im replacing the head gaskets on my 97 chevy pickup that has the 4.3 v6. i am getting new gaskets from the hads up and new head bolts, is there anything else that i should get? i wanna do it now because its gonna be the only time its apart. And i was wondering if i clean the carbon of the pistons and the bottom of the heads will that screw up the way the truck runs? without cleaning the inside of the intake and cleaning the valves? im starting tommarow so i need some info and advice.. thanks

 

cleaning the carbon off of pistons and combustion chamber is a must. it will probably run better. i would buy a head gasket SET. it'll come with all the gaskets necessary (head, intake, exhaust, distributor, t-stat etc) just follow torque procedure for heads, new bolts, and make sure distributor goes back in correct. good luck!

 

why not clean the valves too it would be a plus to replace the valve seals but check your manual without looking I remember when sticking them on stem housing you have to measure the height. A cheap valve seat remover at sears shouldn't be more than $20.

I replaced my gasket because of coolant leakage so I took a gamble and used copper spray gasket sealer around the water jacket areas. Mine is a 5.3 and I didn't like the idea the top row of head bolts are not torque down as much as the rest, and because this area is where the water jacket is, it made me think the long term result will be another leak so I thought a little preventive measure couldn't hurt.