steph74
04-18-2011, 08:12 AM
So this is it....
I took a last good look at the engine bay
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/e6e97271.jpg?t=1303131543
Then started draining fluids (coolant and oil)
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/351d8941.jpg?t=1303131543
Then started taking details pictures of vacuum connections, hoses, and stuff at different angles. Labelling plug wires, injector wires, connections etcs.... I passed on labelling the vacuum harness but that is because I changed it before and I have a good diagram of it.... and I am lazy too
First step
off the air cleaner assembly:
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/e5e60d28.jpg?t=1303131716
Then the fittings on the rocker arm cover
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/e9eea180.jpg?t=1303131716
and the valve cover itself
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/204067a3.jpg?t=1303131716
Yuck.... apparently the cover has a precured gasket that is reusable.... well I didn;t read too carefully and since the gasket set had a new one I removed it... oh well
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/8be9bba0.jpg?t=1303131716
then off the rocker arms and the push rods
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/e15358b8.jpg?t=1303131716
They have to be put in the same exact position so I used a box to store them:
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/282f17af.jpg?t=1303131716
Then off the fuel rail and injectors... don't forget to label ;)
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/e25e4352.jpg?t=1303131716
unbolt the rail and rock it up and down gently while pulling.
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/ccfbcc6f.jpg?t=1303132046
you didn;t forget to relieve the fuel pressure before you tried to remove the injectors right ? (this is done easily by opening the gas tank cap and pushing down on the little valve just before the regulator)
Anyway off the throttle body and the heat shield plate.... The books recommended to disconnect the throttle cable. I didn;t because I have a manual so less cable (and I couldn;t figure out how to disconnect the cable)
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/dd2d3b81.jpg?t=1303136083
then unbolt the manifolds.... exhaust and intake on my year model share the same gasket and they have to be removed together.... top bolts are easy... bottom bolts are... well let's say that you need to be creative with wobbles extensions and small hands and arms....
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/91f0034f.jpg?t=1303136083
look at this thing.... some bolts were completely lose and the rearmost stud was missing...
And I didn;t take pictures of that but you have to losen the power steering pump, remove the belt and unbolt the bracket from the intake manifold....
Did I mention you need a good manual ? this is the Haynes...well used....
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/761cc9fb.jpg?t=1303136083
Then get to the left side of the head and remove the 2 bolts that are holding the A/C compressor to the head,
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/e944598a.jpg?t=1303136083
and also the bracket that is there I think to hold the coolant system hoses away from the head....
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/a335ae32.jpg?t=1303136083
You are almost there....
Unbolt the head... 14 bolts, they are on tight.... I used a long cheater bar
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/6d40da1f.jpg?t=1303136083
Remove the ground strap from the rear bolt, unplug the coolant temperature sensor
Then remove the head.... it is heavy... be smarter than me, get someone to help you lifting it off so you don;t break your back....
I left the rear right bolt in because well you can;t really pull it off because of the lip on the firewall...
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/ef76a389.jpg?t=1303136083
and admire your work....
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/ccee75e2.jpg?t=1303137440
Take a break... I started putting the head back together...
new valve stem seals, new studs
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/93e897a5.jpg?t=1303137060
All cleaned
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/6f70b8d7.jpg?t=1303137060
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/eee4056a.jpg?t=1303137060
Then put everything back together in the exact inverse order you removed it.... (that is the stupid instructions from the book lol)
This is the gasket set I used. came with head gasket, valve cover cork gasket, throttle body gasket, thermostat housing gasket, EGR valve gasket, exhaust/intake manifold gasket and valve stem seals
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/619cb33c.jpg?t=1303137060
I didn;t take pictures of the reassemble just the parts that gave me trouble ;)
Trouble one:
Lining up the head on the gasket.... it is heavy, it has to come in at an angle, the gsket keeps sliding.... all in all, almost 2h of bitching....
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/3f2ee33a.jpg?t=1303137060
then remember when i said that the rear most bolt didn;t fit ? I should have applied that to myself... after finaly lining up the head, I realize I didn;t put the bolt in...
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/76eb07cf.jpg?t=1303137060
did it again, with the bolt tapped in
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/05c3314f.jpg?t=1303137060
Put the bolts back in... after checking you can reuse them once... so since there was no paint on them, I decided to reuse them and save some money (or not but let's be crazy and take risks)
Bolt number 11 (the right front one goes through the water jacket so you have to use some thread sealant. Book recommend locktite 592... couldn;t find it so this is what I used
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/59a02f45.jpg?t=1303137440
Head is on, bolts are torqued... I rented a torque wrench from o'reilly
Step A 23 ft#
Step B 45 ft#
Step C 110 ft# for all bolts except #11 (the one sealed 100#)
Put everything back it is fairly easy...
lessons learned the hard way:
-don;t forget to put the valve cover in before the thermostat housing
-don;t forget to put the thermostat in before you torque the thermostat housing bolts
-put the belt back in and tighten it before you put the air cleaner assembly because you need to reach the back adjusting bolts on the power steering pump.
-using vinyl gloves as baggies to keep the bolts together is a bad idea... bolts falling in the fingers are more frustrating to retrieve...
Refill the coolant and oil and start it
All in all, it was a nice learning experience, there is always that split second when you try to start it where you hope you put everything back properly and the engine is not going to leak or stuff...
As far as I could see I made only one quickly fixed mistake in my vacuum connection that made the engine run like crap and die as soon as I was letting off the gas.
With time, basic tools and a lot of patience, I would say that anybody can do it
I took a last good look at the engine bay
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/e6e97271.jpg?t=1303131543
Then started draining fluids (coolant and oil)
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/351d8941.jpg?t=1303131543
Then started taking details pictures of vacuum connections, hoses, and stuff at different angles. Labelling plug wires, injector wires, connections etcs.... I passed on labelling the vacuum harness but that is because I changed it before and I have a good diagram of it.... and I am lazy too
First step
off the air cleaner assembly:
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/e5e60d28.jpg?t=1303131716
Then the fittings on the rocker arm cover
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/e9eea180.jpg?t=1303131716
and the valve cover itself
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/204067a3.jpg?t=1303131716
Yuck.... apparently the cover has a precured gasket that is reusable.... well I didn;t read too carefully and since the gasket set had a new one I removed it... oh well
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/8be9bba0.jpg?t=1303131716
then off the rocker arms and the push rods
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/e15358b8.jpg?t=1303131716
They have to be put in the same exact position so I used a box to store them:
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/282f17af.jpg?t=1303131716
Then off the fuel rail and injectors... don't forget to label ;)
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/e25e4352.jpg?t=1303131716
unbolt the rail and rock it up and down gently while pulling.
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/ccfbcc6f.jpg?t=1303132046
you didn;t forget to relieve the fuel pressure before you tried to remove the injectors right ? (this is done easily by opening the gas tank cap and pushing down on the little valve just before the regulator)
Anyway off the throttle body and the heat shield plate.... The books recommended to disconnect the throttle cable. I didn;t because I have a manual so less cable (and I couldn;t figure out how to disconnect the cable)
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/dd2d3b81.jpg?t=1303136083
then unbolt the manifolds.... exhaust and intake on my year model share the same gasket and they have to be removed together.... top bolts are easy... bottom bolts are... well let's say that you need to be creative with wobbles extensions and small hands and arms....
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/91f0034f.jpg?t=1303136083
look at this thing.... some bolts were completely lose and the rearmost stud was missing...
And I didn;t take pictures of that but you have to losen the power steering pump, remove the belt and unbolt the bracket from the intake manifold....
Did I mention you need a good manual ? this is the Haynes...well used....
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/761cc9fb.jpg?t=1303136083
Then get to the left side of the head and remove the 2 bolts that are holding the A/C compressor to the head,
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/e944598a.jpg?t=1303136083
and also the bracket that is there I think to hold the coolant system hoses away from the head....
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/a335ae32.jpg?t=1303136083
You are almost there....
Unbolt the head... 14 bolts, they are on tight.... I used a long cheater bar
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/6d40da1f.jpg?t=1303136083
Remove the ground strap from the rear bolt, unplug the coolant temperature sensor
Then remove the head.... it is heavy... be smarter than me, get someone to help you lifting it off so you don;t break your back....
I left the rear right bolt in because well you can;t really pull it off because of the lip on the firewall...
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/ef76a389.jpg?t=1303136083
and admire your work....
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/ccee75e2.jpg?t=1303137440
Take a break... I started putting the head back together...
new valve stem seals, new studs
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/93e897a5.jpg?t=1303137060
All cleaned
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/6f70b8d7.jpg?t=1303137060
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/eee4056a.jpg?t=1303137060
Then put everything back together in the exact inverse order you removed it.... (that is the stupid instructions from the book lol)
This is the gasket set I used. came with head gasket, valve cover cork gasket, throttle body gasket, thermostat housing gasket, EGR valve gasket, exhaust/intake manifold gasket and valve stem seals
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/619cb33c.jpg?t=1303137060
I didn;t take pictures of the reassemble just the parts that gave me trouble ;)
Trouble one:
Lining up the head on the gasket.... it is heavy, it has to come in at an angle, the gsket keeps sliding.... all in all, almost 2h of bitching....
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/3f2ee33a.jpg?t=1303137060
then remember when i said that the rear most bolt didn;t fit ? I should have applied that to myself... after finaly lining up the head, I realize I didn;t put the bolt in...
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/76eb07cf.jpg?t=1303137060
did it again, with the bolt tapped in
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/05c3314f.jpg?t=1303137060
Put the bolts back in... after checking you can reuse them once... so since there was no paint on them, I decided to reuse them and save some money (or not but let's be crazy and take risks)
Bolt number 11 (the right front one goes through the water jacket so you have to use some thread sealant. Book recommend locktite 592... couldn;t find it so this is what I used
http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa381/stephaneb74/59a02f45.jpg?t=1303137440
Head is on, bolts are torqued... I rented a torque wrench from o'reilly
Step A 23 ft#
Step B 45 ft#
Step C 110 ft# for all bolts except #11 (the one sealed 100#)
Put everything back it is fairly easy...
lessons learned the hard way:
-don;t forget to put the valve cover in before the thermostat housing
-don;t forget to put the thermostat in before you torque the thermostat housing bolts
-put the belt back in and tighten it before you put the air cleaner assembly because you need to reach the back adjusting bolts on the power steering pump.
-using vinyl gloves as baggies to keep the bolts together is a bad idea... bolts falling in the fingers are more frustrating to retrieve...
Refill the coolant and oil and start it
All in all, it was a nice learning experience, there is always that split second when you try to start it where you hope you put everything back properly and the engine is not going to leak or stuff...
As far as I could see I made only one quickly fixed mistake in my vacuum connection that made the engine run like crap and die as soon as I was letting off the gas.
With time, basic tools and a lot of patience, I would say that anybody can do it