Have an 85 chevy 350 with one blown head gasket. White exhaust, water in oil, hyrdolocked when shut off and I had to remove plug to blow it out. Its the drivers side real cyl. Anyway, Ive never done a head gasket and watched some uTube vids on it. Im si\ure I can do it but dont want to fool wil adjusting the valve etc. Cant I just unbolt the head, levae the rods in place, DO NOT LOOSEN the rockers, then place the head back on and bolt it down without having to adjust anything?

 

Naw,

That 'taint a gonna work. Ya gotta adjust the valves.

However you can yank the head without taking off the intake manifold and any of the accessories. Just loosen it a bit, take the exhaust manifold off and tip that head up enough to clear the dowel pins and drop 'er right down outta there.

That's how Chevy guys make flat rate anyway.

Allan

 

IMHO...If I was unsure of this kind of repair I would purchase a good repair manual. Read thru the removal and replacement of a cyl. head and make sure I had the proper tools...Torque wrench,hand tools ,sockets,extensions,ect. before I just took it apart. You'll be ahead of the game if you follow the manuals procedure and don't try to "flatrate" the job. It may take awhile but you'll gain in mechanical knowledge and won't have to do the job over because you tried to rush thru it.