Well my new Monty has developed a coolant leak somewhere so I took it to a shop and they want to charge $850 to replace the head gasket and have the head checked out. I can not afford that so I am going to try to do this myself. I've gotten my gasket kit and some new head bolts from NAPA and plan on trying to do this over the weekend.

Is there anything that I should watch out for? Does the head have to be sent off to a machine shop to check flatness or is there a way to check that my self? It has been a good 10-11 years since I have done anything like this so any pointer would be greatly appreciated.

Also, after doing some searching is looks like the preferred aftermarket head is Clearwater..?