Headgasket, any advice?

SileNceR · 12-02-2005, 02:08 PM

Hi all...

My EA did the headgasket well and proper on thursday, sounds like a valve has gone also (thanks to water leaking into a cylinder or more)....

So far i've got the following:

New oil, new coolant.
New Thermostat, thermostat o-ring, thermostat lower housing gasket.
New ED Rubber rocker gasket
New AU2 Steel Headgasket
New AU2 Head Bolts
New EA MPFI Gasket

The head off my other EA is down at a machining place in town here and they are going to do tests on it and if it's ok they'll machine it for me, otherwise i'll pull the head off that's on the car now and get them to take a look at it...

Now, as far as the actual swap, whats involved?

I assume...

drain oil
dump coolant (lower rad hose)
label spark plug leads
unbolt power steering
remove PCV breather hoses
remove spark plugs
remove exhaust manifold (if i just unbolt this will it sit in the way at all or should it be ok?)
remove intake manifold (again, can i just sit this to the side and leave plugs and looms on?
remove top thermostat housing, and bottom thermostat housing...
remove brake booster vac hose (at one end)
undo rocker cover and remove
set engine to TDC (how do i do this? wind it on by hand but to where? - this will mean when I put the cam back in I just put it to TDC also right, no skipping teeth or anything?)
put car in gear so engine doesnt move from TDC? (sheer laziness)
release timing chain tensioner? and how?
undo timing chain guide from head
undo rocker pedestals
remove rocker gear (any trick to this or can i just lift it off, the put it all back on? i've got the set off the other car no problems and that's all I can see, but aren't there suposed to be shims somewhere? or do u need to pull something apart to get to them?)
unbolt & remove timing gear from cam
remove cam
unbolt head (I've already got a single hex 14mm socket... needed that to get the other head off the other car :-/)
lift head up off motor
pry/peel away old gasket... (how do i get rid off any shit left on the block, stanly knife?)
place AU steel gasket on to locating dowells/block... I don't use any gasket goo or anything here, right?
place head onto gasket/locating dowells
insert bolts to finger tight
tighten from center bolts outwards to 30nM + 120 degrees (is this correct for the AU bolts, just going by memory atm?)
put cam back in, rotate until it will fit gear at tdc?
put gear back on and bolt to cam
bolt cam chain guide back to head
re-insert rocker gear (locating dowells again), and rebolt, using torque settings as in EA factory repair manual? - is this all or is there anything to be careful of etc?
reset? timing chain tensioner... again how?
replace bottom radiator hose
put gasket goo on to thermostat lower housing gasket, and install thermostat lower housing.
grease thermostat o-ring (insert on thermostat, then into the housing)
bolt thermostat top housing up

now, should I leave installation of the rocker cover until i've run it to make sure all is well and that the timing gear has tensioned??

install rocker gasket (silicone the whole lot or just around the corners and half moons??)
install rocker cover, tighten rocker cover bolts from center using torque settings as in repair manual.
reinstall PCV breathers, and brake booster
re-insert spark plugs (inspect and replace if necessary? they are fairly new autolite 985s so they should be ok)
re-plug spark plug leads
re-attach power steering and re-install power steering belt
re-fill coolant
re-fill oil
re-bolt exhaust manifold
re-bolt intake manifold (same as was unbolted...)

start up and get rid of any air in coolant...

and all is well?

any other things i will need to do afterwards, i change oil every 5000ks should I do this sooner after this change or? Oil filter is about a week old purolator so it's right... again with coolant, do i need to drain and refill again in a few weeks after this or will it be ok?

most importantly, is there anything i've forgotten (and re the rocker gear cos i got nfi...).

Any and all assistance on this would be very much appreciated.

pepsimax · 12-02-2005, 04:25 PM

um yeah,,don't bother with chain tensioner,,you should be able to slide the sprocket off ok and just carefully lever it back on with big flat blade screw driver,,thats what i do..to put it on tdc you can use a 17mm socket or spanner on the sprocket bolt and again a big flat bladed screw driver between the fan bolt and centre hub,,can take a bit but it works,,,just put rocker cover on,,only put goo on the rear moon cause you can't see the bastard under normal use,,anyone else got a few words of advice???

INJECTED_250 · 12-02-2005, 04:50 PM

do worrie about the chain tensioner... if you dont the tensioner will come out more, if you force the sprocket back onto the cam shaft the tensioner wont be able to back off, this will cause to much chain tension, auxuilary drive shaft failitures are caused by this./ I changed the head on my ed ive sold today i used exactly what u done all up including head surfacing and new bolts and using au head gasket (au1 au2 and au3) are all the same it cost less than 90 bucks :>

*dont worrie about tdc it doesnt matter.
*no need to take fan of

the last picture is where it was leaking

Walkinshaw · 12-02-2005, 04:51 PM

no nead to remove the rocker gear from the head before removal. Just put some zip ties to hold the chain on the cam gear and then remove the cam gear from the cam. Pull the head off in one unit inc cam and rocker gear.

12-02-2005, 05:18 PM

when removing the old head gasket be careful not to gouge the block, all i did was use a scraper and got most of it off then used some rough sandpaper to get rid of any little bits. just make sure its clean where the fire ring is. resetting the timing chain tensioner is a little tricky, i got my dad to do mine as im not 100% sure what to do ive only got a rough idea.

SileNceR · 12-02-2005, 08:14 PM

where exactly is TDC for the crank? (i know theres a mark there somewhere, on the balancer? where does it line up?)

NB: I also want to use my old rocker gear with the head im having machined as my stuff seems ok and im not sure on the status of the spare parts...

if i release the tensioner is there any chance the chain will move on the gears at the bottom of the motor or do i just have to cable tie the cam sprocket to the chain and let it sit aside when i remove the head?

when i scrape the old gasket off the block do i need to put rags in any holes etc to stop crap going into them?

13-02-2005, 12:36 AM

to get TDC just line the notch in the Harmonic ballencer to the TDC mark on your timing cover.

using your old rocker gear is fine, all EA-EL1 rocker gear is interchangeable between heads.

the chain wont move when you release the tensioner cause the chain guides hold them in place, you only need the cable tie on the cam sprocket because it is possible that it may seperate from the chain and when you lift it up it may skip a tooth. the best way to see if it correct is line the crank to TDC and the notch in the cam sprocket should be 3 mm above from the top of the head on the A/C pump side of the head.

yep stuff some lint free rags down all the oil gallery holes when taking the old gasket off, then just use an air gun to blow all the shit off.

INJECTED_250 · 13-02-2005, 01:23 AM

the chain will not seperate from the chain sprocket.... not a chance.. never happens, dont bother cable tieing it.

SileNceR · 13-02-2005, 01:32 AM

ok so now the only thing i'm lost on is the tensioner ie how, and when to release it etc

13-02-2005, 01:48 AM

you release it once all the cam, rockers are back in.

SileNceR · 13-02-2005, 12:45 PM

rockers should just sit straight back on and bolt up?
what do i do to release the tensioner?

SileNceR · 13-02-2005, 08:23 PM

all is off my car except the head (undid bolts just in time to stop for tea, have taken photos of entire process so I guess i'll be writing a pictoral guide for all the newbies like me...

13-02-2005, 10:34 PM

yeah the rockers bolt straight on, it is impossible to put them on backwards, just make sure you line up the dowls on the rocker posts and tap it on a bit to make it easier to do the bolts up.

SileNceR · 13-02-2005, 10:46 PM

used a vacuum cleaner and a scraper with some bits of towel in the oil galleries... all ready now awaiting machined head.

SileNceR · 14-02-2005, 09:32 PM

mm cylinder 2 = coolant...

all cleaned up and waiting head to be machined... the first one i sent off had been ****ed by being run on gas (valve seats were ****ed), so I took the one that had been on the motor in and they said it looks heaps better so lets hope it's done by tomorrow.

tensioner.... grips are the shit who needs this two pronged tool

now to release the tensioner then reset... :-/

XRated · 17-03-2005, 12:32 PM

Is it all done now? Did you end up writing a tute?

SileNceR · 17-03-2005, 10:41 PM

yeah it is all done... took heaps of photos pulling it apart... but i havent had any time to actually write anything up about it...