LUVTruck.com

Hey my fellow Luv truckers, got a big problem. My headgasket is blown between the third and fourth cylinder and it's causing some real problems....So I'm wondering what everybody's opinion is on this. Does anybody have a head gasket set or know where I can get one? That would be awesome. Thanks a lot guys.

you should be able to get one at your local parts store. i would recommend getting the head milled to.

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don`t have the luv no more but I still like em.72 el camino,
00 & 06 silverado one 4x4, turboed vw sandrail,99 banshee, 06 raptor 700, 02 polaris trailblazer.

just run down to the nparts store. If it has watter in the cylinders just bump the motor over acouple of times whith the spark-plugs out.

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1980 LUV 4x4, going under re-construction...

I usually recommend not milling or shaving down the head. If too much is taken off it increases the pressure in the combustion chamber. I've seen more than a few people I know replace the head gasket, only to have it blow again and again until they replaced the head with one that had not been shaved off. The alternative would be a shim to take up the space of the lost material, if the head is warped to the point of really needing some work. There are a couple of gasket makers that have a shim set, FelPro being the one that comes to mind.

As for sources, you can find a lot of parts at http://www.rockauto.com/ and http://www.carparts.com/.

Oh yeah, flush your radiator while you're doing the head and replace the thermostat. Headgaskets on LUVs usually go because of overheating or excessive temp swings like a sticky thermostat.

I had this EXACT same thing happen on my truck. The head gasket was not really hard to find. I think we found it at a local parts store (maybe had to order?) but they are not unattainable. I see one on eBay right now for a 76-78 model. Anyway we also had the head checked for flatness, and milled it a bit. I'm not real sure about the above advice not to mill the head flat? In my experience every head that we did not mill while replacing the head gasket (count em: 4 times on 3 different trucks) caused some sort of problem later on. I can understand not wanting to do this to a really warped head, but just a few thousands of an inch will not make a difference, since the thickness tolerance of the gasket is more than that.

Well, When I looked for the head set I couldn't find it anywhere even to order from edmonton or calgary. And what I could sortof find was a "maybe posibility" that would cost me $150. So I went onto the internet at chevypartstore.com and they have everything there and I was able to find a head set for $50. So that was a nice break.....(still costs me quite a bit being Canadian..) And yes I am going to get the head milled a bit by a friend. who knows what he's doing. Everything should be fine.
Thanks!

My recommendation was not exactly meant to mean do not mill the head flat. What I meant was don't just do it because you are doing the head gasket. A lot of people figure it is just a requirement, and shave off several thousandths just on principle. What you want is a flat surface, with as little lost metal as possible. If you just toss the old head back on without at least checking it, you are asking for problems, very true.

There are machine shops around now that are straightening heads rather than just milling them flat. They heat it up and apply pressure to one part or another in order to get it closer to flat. When they are done, you end up with little or no milling required.

I just meant to add a word of caution regarding cutting too much metal off and creating a new problem. LUVs seem to be rather sensitive to this sort of thing, from my experience. You definitely want to check for flat, and correct it if it is a problem when doing a head gasket. Just don't mill first and check later.

As for places to order from, http://www.carparts.com or http://www.rockauto.com seem to be fairly well stocked with LUV parts, though I do not know about shipment to the Great White North. Last head gasket I bought was from carparts.com and cost something like $20, tho it was just the gasket, no kit with the valve stem seals

another thingyou need to watch out for are so called machine shops that use a belt sander to try and straighten the head. we saw these come in my old shop all the time. they usually cut deeper in the center of the head than on the ends. or if the operator happens to put more body weight on one end of the head they take more off down there.spend your money right the first time make sure they use a mill machine

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don`t have the luv no more but I still like em.72 el camino,
00 & 06 silverado one 4x4, turboed vw sandrail,99 banshee, 06 raptor 700, 02 polaris trailblazer.

800XL, got what ya mean now. You had me scared there for a sec.

Sorry, I sorta stopped mid thought there and forgot to finish. I was confused by what I wrote after I re-read it. You do want a flat head, but if done wrong it can be worse than just bolting the old one back on.

My tip for taking things apart: Try to pull both manifolds with the head, but the exhaust pipe flange bolts can be a pain to get out. If they don't come loose in the first couple of tries, take the EGR pipe off the manifold and pull the exhaust manifold from the motor. This assumes you can lift the whole works out together, which most any two people can manage but can be a challenge on your own.