I have to bite the bullet and take the wife's van in for head gasket work. I've got a nice little 'stream' (well, at least some residue from the stream) running down the block between the #5 and #6 cylinders on the passenger side, and what looks to be the start of some weeping between #4 and #5. Can't think of much of a reason for that trail to be there other than a leak from the gasket. It is definitely not coming from anywhere except between the head and the block.

I bought this van used this summer and do not know much about the history. It's a 1996 4.0L AWD with 75k miles. Looks like the thermostat had been replaced before I bought it, so that may have been the root cause for this current condition.

Anyway, since I am going to be paying $$ to have the intake manifold removed to get to the passenger head, I am considering having them go ahead and remove the driver head at the same time. I don't think it will be that much more labor for them to tear down the driver's head once the intake manifold is removed, and I would hate to pay for one side only to have the other side go bad a few months down the road, then pay a bunch of money again..

Taking money out of the equation (which is hard to do ) can anybody think of any reason NOT to go ahead and get the driver side taken care of while I have it in the shop???

 

Jeff,

If they're going to be working on the passenger side anyway, you might as well have them remove and inspect the driver's side head and head gasket gasket as well. Hopefully it's just the gasket and not a cracked head. Since you think the thermostat was replaced recently, this could be a sign that the van overheated recently. Not too long ago I had one cracked head when the van overheated due to bad waterpump.

Just my 2cents.

Ron

 

I hope bad luck doesn't come in 3's. I believe this is your second Aero to lose it's head. My condolences.

As far as one or both sides go, I’d say do both. There is a lot of work that is common for both. Not that much extra labor for both.

It doesn't look like you are going to try this yourself. Hope it goes well.

 

Thanks for the post guys. I will definitely have both sides done while they are in there.

I think the bad luck does come in threes, cause I found the Driver's side outer CV boot torn while I was looking for the antifreeze leak!

As far as doing it myself, I've already got one vehicle in my garage in pieces (an old Suzuki SJ410) , with no hope for a speedy recovery, so I am pretty sure that my wife would not stand for another project.

We actually got a pretty decent price on this (my friend bought it for me at a wholesaler auction) so getting the headgaskets done seems to be just part of the game of buying a used vehicle.

 

Sorry to hear this Jeff,
I would concur about just biting the bullet and getting it done. There is also the peace of mind factor - not having to drive around waiting for the 'other shoe drop'. Whenever wives or kids are involved, it is money well spent. You will enjoy the van for many more years to come.

 

If I may add my 2 cents worth here......

I would also have the fuel injecters checked and cleaned.
The lower manifold soaked & cleaned.

I thought I had nice and clean injectors & Injector Ports because I used injector cleaner every few months.
I was wrong. The ports were mostly closed over, had only about a 1/8" or little bigger hole through the gunk.