About a week ago I got a couple of "blown head gasket" symptoms. Yesterday I took the heads off to replace the head gaskets. (First time heads have been off) It's definitely a head gasket problem. I cleaned the gasket surfaces and checked to make sure the heads were not warped with a straight edge and a .0015 feeler guage. Both heads are straight. I have a Haynes Manual, but some of the engine specifics are really generic. That's pretty much the background... Here's my couple questions

1. When I torque the heads back on, are the rocker shaft bolts torqued to the same ft/lb as the head nuts?

2. Are the rocker shaft bolts torqued first in the sequence or are they torqued "with" the head nut sequence?

3. Is 150K miles a good average for replacing head gaskets on this particular engine?

Thanks in advance,

Ray

1. No. heads should be done 3 times.. 23 ft lbs, then 43 ft lbs, then 47. The pattern starts with the center bolt and then goes to the top middle and goes in a circle from there clockwise working your way to the middle. If you torq those 12 mm bolts down the same as the head you will prolly strip them

 

3. 150,000 miles is about time for new gaskets. I have an 86 carb with 140,000 miles and the gaskets are just starting to go

150,000 isn't abnormal, probably about average. but making it 200,000 on a head gasket isn't all that surprising either.