HG Questions

Gravy · 09-23-2006

I've just logged about 2 hours on the car, and here is my status thus far:

Removed manifold to turbine housing bolts, removed IC piping, intake pipe to turbo, drained fluids, pulled most vacume lines from the pasengers side, fuel line, and electrical conectors on the top half of the engine bay.

My questions are, can i do the HG while still leaving the intake manifold bolted on? And also, any advise for removing a stuck fuel filter? I've got little room, and i'm worried about bending the gas lines. Tried my damndest to get it to come lose, but couldn't. I'm going the right way, i know that, but is there some trick i don't know about? Also, you have to take the top of the timing belt cover off to get the cam gears off, i've removed the drivers side engine mount and wonder do i just need to take off the mid section to get the belt off the cam gears?

Thx. Gravy

P.S. i have the intake and exauhst manifold gaskets, thermostat gasket and will be getting a new valve cover gasket by the looks of it.

**JET** · 09-23-2006

You can leave the intake manifold on. There is a fake nut on the fuel filter too. Put a wrench on it and you can get a decent hold on it. You end up with one wrench on the filter and one on the banjo bolt. I am not sure what you mean by mid section.

sleepydsm · 09-23-2006

Just pull both upper and lower timing belt covers off the car, if you arent already this would be a nice time to do the timing belt (if it needs it).

Febo · 09-26-2006

AND GET MY DARN CAR RUNNING!!!!!

P.S. Just pull the intake mani and port it

Just one more mod for the lil beast.

Gravy · 09-26-2006

It couldn't hurt, but i'm low on finances due to illness over the past week and a half, and i'll get only 3/4 my normal pay for the next pay check. So, it will be a little before i can do much more.

I got all the head bolts lose today but one... which i luckly managed to strip the hex head on. So, i get to remove it by Vice-Grip tomorow and finish the headgasket i hope.

I'll look into this tomorow, but i took some meds and won't find out any time soon. What's involved in taking the lower cover off? By looking at it i got 4 screws out and i'm not sure if i have to remove the alt belt and PS belt with it.

P.S. You won't be home for a month, i'll be driving hte car before then... relax dude. I have everything i need right now, just need to be healthy and able to work long enough without coughing.

Gravy · 09-28-2006

Ok, new questions, i got all the head bolts out but one, which i stripped the hex head on the bolt. What is the best way to fix this, or get it out?

If anyone is interested i'd be willing to throw in a case of beer(your pick on brand) if you get it out. I don't care if it only takes you 10 seconds, the case is still yours.

I've got 2 ideas from people at work, and i'm not liking either. First one is from someone who worked on DSM's in the past. He said to just drill down in the bolt and use an extractor to get it out. Best idea, but not looking forward to it. The other, was to get a large drill bit and drill the top section of the bolt off and pull the head, then take a vice grip and remove the bolt by just unscrewing the section of the stud.

The offer on the beer still stands. Will be a few days before i'll be home, so i'll check back here in a while.

tim · 09-29-2006

If it is stripped beyond the point of no return then grind off the head of the bolt and pull the head. Hopefully after that you can grip the rest of the bolt with a vice grip and use the blue wrench to set it free.

TkrPerformance · 09-29-2006

just use a big easy out on it
that is all I do for anything that is striped out

Gravy · 09-29-2006

One vote for each method... :-D

If i grind or drill i'll get metal shavings in the head, do you recomend rinsing the head out with water or oil to clean it out? I know some will probably not come out and get caught in the filter. But after i washed my 1g manifold... i don't think i wana do that again.

Febo · 09-30-2006

Use deisel. It has slight lubricating properties, and it will burn up during combustion better than oil. Or air the heck out of it. But my suggestion is a big ol ez out too. They actually arent that bad of a tool now that Im using em out here in school.

Gravy · 10-02-2006

Ok, quick update and input from everyone on what to do...

I tried 4 diferent sized easy outs, small, little larger, medium and almost as big as the bolt it's self. All of them would grab, the large one finally got it to break the lock-tite but stripped the outside of the drilled hole and can't get it to grip again. I"m almost done grinding the head of the bolt off and will finish with another few hours of drilling. Then i'll try another easy out, or grab the vice grip and remove the stud.

**JET** · 10-02-2006

Try the vice grip first.

Gravy · 10-03-2006

Will try that after i get the head off, not going to get down there.

Gravy · 10-05-2006

New post, new questions....

Ok, i got the head off today, and the bolt should be no problem coming out, however after my last HG install i've noticed a few different things between the cars. First off, the car just recently had a HG done on it. I know because the car i worked on before was a 91, and the gasket looked like ass from being in there so long. So, this being said, do you think the head is warped and that's why the guy sold it? Or could it be the valve stem seals? I"ve got them, and renting a valve spring tool next paycheck to replace the seals. But meanwhile, i'm going to be working on the rest of the car.

The gasket stuck to the head a little, for example the gasket material is sticking like duct tape does, to both the block and the head. I thought about using steel wool to clean it up, but how much can you scuff the head up before you need it re-surfaced?

Also, is it normal to have a burnt on oil residue on the top of all 4 cylinders? The other car i did a HG on had very dark, or stained on oil, but this one seems to be.... dirty, chunky. The walls of #2(cylinder with bad compresion, mixed up 2 and 3, oops) are smooth and very shiny just like all the others. So i don't think i need to re-hone, but the option is still there if it needs it.

I found out where the issue was, part of hte gasket formed a crack between one of the water holes and the cylinder and was slowly burning off in the cylinder. More white powder on the underside of the head and the top of the piston. Oil was also filtering into this "Crack" and found oil in my coolant when i drained the radiator.

Also, i've looked at the intakes of a few of the DSM's in the junk yard and even a 1.8 and there was oil in the intake of the car, and in the manifold on the different cars. This one, the intake side, or the side closer to the turbo is totaly clean, and there's no oil in the pipes when we got the car, and ever since workign on it. Now, that being said the inside of the intake manifold is CAKED in oil and black sludge if you whipe it off. I'll clean the intake with some carb cleaner, but it's obvious that oil is getting in somehwere, but i have the valve cover hose to the intake filtered out but should i filter the back hose as well? I figure that's where the oil is coming from, but i don't know if there is osmething i'm missing. Which... is possible.

Thanks for any advise, i'll be working on putting it together agian slowly over the next week or two. Heads off, hard parts done, now it's clean up and re-install time.

Gravy

Febo · 10-09-2006

That oil is probablly from before we re-routed that hose. And I do beleive that other big hose on the backside of the mani connects into the air can anyways. If its the one Im thinking of.

Gravy · 10-09-2006

It also looks like we need the kind of valve compresor on VFAQ and not a normal store bought one i asume?

After an hour of trying ot figure it out while cleanign the head, i give up. May have to do it after the head is back on.

Febo · 10-10-2006

Hell no, do your valve work before it gets back on. Trust me.

Gravy · 10-11-2006

Too late, the too i got(free till tomorow) doesn't fit on the car. It didn't fit over where the valve cover sits onto the spring and on the valve it's self. Trust me, i looked at VFAQ and all over the place with NO luck and the tools i saw had a lowered lip to hold onto the springs.

Update and new question time.

I've got a Haynes manual at home, and i tried installing the timing belt. But there is no way in HELL that thing will fit. I think my tensioner is shot and there's no way to get it back in. So, going to have to get that looked into tomorow and hopefully finished. May be running down to brookdale mitsu tomorow.

The lower intake manifold bolts, is there any special trick to getting them in or just feeling for the hole and threading them in? I'm horrible at this in all forms of life.

Anyone know of a local shop that carries a lower timing belt cover? The one that came off the car has no right going back on.

tim · 10-11-2006

Post up in the WTB for the lower cover.

As far as the tensioner, you will either need the tool or you will have to take it off and compress it in a vice and put a pin back in it for the install.

IMO, you should have the factory service manual not a haynes.

Gravy · 10-11-2006

I had my 200 lbs fat ass pushing down on it and no luck. I'm going to try the vice idea tonight, it's off the car and as far as i can tell, fully extended. There's about an 1/8 of an inch sticking out of the tensioner past the arm it's supose to rest on. Damn this car.... So fun to drive, but exauhsting to work on.