[cavell]

working on third equinox with bad heads. i guess i like doing it. $250 for running rig is ok. if you overlook the heads. front head is off. all exhaust valves are white. been told this is due to ash deposits more so than coolant issues? have not pulled rear head. maybe they will look the same?

 

[Mitogt]

for me the rear heads or the ones near cabin are more prone maybe of the position and since the catalitic converter sits and makes some force on that head with all the exhaust weight. Im rebuilding them on 2007 Nox, also replacing front crank seal

 

[garagerog]

I'm not familiar with the V-6's used on the Equinox's, but I will say, "interesting" valve train geometry. Thanks for the pic.

 

[cavell]

WTH? you have plastic intake plenum gaskets? i have tore down 4 motors and all had the steel felpro versions. my current motor has a lot of black oil film on the left/rear intake port in the head. like it was sucking in oil. i know the gaskets fail and you start sucking in coolant. missing coolant and no external leaks.

 

[Colt Hero]

I'm not familiar with the V-6's used on the Equinox's, but I will say, "interesting" valve train geometry. Thanks for the pic.

Just curious: what’s “interesting” about it. To me it looks very similar to my 3.4L Impala engine. Are you talking about the angle and placement of the rockers?

 

[garagerog]

Just curious: what’s “interesting” about it. To me it looks very similar to my 3.4L Impala engine. Are you talking about the angle and placement of the rockers?

Yes.

 

[jacobliford]

I just had the head gaskets replaced on my 2005 equinox due to overheating issue. I had the heads checked and cleaned and they said there was not cracks or warping. The car seems to be running good. The temp gauge stays between the quarter and half mark while driving. However at idle it creeps up to the halfway mark. It hasn't went any further than that since the gaskets were replaced but it's only been a week. Just curious what is considered normal for this car.

 

[cavell]

i would have to ask, what did the temp gauge do 6 months ago at idle, jacobiford? can you hear the cooling fans kicking on when it reaches 1/2 way? you can fiddle with the a/c too. turning on the a/c should turn on the fans.

 

[tom3]

Interesting picture I think also. Canted valves, tall intake ports, (assume) roller lifters. Hot rod stuff there. And really clean in there.

 

[Mitogt]

I had pushrods in but not to torque specs, i made the mistake of not confirming the torque, well broke a bolt on the pushrods in the head, Yikes, not good, got a extractor kit, use magnets, got duct tape all around the broken bolt, bought wireless drill, used a mix of ideas got to pull it out no harm done to heads. ordered new bolt from rockauto, meawile was considering to replace oil pan gasket, still thinking of doing it or not, have oil leak only at the front near front oil seal, wil replace front crankshaft seal, seems the engine has to be lifted to pull out the oil pan.

 

[jacobliford]

i would have to ask, what did the temp gauge do 6 months ago at idle, jacobiford? can you hear the cooling fans kicking on when it reaches 1/2 way? you can fiddle with the a/c too. turning on the a/c should turn on the fans.

Thanks for the reply. In all honesty The best I can remember it would go to about the halfway mark. (it's my wife's car and I don't drive it that much) I have not heard the fans kick on at the half way point since the gasket change but I know they did before we had it done. 6 months ago once it went halfway you may as well shut it off as it was going to keep going. Now it just moves up and down from the halfway mark to a little below.

 

[Mitogt]

just did my head gaskets, temp gauge stays below halway all the time never moves.

The Nox is just a peacefull ride now, the total of the job was $300 with all the parts and labor

 

[RIT333]

Mechanic labor, or your labor, i.e. free.

 

[Mitogt]

did it my self, only took me 5 months, jajajaj, had a beater to drive for the time, it died the day I got the Nox back on track again

 

[robauto]

I just finished the head gasket job on my 05 with 175k. The rocker arm bolt torque is 31. ensure to not mix up intake and exhaust rods as they are different lengths. I attached photos of the heads after milling and cleaning. The machine shop pressure tested and took 0.005 off. The exhaust valve 1 and 2 show that antifreeze was entering. The others that are white are normal white tint. I found a blown head gasket at 2, and maybe at 1 but not blatant at 1. # 1 spark plug was really bad/eroded after 75k. After the job, my temp gauge stays alittle before the center and does not move in traffic, idling, etc, but outside temp is 30-50, so that is a factor. It was like that before the problem too for 10 yrs or so. As long as it does not go past the half mark you are probably ok. You might have air in the system. How is your heat? You might want to try to get the air out, but if it does not go above half, you are ok. My felpro intake gaskets were metal. Ensure to tap all threads on the head for the intake and be real careful getting all bolts in, 3 are real difficult to get a wrench on. I ended up cross threading one, but just drove it home and all is ok. Clean all threads well and use loctite per shop manual. Really happy I did this job, car runs great. It took me a 1.5 weeks part time and probably 24 hours direct labor, but I went slow and had fun. Alot of cleaning, scraping, thread chasing and alot of photos to help me put it back. A you-tube video, and the shop manual was invaluable. Happy wrench turning....

 

[robauto]

also, cost for me was gasket kit, head bolts, machine shop, plugs, temp sender, thermostat totaled about 450.
I would guess labor at a mechanic would be about 1500.
If your car has a bad head gasket and you think you can do the job, go for it. Worst case is you junk it anyway. An 05-07 is not worth much with a blown head gasket.
I encourage anyone who is thinking of doing this to try.
I have not done engine work like this in a few years, and very glad I did. Can't wait for the next big job.
My symptoms were overheating, temp gauge went real high and car started to shut down. Then it would cool and temp fine, then again the needle would take off. Did a block test and found combustion gases in the coolant. also hoses were very hard, pressure in coolant system, bubbles. Classic blown head gasket symptoms.

 

[RIT333]

Can't wait for the next big job.

I am sure that several members would be happy let you satisfy your desire to tackle another big job...on their vehicle !

 

[robauto]

Funny, yes I am sure they will, but then after we are done, they will not feel satisfied. This job is meant for the advanced back yard part time mechanic, but a good place to start if they want to venture. Anyone that needs advice or has questions once they start it, I would be glad to help. Anyone in south jersey area that wants a partner to do the job, I may be able to assist if the time is right.

 

[Mitogt]

mine is running fine, however the front timing cover is leaking, i was about to do it but thought it was the heads so now i will have to first get my 98 grand cherokee 5.2 back running and tackle the front timing cover on the 2007 equinox, the jeep is in need of the crank position sensor, new cables, new distributor cap and rotor and should be fine, these cars keep you busy some times

 

[robauto]

An update on my head gasket job from last year. A few weeks after the job I saw some coolant leaking. Ended up that it was leaking through an exhaust stud. the machine shop replaced a stud, drilled accidentally thru the coolant jacket and never told me to add sealant or scrap the head. It was #5 in the back, so not easy to get to. Not good. I removed the stud, put high temp permatex, then later bars leak tablets, and it appears to be sealed. Then just a few weeks ago after about 7k miles, a loud bang then really loud seemed like exhaust, but air pumping loud. Got towed home. A spark plug blew out!. #1 in the back. The head shop fixed an aluminum thread issue at my request. He used a helicoil spark plug insert (even though I requested time-sert) and he messed that up too. He said it happens and it was an old head, he said I should have gotten a junk yard, less mile head. I fixed it with a time-sert/big sert kit. the kit was $350, but it worked. It was on the firewall side behind the alternator. Very big job. So some lessons- go to a real good machine shop and pay some extra/top dollar or get professionally rebuilt heads from rockauto or something similar, autozone. Obviously, the machine shop I went to was pathetic. He (AJs in Williamstown NJ) gave me 50% back, but all the extra work I had to do was absurd. So if anyone does the head gasket, research the head plan. Do not remove exhaust studs before the head work (he told me that after the fact), ask him if he is sure no problems came up (drilling in coolant passages) and if you have plug thread issues, insist on a time-sert plug repair kit, not helicoil