Fix Head or 6 Bolt?

[dsmkid4g63t]

Hey guys whats going on? I am just looking for some good opinions on what to do with my motor. I have a 2g talon. I bought it with a broken stud on the exhaust manifold, finally got the time to take the manifold off and inspect the head and broken stud. Turns out there are 2 broken studs...someone attepmted to drill them already, another thing is there is slight head gasket seepage right behind the manifold (and yes its headgasket). Im just looking for opinions on what to do. If i pull the head and swap out the head gasket, arp head studs, new timing belt, tensioner, balance shaft belt and balance shaft tensioner and water pump (car has 130k so i should do them all) im looking at close to $500 in parts. I was planning on doing a 6 bolt swap sometime in the next year or so, do you think now would be a good time to swap it out? Or should I fix the 7 bolt and wait on the 6 bolt?

Also whats a good guestimate on the final costs of a 6 bolt swap....


Thanks for your opinions guys.

 

[Justin L]

If you have another car to drive for the mean time, I would do the 6 bolt swap and not even waste the 5 hundred on the 7. I don't know exsactly what the price range would be for the whole swap. It really depends on what kind of shape you want the parts to be in. Look on www.newengdsm.org. They sometime have what your looking for. If you can't find anything on there I know of a few guys who have some stuff you might be interrested in.

 

[dsmkid4g63t]

Yea thats what i figured, i have a winter car and my DSM is actually stored in a heated garage for the winter....a DSM pal sent me this awesome link...

http://www.magnusmotorsports.com/tech/1gina2g.pdf

It is very helpful showing you a parts list, what modifications you'll need, and wiring directions and the option to buy a harness...Highly recommend checking it out.

 

[Cs4g63]

Your best bet is to realistically figure out what you want to get out of the car performance wise and how you are willing to spend on it. If you have no worries about the money your going to put into the car than go for a built 6 bolt. If you arent wanting to spend a lot of money than fix what you need to on the 7 bolt and do some simple bolt ons for power. Not all 7 bolts will crankwalk and you can still go just as fast as if you had a 6bolt.

 

[Justin L]

I got mine stored too. I am rebuilding my 6 bolt now when we have the sh**y new england weather. Hey if you need help doing the swap I only live like 2 hours away. I'll help you out if needed.

 

[dsmkid4g63t]

thanks guys, i am going to do my taxes today we will see how much i get back, this will entitle my future, in all, im looking to be around 400 hp when im done building my car, but first steps first, maintenence.

 

[Justin L]

Right on

 

[dsmkid4g63t]

ahh the government screwed me and im not getting back nearly as much as i have in past years, but oh well, its still money i didn't have and its still money going into my car ill just have to re-arange my want list.

 

[dsmkid4g63t]

well it turns out i decided to pull the head on the 7 bolt and send it to a machine shop to have the studs drilled. Upon pulling the head I found that in Cyl. 2 and Cyl. 3, the headgasket was actually leaking into the cylinders and caused the exhaust vavles to discolor and burn a little bit. Oh well, take the good with the bad...shes got to run perfect before i can start with the modifications!!