ll77

Hi guys, I've just been scrubbing, scraping, scrubbing with a scotch pad, razor blade and wd40 and today I think I'm finally finished with the first head... what do you guys think? There are a lot of low spots. I can't feel anything in my thumb from all the scrubbing.

Thanks guys, I appreciate all the advice. I'm still scrubbing scrubbing scrubbing the head, hopefully everything goes back together soon.

Oh, yes I am doing my hg, all my pictures are on my thread "Pulling engine, etc through the eyes of a noob." Thanks for the kind words, sometimes I feel like I'm getting really annoying on here, making a big deal about my work.

Oh thank god. Thanks for the peace of mind guys.

Sigh.. I may be well in over my head. I mixed up my rocker arms taking my cam support out of my spfi ea82. I don't think I cam spring for new ones. Is there hope?

Hey guys, I'm struggling with the valve lash adjusters, I've gotten 2 out, but the others aren't budging. They were pretty stubborn while the head was on, so I waited until now, but it seems it's even more difficult now. I think I messed up. Any suggestions for getting them pulled? Pleeeaase?

Today was a fun, easy day. I scrubbed the sides of the heads with engine degreaser and a wire brush, then I got bored of cleaning and I took the valves out. Some shots of the heads: Driver's side: Passenger's: Taking off the valves: The valves Driver's: Passenger's This is my valve compressor at work Taking off the retainers with a slightly magnetized screwdriver Yummy! This is how I'll keep them organized Contemplating whether or not to change the valve guides... these are the OEM NOK ones... I only have the Fel-pro kind...

A slow, but important day today. After the EGR pipe, I pried the intake manifold off the heads. Don't be a wuss about it. I guess I was just unnerved by the broken intake manifold stud...:-p (This picture was staged, just imagine the valve cover still on.) Then, I found that I had to undo this hex bolt holding the lower alternator bracket onto the driver's head Then walk and wiggle the head off the block Light at the end of the tunnel One head off! I observed the cylinder walls were a bit wet with water... Then I took off the passenger's side valve covers, cam case, spark plugs, etc. just like the other side. I could have done it along with the other side, but I wanted to do it one side at a time. take off the 8 bolts just like the other head I tried to drain the coolant from the plug at the bottom of the head (I assume that what its for?) but this is what came out instead blechh Clear! and off she came! and here are cylinders 1 and 3: coolant pooling up inside... and the head From what I've gathered, the cracks between the valve seats are normal. Not long before everything goes back together:clap: now I'm just scrubbing. Maybe I'll take the heads to a machine shop tomorrow. :cool:

Hahaha thanks! No, unfortunately I don't have a vice either.. I'm only beginning to work on cars, I'm still pretty clueless, and my toolset is very meager... So I'm confused. I thought the intake manifold was only held on by the 6 bolts into the head, and the EGR pipe, which I undid: pull off the cover undo the plug But she still won't budge on the passenger's side. The driver's side is fine, and clears with a tiny pry with the prybar. The manual just says "Remove bolts attaching intake manifold to cylinder head, then lift intake manifold from cylinder head." Help please? EDIT: haha got it, it was glued on from the gasket, and I was being a priss about it. It came right off with the prybar

I am very glad that you like it friend, these posts take quite some time to put together! But about helicoil-ing... I dread it. I dread drilling, I've never done it, and I'm deathly afraid of chewing up the metal and whatnot. On top of that, I don't have a drill... I'll try channel lock pliers, and if that doesn't work, I'll have to borrow a drill and get a helicoil set. Thanks for the comments!

Then I removed the oil pipe on the passenger side Then I unbolted the water pipe from its bracket. *****question: I tried to pull it out b/c the FSM said "remove", and it leaked from the pump side. Have I compromised the o-ring? I did things the wrong way, but I'll post how I wish I did it.. I started with the driver's side I removed the valve cover Then I removed the cam case w/ the cam and cam support from these bolts I was careful about the rockers, I took them out before they could fall. Best part of my day *****question: I only see one of these rubber washers, are they important? I don't see them in my head gasket set... I unbolted the water bypass pipe bracket from the bolt that went here and unbolted the alternator bracket bolt took out the spark plugs Then I (should have) removed the EGR plug @ the EGR pipe on the passengers side intake manifold, on cylinder #3 Then I definitely, definitely would have removed the intake manifold by first undoing the INNER 4 studs first (the 2 on each side of the manifold that are lined up with each other, marked "1") THEN doing the 2 studs at the sides (closest to the valve cover ends, marked "2"). This pic is of the driver's side. I noticed that the longer inner bolts were significantly more rusty than the outer 2 bolts. I think this process could have minimized the tension on the crusty inner bolts and prevented my situation... But instead I undid all the bolts on the drivers side of the manifold first, then moved on to the passengers side, undid the one off at the end, then moved on to the inner 2, and when I got to the last one... (insert picture of broken bolt for dramatic effect) pretty much all the thread was broken off in the head. so now I have to lift the intake manifold off (after unplugging the EGR pipe) take off the head and try to impact, lubricate and hopefully loosen the broken stud with a pair of pliers... sigh FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF It was really a life lesson for me. I had always thought before, it doesn't matter how it comes off, only how it goes on matters. Now I know to be mindful of how things come off too.

Thank you! Oh, and it's ocurred to me that I haven't mentioned what I want to do. I need to do my head gasket (with a felpro hg kit), and I'm also doing my oil pump seal, front crank seal, and hopefully the oil pan seal/ But today, I have a real snag. Yesterday: I ripped off the covers The FSM said something about marking the rotating direction of the belts (???) and my buddy Brian said he usually marks where belts contact sprockets with paint, so I did that. Then I loosened the cam pulley bolts, because they are easier to break with the belts on. Then starting with the outer (passenger) (LHD) belt, I loosened the timing belt tensioner to fully slacken the belt Then I slid the belt off around the pulleys Then the inner (driver's side) belt Belts off! Then I took off the cam sprockets and removed the rear covers, because the front is ruined anyways. Open belts ftw Today: I got a jaw gear puller and pulled the crank sprocket out and the front crank seal is leaking. Good thing I ordered a new one. Then I removed the distributor from the driver's (LHD) side First, I pulled off the spark wires. Yes, I labeled them, don't you laugh. Then undo the 2 mounting bolts (I marked the sides so I can realign the distributor later, don't know if that will help, but..)

I have 3 bolts slipping. Yes, I was going to go w.out them anyways, but I just wanted to do things the "right way." But I guess I'll just rip them off huh...

Ok, I need help today. I've gotten to the timing belt covers and the bolts have started to spin in their metal casings. Miles says to gently persuade it w/ a prybar, but I've only managed to crack the plastic. I must be doing it wrong, I just wedge the prybar between the joining covers and pry.. Didn't do much, I had class to get to, but today I finally removed the oil dipstick guide pull out from here took off the crank pulley, by first stopping the flywheel by a top bellhousing screw and a 13 mm wrench (Not the best or safest way) then undid the oil sending unit wire took off the water pump pulley and this (among others) is where I'm stuck Thanks!

Aha, I saw that hole, tried it, and the hose fit perfectly, but my buddy said, "no way, that makes no sense at all." That'll show him. Thanks! And trust me, I would love to have an EJ22, but my meager budget will not permit so. I thought my old L28E in the old Datsun lacked power, until I bought this car. Man!

Thanks everyone for the comments. I am so flattered that you like it Miles, I watched your video on the subject and I don't think I could have done this without your help. So thank you Miles! Many of these pictures were staged, I didn't plan on taking pictures, but realized it would be a good opportunity, and I redid and undid everything for the pics; the charcoal can I replaced in its spot to take the pic of the 4wd vac hose haha. And the fuel line bracket would have caught on that dang hill holder cable, so i took it off. Oh and a fast question, where does the charcoal canister's bottom hose plug into? I know that this seems a very stupid question, but I don't see any hose that it could possibly plug into. Please, remember I am not a mechanic! Thanks!

Undo heater hoses undo throttle cable undo anti-pitch bar from both firewall and engine sides, leave bolt on engine side on engine as it will be used to attach the lift chain Remove ground cable attached to water pipe Undo distributor connector Undo high tension lead from distributor to ignition coil Undo SPFI harness (2 connectors) undo oxygen sensor connector undo headers on both sides undo y-pipe spring bolts undo engine mount nuts (2 nuts) undo 2 bottom bellhousing nuts here's one: the other must be accessed from underneath, and is a bit difficult then, I made sure everything was situated correctly so that nothing would catch on anything else, especially the hill holder cable. Make sure spark plug wires are all under the hill holder cable and that the PCV hoses(?) won't catch onto the A/c hoses. No biggie, but this tiny clip holds the distributor connector to the hill holder Jack the transmission until the engine mounts have cleared the crossmember Attach your lift chain to the previously mentioned anti-pitch bar bolt and the loop next to where the p/s pulley was. support the engine with the lift Crack the upper bellhousing nuts and bolts (marked in orange) Then separate the engine from the bellhousing and guide her on up! Be careful,don't let anything catch, especially that hill holder cable! This isn't complete yet, and I will be adding more pictures. Hope this helps some people like myself.

I just pulled my first engine yesterday, and I'm documenting my exploits for future reference, and I'm sure someone else might be able to benefit too. It was actually much easier than I expected, but I'm sure going back together will be much more difficult. Not all steps have pictures yet, I will edit as I take more, probably when I put her back in. And PLEASE, if I have forgotten something, or something seems off, let me know, I would appreciate it! I'm going to do my head gasket (with a complete felpro kit with all the o rings and tiny gaskets), oil pump seal, front crank seal and maybe the oil pan gasket (hopefully). First, drain oil and coolant, and remove battery. undo charcoal canister by undoing clip and pulling up, then swing over the intake hose to keep it out of the way ( question: where does the hose on the bottom plug into? ) loosen clamp holding intake hose to air box, disconnect hose from air box disconnect air box connector, undo 4 air box clips, remove air box (I did this as the engine was coming out, when I realized it was in the way) undo 4WD/heater vacuum hose undo thermoswitch and fan plug ( blue and white respectively ) remove fan shroud remove radiator remove fan from water pump pulley undo power steering line brackets from engine undo p/s lines from p/s reservoir guide p/s lines away from engine Undo alternator adjusting bolt at bottom of bracket, remove belt loosen top bolt, and swing the alternator up Remove bolts holding bracket onto engine (4 bolts) Loosely reattach alternator to bracket by adj. bolt, then swing the A/C/alt. bracket assembly onto the shock tower, secure with bungee cords, hooking them into the shock tower holes Undo PCV hose Undo fuel lines (the feed line can be traced from the fuel filter) Undo fuel vent line Undo 3-hose clamp (1 screw) tuck loose lines along with A/c/alt assembly Undo this bracket Undo Brake booster vacuum line

Oh yes, thank you, I see all that. But is that the only vacuum supply for the 4WD? and where is this "vacuum switch hose"?

Hey guys, I was thinking maybe I should recycle this thread for all my dumb questions instead of making a new one for every question I have, then whoever wants to answer can, whoever doesn't want to won't. I promise I'll search for myself before posting too. But anyways, here's another question: I am looking for what's referred to as the "4WD vacuum hose" for selective 4WD, which is what I have. Could this be the vacuum line near the passenger side (LHD) shock tower that milesfox refers to as 'the vacuum line that controls the heater controls and the 4WD solenoid on pushbutton 4WD cars'? There are no illustrations of it in the manual. Or, maybe this could be the vacuum switch hose that miles was talking about..? I just got a hoist today, and I really want to pull this off, but I'm not a mechanic.. I'll need help. Please and thank you!

Ahh ok thanks I was worried it might have been important

See, there's a threaded yellow hole down between where it seems a bolt used to be. I'm at a loss as to what its purpose was.

No, I haven't gone to a radiator shop yet, but I'll go and change my spark plugs tomorrow and I'll let you know how they look. Also, there seems to be a bolt missing between the alternator and A/C pulleys, I'll take a picture to show you guys tomorrow, but I can see a hole w/ threads, so there must have been a bolt there at one point.. I got my head set (Felpro HS 9392 PT-2) last week, do you guys recommend doing the valve seals while the heads are out? The FSM says I need Mr. 398852100 oil seal installer to put the seals in, any alternatives?

Oh. Is that an issue? to find fumes in the radiator? Edit- I'm sorry, I just searched and found my answer. Same issue, bhg or cracked head. I'm sorry if I confused anyone saying there was gas in the radiator.

sorry everyone, finals have been kicking my rump roast. What they have written down is "300HC found in radiator". So gasoline right? Anyways, I'll finally start doing some serious research and prep to do my hg, I'll start watching milesfox videos and taking notes, and I'll borrow my buddy's hoist and do it out of the car next week.