Honest Opinion on 97 Eclipse NT head gasket

[zarjov]

Greetings,

Ok, after going through a lot of search from this forum (BTW thank you for a lot of info) I am now convinced that the source of the oil leak on my 95K miles ‘97 NT is the head gasket. I don’t have a lot of money to invest on this car so I decided to fix it myself. I consider my self a mechanically inclined guy, knows how to use tools, and can follow direction from a repair manual. With some guidance from my father-in-law, I was able to replace the blown head gasket on my ‘93 V6 4runner. So, with this in mind, I would like to get everyone’s honest opinion before I start tearing my NT apart:

1. With my small mechanic experience with my 4runner, do you guys think I can fix my NT problem?
2. Are there any special tools that I should be aware of or should acquire before I start the project?
3. While in there, any suggestion on what else to replace? Like timing belt, water pump, etc. I am not really looking for performance upgrade (lack of funds).
4. Any tips on what to look for/ avoid/ watch out for? I know people here have done this a lot and have ample experiences, so any help will be appreciated.
5. Or lastly, should I just save my self some trouble (or maybe a finger or two) and bring it to a certified mechanic?

I know there are a lot of honest and helpful people around here, so any help like I said will be much appreciated. And, I will try to take pictures as I progress and will post it here.

Thank you in advance.

 

[TALONTRAX]

If I understand correctly, you are trying to solve an oil leak, correct ? A leaking head gasket usually (almost always) will leak coolant, not oil. I would rather think that it`s a valve cover seal leaking - or the cam sensor on the side of the head. The cam sensors on the 420a engines are a common cause of oil leaks. Check these out before you decide to remove the head . . .

 

[Colt4G63 also]

I've seen the 420A engines leak oil down the back of the block from the head gasket before. Sometimes on fairly low mile cars. When I worked at Dodge, you could sometimes get away with just re-torqueing the headbolts.

 

[Mr PopUps]

I've seen the 420A engines leak oil down the back of the block from the head gasket before. Sometimes on fairly low mile cars. When I worked at Dodge, you could sometimes get away with just re-torqueing the headbolts.

Yea the Neon HG's had that problem with the 'self destruct @ 50k' built in .

 

[Viper588]

Greetings,

Ok, after going through a lot of search from this forum (BTW thank you for a lot of info) I am now convinced that the source of the oil leak on my 95K miles '97 NT is the head gasket. I don't have a lot of money to invest on this car so I decided to fix it myself. I consider my self a mechanically inclined guy, knows how to use tools, and can follow direction from a repair manual. With some guidance from my father-in-law, I was able to replace the blown head gasket on my '93 V6 4runner. So, with this in mind, I would like to get everyone's honest opinion before I start tearing my NT apart:

1. With my small mechanic experience with my 4runner, do you guys think I can fix my NT problem?
2. Are there any special tools that I should be aware of or should acquire before I start the project?
3. While in there, any suggestion on what else to replace? Like timing belt, water pump, etc. I am not really looking for performance upgrade (lack of funds).
4. Any tips on what to look for/ avoid/ watch out for? I know people here have done this a lot and have ample experiences, so any help will be appreciated.
5. Or lastly, should I just save my self some trouble (or maybe a finger or two) and bring it to a certified mechanic?

I know there are a lot of honest and helpful people around here, so any help like I said will be much appreciated. And, I will try to take pictures as I progress and will post it here.

Thank you in advance.

Hey, to try and answer some of your questions....

1. I think with the experience you have you will be able able to change the head gasket.... i had to change mine without any previous experience with replacing head gaskets and worked out fine.

2. The only "special" tool i can remember needing is the pulley puller and the rod that goes with it in order to remove the crank pulley.(real PITA)I rented the puller from autozone for free

3. If they havent been done recently i would replace the water, pump, timing belt, prob the auto tensioner, and both the tensioner pulley and idler pulley... 10k miles after i did my head gasket had to go back and replace the pulleys...

4. Not that i can think of...buy a haynes or chiltons and also look online there was a great step by step guide to do it on the 420a with pics and all that helped me a lot.

5. I was very pleased with doing it myself rather than bringing it to a shop, saved a ton of cash, got the experience if i ever need to do it again, and helped me learn more about my car...But i would say it depends on your situation ie. if you need the car done quick so you can get to work etc.

good luck =)

 

[zarjov]

If I understand correctly, you are trying to solve an oil leak, correct ? A leaking head gasket usually (almost always) will leak coolant, not oil. I would rather think that it`s a valve cover seal leaking - or the cam sensor on the side of the head. The cam sensors on the 420a engines are a common cause of oil leaks. Check these out before you decide to remove the head . . .

Thanks for the pointing that out, head gasket cover was actually my first fix.

I have replaced the valve cover gasket and did not solve the problem. After spending some time seaching the forums here, I came to the conclusion that it is the head gaket that's the problem. Sounds like it is a common problem with this engine.

 

[zarjov]

I've seen the 420A engines leak oil down the back of the block from the head gasket before. Sometimes on fairly low mile cars. When I worked at Dodge, you could sometimes get away with just re-torqueing the headbolts.

This actually came to my mind, but with 92K I thought it's time for new TB anyways so I decided to go for the head gasket.

Thanks

 

[zarjov]

Hey, to try and answer some of your questions....

1. I think with the experience you have you will be able able to change the head gasket.... i had to change mine without any previous experience with replacing head gaskets and worked out fine.

2. The only "special" tool i can remember needing is the pulley puller and the rod that goes with it in order to remove the crank pulley.(real PITA)I rented the puller from autozone for free

3. If they havent been done recently i would replace the water, pump, timing belt, prob the auto tensioner, and both the tensioner pulley and idler pulley... 10k miles after i did my head gasket had to go back and replace the pulleys...

4. Not that i can think of...buy a haynes or chiltons and also look online there was a great step by step guide to do it on the 420a with pics and all that helped me a lot.

5. I was very pleased with doing it myself rather than bringing it to a shop, saved a ton of cash, got the experience if i ever need to do it again, and helped me learn more about my car...But i would say it depends on your situation ie. if you need the car done quick so you can get to work etc.

good luck =)

Thank you for the response.

Does anyone know if I can get away with just replacing the HG without machining the head?