Can anyone give me step by step instrutions on how to change the head gasket on my ford escort rs turbo?

i am trying to save some money and do the head gasket my self but have neva done one before so if anyone can help ill be very grate full if u can add pictures to help me that would be grate thanks darrenCan anyone give me step by step instrutions on how to change the head gasket on my ford escort rs turbo?It's fairly easy (if you are mechanically inclined). You should probably get a haynes or clymer manual (available at autozone, etc.) - you won't regret it.



Make sure you have a torque wrench - if you buy a new one, make absolutely sure to break it in properly.



Get a head gasket, new head bolts, valve cover gasket, timing belt, and I would suggest getting a water pump as long as you are in there. Grab some black RTV gasket sealant while you are at it (for the valve cover, not the head gasket).



Start by removing all of the external junk that might get in your way. Some people are tempted to try to only remove what they absolutely have to in order to get to the head, but in my experience it is worth the few extra minutes to get everything out of the way so I'm not having to fight it.



All of the accessory stuff (alternator/power steering pump) comes off pretty easily - I generally don't disconnect the A/C compressor - just unbolt it and use some big zip strips to mount it out of the way.



I almost always modify the timing belt cover on escorts by carefully breaking the bottom part of it off - otherwise it is a pain in the azz to get it off and back on. There isn't enough clearance to take it off properly without removing the front motor mount and jacking the engine up.



Remove the valve cover %26amp; gasket.



Remove the timing belt - but first make absolutely sure to mark the location of the gears - I generally set it at 'TDC' (top dead center) , and a lot of timing belts will have a 'TDC' mark on them as well. If you get it out of time, you will be cussing when you have to tear it apart again to time it - although modifying the timing belt cover like I mentioned before makes it much easier.



Get a big breaker bar and pop the head bolts loose. Keep in mind that they are one-time use only. We'll get to that in a minute.



Carefully pry the head off the engine, and you are halfway there!



Now, once you have it off, inspect the valves - if the head gasket blew (almost always between pistons where it is really thin) then you should see nice shiny steam cleaned parts.



Sometimes the head will warp when the gasket blows (especially when it is extremely cold out. The last one I did, I wasted time (and money) putting it completely back together only to find out I had no compression on the middle two cylinders).



Call around some machine shops, and get a quote for levelling the head. I found a place that only charged me $30, and it was well worth it - the few mils they shaved off actually made a noticeable difference in performance.



Okay.



Make sure to get all of the old gasket off the engine and head (if you have the head machined, it will be nice and clean). Put the new head gasket on (I sometimes use a little tiny bit of RTV to hold it in place while I am assembling it) - it helps to have two people so you can carefully lower the head into place. Some people use dowels to align it, but I generally just put it on, and slip a few of the new head bolts in.



Now - this is where you either need to check online or in the book, because you are going to torque the head bolts down - but there is an order to tighten them down in (you will follow the pattern several times rather than just cranking each one down all the way the first time). Then (and this is why you can't reuse the head bolts - regardless of what some people will tell you) you are going to over-torque the bolts to the final setting (again, refer to the book, or online), and they will actually twist a little bit. This is to make up for the difference in rate of expansion between the aluminum head, and the cast block.



Now it's back to the timing belt - usually if you are doing the belt (and the head) it's time for a water pump, but that's up to you.



Make sure you have both gears properly aligned (TDC is the best bet) and put the new belt on.



Everything else is just reassembly from that point on.



Good luck!
Can anyone give me step by step instrutions on how to change the head gasket on my ford escort rs turbo?
river's right about manual advance %26amp; auto zone sells them for about$10

if it is the early escort they was prone to cracked heads.in the book

it will tell you step by step and have pitchers to.most of the time the

crack was around 2 and 3 put a brush on a drill and clean it up then inspect it well.Be sure to get a strait edge and check end to end +side

to side that it has no warp-edge. if it is cracked it is junk you will need a different one.If warped call a machine shop and see what it will cost

to have it machined.As he said replace the head bolts and the timing

belt as you have it off and spend the money about $20 for the belt.
Can anyone give me step by step instrutions on how to change the head gasket on my ford escort rs turbo?
doing a head gasket is a lot of work and will take some time (make sure ya have head checked to make sure not warped ) but for around 20 dollars you can get http://www.alldatadiy.com for the car that will give you everything ya should need for 1 year on that car complete maneul for everything on car it is worth it you can print out any info and keep or in file on pc good luck take pic's of it while everything is hooked up for referances well worth the time to lite up and get pics
1st-BUY A HAYNES MANUAL!!! 2nd- HEAD GASKET JOB IS FOR PEOPLE WHO LIKES 2 GET RID OF THE CAR, IF U LIKE TO KEEP IT,

GET YOURSELF A NEW OR RE-MANUFACTURED ENGINE (CAN BUY THOSE IN AUTOZONE...) AND REPLACE IT !!! OR BUY A REBUILD KIT, AND REBUILD A WHOLE ENGINE, DONT DO HALF-S JOB !!!

I DID A LOT OF HEAD GASKET JOBS 4 CUSTOMERS, AND THEY ALWAYS BROUGHT IT BACK WITH MORE PROBLEMS...



I HAD 2 CARS WITH A SAME PROBLEM, ON A 1st ONE, I DID A H.G., DROVE IT FOR ABOUT 6 MONTH, THE ENGINE DIED, AND I HAD TO REBUILD MY ENGINE, THE 2nd CAR, I GOT FOR FREE, WITH A H.G. PROBLEM, GOT MYSELF A KIT, REBUILDED THE ENGINE, DROVE IT 4 A YEAR AND SOLD IT, AND SERVED IT FOR 3 YEARS AFTER IT...
if you have to ask then you can't do it, its a very involved job and the head will have to be refaced
Get a Haynes manual - about a fiver on Ebay %26amp; it'll save you a couple of hundred quid on this job alone.
Go and buy a shop manual
Junk it.
too much to type buy a repair manual your going to need it