Well im going to be replacing the head gaskets this weekend in the 88. I have a haynes manual. Any tricks or tips i need to know? Thanks.

 

Don't use a ratchet as a hammer. A greasy rag is acceptable to stop the bleeding. Jack stands aren't just for pussies.

 

One thing, if it is a 302 (and maybe a 351W, dunno) make sure that the head gaskets are installed with the correect side facing forwards, you can put them on backwards. Mine were labeled "this side toward front".

Make damn sure you get them on correctly, if not....you'll cause the rear cylinders to run a little hotter than the others 9mine started pinging because of higher temperatures). On each end of the gasket for the water jacket, there is a small hole and a larger one. The smaller one restricts the water flow going out of the block so it cannot just go from the water pump back up to the intake and out of the thermostat.

I did this once, and it caused the rear cylinder to run a little warmer than normal, leading to premature wear and the gasket blew again 2 years later. The gaskets can be put on either way without notice of incorrect installation, so BE CAREFUL to get the correct end facing to the front of the engine. The gaskets have it stamped on them for this EXACT reason. I made the mistake of not reading the instructions. Torque them down in correct sequence, and make sure that your cylinder heads are true (meaning do they need to be milled, if so get both done at the same time)

Other than that, good luck.

 

Take photos of where the vacuum lines go as a reference, and if you remove the dist, mark its position.