1991 Pontiac Grand Am head gasket question?

big dawg

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Need a little input on how to go about it. Need to know if its best to have the head machined or what. Would also like to know the torque specs on the head bolts. And also if its best to get new head bolts and what other new parts its best to buy.
 
Yes, head needs to be squared, may as well put new valve seals on. A head gasket kit should come with them.

Yes, usually new bolts.

I hate that they don't go back to cast iron heads. The extra weight isn't much compared to the headaches of aluminum head warping.
 
I changed one head on my V6. The engine had 190,000 miles on it and I wasn't about to spend too much money on it. It had a blown head gasket because it overheated. It was not an aluminum engine. Basically all I did was replace the head gasket. I did lap the valves and cleaned the head up and the engine surface. I got a straight edge and checked for flatness of the head. Everything looked good and I used the same head bolts. All went well. You will have to find out the torque from a manual. I did buy an intake manifold gasket but I didn't really need to. It is best to because you don't want a vacuum leak. One of the plastic coolant fittings had a minuscule cracked that I didn’t catch until everything was back together, had to do a red-neck fix on this otherwise I would have had to take a lot of stuff off and replace it. But in the end all turned out good with minimum amount of money spent. (Even though I am rich in time, I am poor in money) Have fun.
 
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