i have finally changed the head gasket on me sierra, and i must say that was a job i will never want to do again!

upon restarting the engine, I noticed it went smoother and less white smoke emanated from the exhaust.

nevertheless, is it normal that a bit of smoke appears in the engine bay? i guess that because the head gasket is new, it is getting used to the temperature?

another thing i must do is change the oil! it was BLACK! and i dont mean black. i mean CHARCOAL. i wonder how this engine survived so long with a broken gasket and charcoal for oil!
oh and one word of advise (you probably know it already and i'm being a tosser): PUT GLOVES ON! my hands look like they have been attacked by a pack of angry cats. plus they say used oil can give skin cancer oops....

Is it the first one you've done Robert? It gets easier the more you do. You probably got oily hands all over the exhaust manifold, that will smoke till it burns off. Warm it up well before you change the oil so it drains easier and don't forget to oil the filter seal.

[Edited on 8/3/06 by Peteff]

first one's always a learning curve, but they do get easier likewise the smoke from the engine bay will be all the crud that's been disturbed burning off - should stop after the engines been warmed through a couple of times.

Yep, all sounds normal

Did the head on a Ford KA the other week after the plugs decided to shear off in it and looked like I had been fighting with a few cats afterwards!

phew... i thought i had made a dogs dinner of it. didnt quite expect the cylinder head to weigh so much. now my entire body is aching from yesterday's intense wight-lifting session!
took me like 3 hours to do...enjoyed every second of it!! i love the torque wrench!!! never used one up to now!...
next one will take half the time...