940 non turbo 1991 "head gasket replacement tip" 230k

[firebird]

my mother in law ran into this problem. she didnt have the money to take it to the dealer to repair so i did it for her, i wanted to let your readers know about a problem i encountered.the gasket replacement was a relativly easy fix,but one thing i did not take into consideration was that when the head bolts are torqed to spec and car is driven for a while the head bolts "stretch", so when you remove the head to replace the gasket, you must replace the bolts.not quite, the bolts will run about 80.00 to replace, do it for less than a couple of dollars by adding washers to the old bolts and retorque to spec, given there appears to be no damage to the old bolts.the aluminum head expands and contracts as its heated and cooled causing the bolts to stretch.if you do not replace the bolts or add washers you head gasket will blow again soon, guarenteed, it happened to me. after washers were installed the car has been fine for 4 years now.hope this may help someone..