Geoff's Code 42 = Blown Head Gasget

Congratulations, B

Cylinders 1 & 2 Compression Zero
Cylinders 3 & 4 ~ 120 psi

Please tell me what I'm in for, Guys

I learned a lot from all your suggestions.
Thanks very much,
Geoff

It's not too difficult and can be done for less than $100. If no one else has replied by then, I'll go into more detail when I get home from work. I don't like typing on my phone...

When you have the head off, have it checked for cracks at a machine shop. If needed, get a valve job, and consider going to oversized valves for more flow = more power. Have the head surfaced. Also check the block surface for flatness. When the head is off is a great time to put in a higher performance roller cam.

Leave the turbo attached to the exhaust manifold, and just rock the manifold toward the passenger fender. Remove the upper intake and leave the lower attached to the head. The head is HEAVY, so unless you are pretty strong, have someone help you lift it off.

If the head doesnt want to break loose from the block, Put 2 head bolts back in their holes and tighten a few turns. Crank it over, and the head will pop loose.

Be sure to unbolt the oil line to the turbo from the "T" at the driver side rear of the block. This would be a good time to upgrade to one of Stingers braided stainless flexible oil feed lines.

This may help: http://turbotbird.com/techinfo/Head_Gask...Gasket.htm

Thanks so much Pete, Jeff & Brian.
This is a terrific club and you guys are great.

For what it's worth... I pulled the head on my 88 TC today to replace the head gasket. The procedure described by Jeff K is basically what I did. I left the lower intake manifold, exhaust manifold, and turbo installed. I unbolted the four bolts that bolt the intake "elbow" to the lower intake manifold and removed the top portion (intake elbow and throttle body) in one piece so I could get the valve cover off. On the exhaust side, I just disconnected the exhaust pipe.

As you lift the head be careful - there are several wires and water hoses (like to the oil cooler at the oil filter) that you must disconnect. I couldn't see to disconnect some of them until I began lifting the head.

Also, as stated by Jeff K, there is a "v-shaped" bracket that bolts to part of the section of the exhaust manifold that the turbo mounts to (two bolts) to the block (one bolt). I could only get the one loose at the engine block. There is a center opening in this bracket that has a flexible steel oil return line that runs from the bottom of the turbo to the engine block. I tried multiple wrenches for a couple of hours today, and couldn't get any of them to fit in the opening. I had the same problem with the rear bolt at the top of the bracket. So, I ended up having to cut the steel flexible line.

I used an engine hoist to lift the head using the factory lift hook bracket.

As stated by Jeff K - the head with turbo attached is VERY heavy! That's why I used the engine hoist. Also, using the hoist allowed me to lift the head very slowly to check for remaining wires and hose connections. It proved a very smart move.

I hope this helps!

I'm sure it will help when the time comes, Gerald, and I thank you.

Once you get the bracket off, you can make the reinstall MUCH easier by using a dremmel, cutoff wheel, etc to cut the bracket holes into open ended slots.