Ok I have finally pulled the head and the gasket is blown just between 1 and 2. I have lots of pictures on my site and I would appreciate some advice on what I should do next.
1. Should I get a 3" flange for the exhaust downpipe for a new exhaust?
2. Where can I get a new coolant tube (the one on the front of the head, I cracked it getting it off, see pictures)
3. Is the gasket supposed to be glued on? I had it done 3 years ago by someone I *thought* did a good job. It was loose and there was no scraping needed and no prying to get the head off. I just lifted it out by myself.
4. What should I do while the head is off so I won't have to fool with this again as far as upgrades or performance? There is tons of room now that the head is gone. Sure takes up a lot of space. (i kept the intake and turbo on the head, see pics)
5. My shifter cable was replaced 3 years ago also by me and I found that it rests on the exhaust and of course the rubber is melted. I don't remember putting it there but there is no other way to run it. Is this correct? (see pics) It wont' tuck anywhere and it comes out of the bracket at the tranny and that points it directly at the exhaust downpipe. It shifts fine but I am wondering if it will hurt it over time. Maybe just wrap it with header tape??
6. Could anyone with experience look at the pics of the head and see if there are any trouble signs with the plugs, valves, coloration, and the block cylinders? This is the first headgasket swap I have done myself so I don't know the telltale signs of problems.
Thanks for the help, guys. Any reccomendations will be considered. The head looks perfectly flat by my straight edge no gaps and the turbo has minimal play and spins fine. Not sure I want to put the money into a new turbo because that will just make me go faster and break more stuff and I got this car running again to "save" money on gas...I don't know if I want more than 18 psi of boost yet... It's pretty fast now. I'm going to change all the vacuum lines and the little things that are obvious but I'm sure I won't think of some things. It was pretty easy gettting all the stuff off and even by myself but getting it all back on is a different story. We'll see.
http://160plus.com/dodge/index.html
Joe
1991 Dodge Shadow ES 2.5 Turbo Intercooled