Head Gasket replacement for 2.2 L Turbo

[Mobjak]

Hello all,

First post here and a some what new owner of a 1989 TC, red with the classic Maserati orange interior.

I seem to have blown a head gasket and was looking for any additional hints/tips for replacement. I have a haynes manual but that comes up a little short for this kind of work.

So far I have removed most everything from the engine except the intake/exhaust manifolds and turbo.

I have also removed the right front drive axle to allow extra access to the rear of the engine.

I searched the posts, but did not come up with much.

Any hints/tips for some good DIY docs?

Thanks,

Mobjak

[Guest My TC Toy]

First of all, welcome. You will find that through this thread you will normally be able to get all the help you want for almost any problem you encounter.

Your engine is pretty basic Chrysler, just be sure to get good quality parts. Once is enough to repair a problen.

I would suggest you get a TC manual that will be a great help.

Another suggestion would be to join the TC Club http://www.chryslertcbymaseraticlub.com

Good luck and again Welcome!

[Mobjak]

Thanks My TC Toy,

By repair manual, I think that I have only seen two manuals,

The Haynes "Chrysler Mid-size 1982 thru 1995" that I purchased and I believe I have seen a Chiltons referenced somewhere.

Are there others?

My real challenge right now is that I don't want to break apart any of the turbo if I can help it. That may not be possible, unless I can disconnect it where it attaches to the exhaust manifold?

TIA

[Guest My TC Toy]

Mobjak,

The Haynes manual is not a great help with the TC. Remember it is not a Chrysler built car, but rather a Maserati, you will find that out when you get into other things, although many parts are Chrysler. Keep looking in e-bay for the Chrysler manual for a 1989 TC, I think it is the blue one. I know the red one is for the 1990.

A friend has a 1959 Morris with leather seating, this really blows my mind, leather bench seats, what will they think of next.

To see my car go to www.mytctoy.ca.

Best of luck!

[Guest LouZ]

Hey Mobjak,

There are 2 Chrysler "Factory Service Manuals" 1989 Colored Blue, '90-'91 Colored Red. There is a thread on here about 1 year ago about head gaskets. As I recall they mentioned that FelPro head gasket did not give good results. Other than that I don't remember much else. The complete power train is standard 2.2 4 cyl Chrysler. The same that was used in many Chryslers at that time including the Daytonas and Shelbys.

The manuals go for various prices. I personally believe anything over $50.00 is a rip off. Good Luck, Lou

[TwinCamFan]

Welcome to the most informed list about TC ownership MobJak, there are others but this one is the best (in my opinion anyway ) I have taken the cylinder heads off of many 2.2/2.5 Dodge/Chryslers over the years and it seems second nature now but it can be a bit daunting the first couple times. In no particular order I'm gonna throw out some random thoughts.

If your car was run hot even briefly, you may be facing more than just a gasket change. Not to incite panic or anything, but the cylinder heads on the 2.2/2.5 turbos are very prone to warpage. Overheating the engine will cause this. I don't remember what the 'factory' spec is but any more than .003-.005 and the deck surface of the head should be resurfaced. Unless you have a real machinists 'strait edge' it would be difficult to check it yourself. Likely there is a machine shop in your neighborhood that will do it for a nominal cost. Might be ideal time for a valvejob/valveseals. I pay $145, for a complete valvejob with seals (guides $10ea for the 4 exhaust guides, they are probably beyond their service limit)

The intake/exhaust manifolds should stay attached to your head until the whole assembly is on the bench. Just take loose the exhaust at the downpipe (those shoulder bolts will likely break off, easy to find new ones at auto parts or dealership), the oil feed to the turbo (I like to take it from the front of the motor where the oil feed line comes out of the distribution block, careful, dont round it off!)the oil return to the block, the water return to the block (below the power steering pump) fuel lines, vacuum lines (carefull, they are BRITTLE)and various electrical connections. Then take the headbolts out and have a freind help you lift the whole shebang off.

Lots of guys do a 'lift and slide' by just elevating the head a few inches and slipping old one out and new one in. I've never done it that way and theres no good way to clean/prep the surface to recieve the new gasket.

WHen you get the head off, look at the old gasket, did it fail at the passenger side rear corner? That's the best spot bcause it usually means the head is otherwise healthy, there is a small 'island' of gasket between the bore and the water jacket back there. Some of us feel like it gets comprimised as soon as the head is torqued on the engine. The gaskets do crush/compress during that step, just the nature of the beast.

Replace your headbolts, they are torque to yield fasteners and they get yielded (stretched) when installed.

Rotate the motor over when the head is off and check the condition of your cylinder bores. likely they will still have good crosshatch, I've seen it even on 200K mile motors. look for any deep gouges or scratches though.

Replace your cambelt while you are in there unless it's already been done. You do have to take loose the passenger motor mount and jack up the motor a little, but now is the perfect time to do it.

If you are a 'performance' oriented enthusiast, now is the perfect time for a little turbo/swingvalve upgrade 50 HP there easy Try RDIperformance.com, FWDperformance.com or turbosunleashed.com They all have tasty ways to spend money on fancy new parts...

Good luck, let us know how it goes. If you get a chance, do a little intro post on yourself and your car. Mileage, color, history, your location, that kind of thing

Alan

[Mobjak]

Thanks TwinCamFan,

I will search for the manual, and proceed with the head removal without removing intake/exhaust/turbo.

Car details, 1989 TC with 2.2L Turbo 8 valve, California car. Car was imported to CA and then sold to VA resident with 4k on the clock. I am the second owner and could not resist the car for $800.00

About 61k on the odometer, which of course does not work. I did check out MyTCToy web site and will repair the odometer after engine repair.

The car is red with ginger interior, all very nice except for quite a few dings in the rear deck lid and hood. The convertible top and hard top are both in excellent condition. Carpets in very good to excellent condition.

I have noticed that most other cars of this year have the wood surrounds for console and dash, mine has black plastic and two air vents in dash just above the radio(was wondering why?)

I work in the automotive retail industry in central Virginia so the car thing has become a habit. I typically like unusual cars, something out of the norm. Small seems to be a subconsious desire when looking at cars, things like the BMW Isetta, Fiat x00 series, Morris Minor etc.

Looking forward to being a member on this forum!

Thanks for the help.

[TwinCamFan]

Doesn't get much smaller than the Isetta's The TC is your 'Big' car eh? The 'woodgrain look' was an option, it looks nice but don't let it fool you, it's just plastic Except for one very nice piece, the shift knob and that's only in the 5SPD cars. Sounds like you have a solid start on the project Red/Ginger/black is my personal favorite combo , put up a picture or two when you get it cleaned up, heck show me a some pics of the engine with the head off and I'll check it for anything that jumps out at me...

Alan

[cowancom]

The fake woodgrain was to be in ALL TC's. It was not an option. The pieces simply were not ready. So for the first 1.5-2 months of build-black pieces were used. The radio surround was black leather covered. Some like this look better.

The shift knob on ALL automatic TC's sold were made-by hand-one at a time-by a little pipe maker outside of Milan. His pipes sold for hundreds to thousands of dollars. I'm lucky enough to own 2 of his pipes. He passed away in 1999. RIP

[Mobjak]

Well, I guess I have one more oddity, the shifter is leather covered, not wood...

I wish that little ol' pipe maker started a little earlier!

Thanks

[TwinCamFan]

Non-woodgrain= leather shifter, woodgrain=Wood shifter auto's and 5SPD's I'm in that group that Tim refered to that doesn't care for the plastic look, give me the leather any day

Alan

[cowancom]

That was part of the first run of cars. The wood and wood-look parts were not ready.

[wlhrtfld]

I have replaced the head gasket on my 2.2 several times. I finally found success when I used the MOPAR performance head gasket for the 2.2. It works like a charm and is also cheaper than the FelPro or Victor gaskets. The key is to take your time and check everything!

[cowancom]

Do you have a part # ?

Or how about this-remember, you get what you pay for.

http://www.fwdperformance.com/Store/Product.asp?IDCatalog=44&ProductID=574

[TwinCamFan]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: wlhrtfld</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I have replaced the head gasket on my 2.2 several times. I finally found success when I used the MOPAR performance head gasket for the 2.2. It works like a charm and is also cheaper than the FelPro or Victor gaskets. The key is to take your time and check everything! </div></div>

You checked the head/block for flat, everything was clean, used new bolts and the FelPro still blew out? I've heard lots of guys trash out the FelPros on other lists but personally have never blown one (one time on my Shelby Lancer but that was 21+PSI boost on a crummy tune, I deserved that one ). I don't run them anymore because I dont have any SOHC cars but I didn't hesistate to use them back in the day. Do you use your gaskets 'dry'? I like a moderate coat of Permatex Copper Spray gasket on both sides Welcome to the list Mr Hartfield, lets hear about those 2.2's when you get a chance. Sounds like you have some experience underhood

Alan

[Hemi Dude]

Alan, you wrote the following;

"Lots of guys do a 'lift and slide' by just elevating the head a few inches and slipping old one out and new one in. I've never done it that way and there's no good way to clean/prep the surface to receive the new gasket."

Well, let me tell you that there is.. There is no GREAT need to take out the works if it is only the gasket that needs replacing. I have done it on my cars, on customers cars many times.

I use an engine hoist, "cherry picker" with 2 old fan belts around the camshaft. Then just jack it up far enough to get your hand and an 'Arkansas stone' to clean the surfaces.

This operation is only valid IF the head gasket is just seeping, and the engine has NOT been overheated.

We all know, don't we, that the head gasket deteriorates slowly and the first sign is an engine miss at start-up which goes away as the engine runs a few minutes. Later on we see the white smoke from the exhaust and if we don't heed these warnings, we may see the temp gauge go to HOT and then the engine usually will stop. That's when we need to do a lot more, like replace the head or even more.

Before all that, snaking the gasket will work just fine and save both time and effort. I think they call it flat-rating.

[Mobjak]

Hello again everyone,

Slow progress, but I have finally gotten the head off of the car. I followed the suggestion of keeping the Intake/Exhaust/Turbo all bolted on and with the help of a friend, it came right on out!

Question, while I have it on the bench, should I remove those parts or just clean up the mating surfaces and put a new gasket with new bolts into the car? (I do plan on checking for warpage)

As far as I can tell, there are no leaks on the manifolds. I am looking at replacing/cleaning up the oil and coolant line fittings due to corrosion.

I also hope to purchase a manual this week per the suggestions of the forum.

[Mobjak]

Ok, a couple of questions?

So far three out of four fluid supplies/returns have come off easily. The last one is coolant return and it is siezed very tightly. Also the fitting attaching to the turbo has a lot of corrosion. I am using PB on the fitting and retrying to break loose.

Question: Is this often a problem spot for damaging the turbo/connection? Should heat be applied?

Here is the picture of the failed gasket. Failed on cylinder #1. I used a large industrial straight edge to check the head and check length wise and cross corner to cross corner, all was very tight. Here is a pic of the failed spot on the gasket.

Question: I tried one of the links to locate a felpro or mopar gasket and no luck so far. Local Napa was no help. Should I stick to a dealer for sourcing this?

An additional pic of at least one clean side of the head.

[TwinCamFan]

Ha, I shoulda checked this thread before I replied in your other one, I asked some questions about the shape of the old gaket and here you put up nice pics of exactly what I was talking about

Go ahead and heat that fitting, you wont hurt it. I have snapped one of those brass 90's off before so be cautious with it. Try finding one of those somewhere... It is specific to the Chrysler turbo's so you have to find someone parting one out (not so tough if you know where to look) If the lines get damaged you might consider fresh/upgraded lines from Turbos Unleashed or FWDPerformance.com. IN fact, popular theory holds that just manipulation/bending of the oil feed line causes micro flaking of the crusty deposits from the inner wall of the line. That crust heads right to the shell bearing of the turbo and kills it within a couple thousand miles. Most turbo rebuilders will NOT warranty a rebuilt unit UNLESS a new feed line is purchased/installed at the same time. I've gone with used lines and gotten away with it though...

Alan

[cowancom]

You get what you pay for.....

http://www.fwdperformance.com/Store/Product.asp?IDCatalog=44&ProductID=574

http://www.fwdperformance.com/Store/Product.asp?IDCatalog=71&ProductID=288

[Mobjak]

Thanks for the link Cowancom to the parts on the web.

I am wondering about oem parts, I checked with my local Chrysler dealership and they can get head gasket, bolts, valve cover gasket etc. Can/Should I use these, they are considerably cheaper?

I do not plan to upgrade any engine components, I am pretty much a "keep everything stock" kinda guy.

Also, are the FWD turbo supply hoses significantly different from OEM hoses?

One other question, can I use permatex HTV sealant for the fittings to the turbo and head (ie brass fittings on turbo and head)?

TIA

[TwinCamFan]

Not sure what you mean by different Darrin, yes there are differences. Your TC has a forged crank and TII Mahle pistons (pressure cast but not quite forged) But yeah, they are basically the same engine. If you are asking If I think the 600 is a good candidate for the Le-Mons race, HECK YES! It's 600 pounds lighter than your TC and its all about wiegth savings in a race. Easier on tires/brakes/drivetrain/fuel-all the things that matter in an endurance race. Want some help with the race? I'm betting you a cookie that I can find you some. Go get the car, I'll recruit you some help, just tell me exactly where the build will be taking place. In the meantime, have you joined up Turbo-Mopar.com ? That's where your help is gonna come from...

Alan