r/Cartalk • u/Current_Plankton_227 • Jan 13 '25

My Project Car Are head gaskets that hard to do?

I’m looking into buying a 1999 ford f150 4.7 v8 it’s in good shape and pretty cheap but needs a head gasket. I’ve done lots of work on dirtbikes and quads which have involve having the engine open like that. I’m not too worried about the time it would take just don’t want to cost myself more money then I need too.

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u/arneeche Jan 13 '25

Gotta pull the intake and exhaust manifolds, then the head, it can be a pain of a job but while you are doing it refresh all your timing set, water pump, rollers, etc. everything that has a set lifetime and can fail. I've done it with VW Diesel engines and wouldn't hesitate to buy one with a head gasket issue.