Pulling Cylinder Head

Alpine TSi · 02-20-2004

Hey all,

I was just wondering if there was a way I could cheat on removing the head from my Talon without having to go through all that mess with redoing the timing belt. Could I just put some clips on the cam gears, slide them off after attaching a bungee cord to them and the hood and hope it stays tight? Or does anyone know another way of getting around this? I dread timing belts so the more I can avoid it the better..

And also what would be the recommendation for the head gasket when I put it back on? I only plan on running 22-24 psi. I also will be putting in ARP head studs, is there anything I need to special when I put those in?

Thanks in advance.

dumb_ricer · 02-20-2004

you could try to do the locking thing with something. If it were me i would use a belt or something of that sort. Theyre are also tools made for that purpose, to hold the cams tightly so they dont move. As far as head studs, Finger tighten them in and then back them off a quarter turn. Use the Oil that comes with the head studs and put a small amount on each bolt. This supposively does something for accurate torque, not sure if it does much though. I havent heard of any secret head gasket tricks so i think you should just install it normally.

niterydr · 02-21-2004

.................................
umm NO!
do it right, or leave it alone.
www.vfaq.com
headgasket, use copperspray
anything special...an accurate torque wrench and a good understanding how fasteners work

**JET** · 02-21-2004

Alright, I am becoming a pro at doing head gaskets :P Yes, you can easily lock the belt to the gears and you won't have to touch the Tbelt at all.

What you do is put 2-3 zipties around the belt and each cam gear. Do this right away when the belt is tight. Then you put the tensioner tool in and relieve the pressure, take off the cam bolts and CAREFULLY remove the cam gears. There is a pin on the end of the cams that break if you pull the gears off crooked. It is like 1/4" so it isn't real fragile. RRE has this in their tech section if you want to hear more about it. Always recheck the timing after you are done, but it should be fine.

Also, I see lots of people installing the head studs incorrectly. The holes for them should be completely cleaned out with carb cleaner and an air compressor. Then the studs should be put in finger tight with loctite on them. When I blew my first head gasket 2 of my ARP's were backed out when I took the valve cover off and 2 others were not to the correct torque. If all of the studs aren't the same height, that means oil is trapped below them.

Also, be sure to retorque them after a few heat cycles and check them again a few weeks after that.

Raptor · 02-21-2004

You can do it the way JET suggested and have no problems at all if you are careful and definately re-check timing when you are done. It is different if you have a nice heated shop and tons of tools, then timing belts are quick enough to deal with and it is easier to do it with them out of the way and you know for sure. Josh is just getting spoiled. If I was outside or didn't have the tools to make it really quick, I would be hanging the cam gears as well assuming the Tbelt was almost new.

niterydr · 02-21-2004

I guess I am getting spoiled, but after you go through all the trouble of zip tying the cams to the belt, using the tensioner tool, and checking the cam timing, you could of just taken the belt off and put it back on in another 10 minutes tops.
I've done it the way jet did it, but I didn't like doing it, to many horror stories of shearing off cam pins. Jet is right, chase all holes, clean them, use straight 30 weight (or something that will be 30 weight at room temperature) or the moly lube, follow the torque specs on the box, now what people say. Overtorqueing headstuds won't make them hold anymore, might make them weaker.
While the head is off, obviously check it for straightness and leak test it.
Good luck.

Alpine TSi · 02-21-2004

Alright, I will probably step up and just be a man and pull the belt all the way off. Will there be any special tools I need to get it on and off? And if so where can I get/slash make them?

As for the head I was just going to bring on over to you guys at QPR for you to pull those broken exhaust manifold studs and probably check it out and replace what is needed to be replaced.

Thanks.