3ZV-E head gasket replacement question.
 

Hey guy's! I thought I would ask a quick question before I go any further in my head gasket/timing belt replacement. Okay so i got the top of the engine all torn apart. The only two things that are left before i can remove the heads are, the cam shafts and the exhaust. my question is simple, is it possible or has anyone replaced the H/G's with only removing the manifold bolts from the heads? i have read the FSM and upon looking at what's involved with disconnecting the down pipe and crossover pipe i have came to the conclusion that I want nothing to do with this, lol. So my only question is can this work? i have done this trick in the past with my small block chevy and had it work with subtle prying in-between the head and the exhaust manifold. any advice would be great as I REALLY do not want to do this! thanks and have a great day.

Its easier to just remove the nuts holding the exhaust down pipe on (after loosening the clamp holding the exhaust in place - and unhooking the cat) so you can slide the exhaust backwards. Now you have a choice - pull cams and take out all head bolts and pull both heads and the crossover pipe as one piece.

Or you can remove the STUDS for the left crossover connection (which you can now get to because you pulled the down pipe out of the way). If you do this you can lift out the left head with out removing the cams. Same for the right. But you have to get the crossover out of the equation to do it that way. How do I know? just did it this weekend. I was actually able to unhook the crossover pipe on the right, but it wasn't necessary if I had been able to get all three STUDS out of the left crossover connection. Son of a bitch that engine bay will give you fits.

I took them off of the crossover and head before pulling mine. I know it sucks, but the heads are already heavy, and the added weight of the cast manifolds only make pulling the heads worst. You should replace the gaskets on the exhaust at the same time due to the impossible nature of removing them while the engine is fully dressed. Also, get a roll of thermal wrap for the crossover for reassembly. Those things conduct too much heat onto the rear two cylinders already, and don't forget to replace the knock sensor while it's disassembled!

Not to start an "old guy/young guy" or redneck/california hippie pissing match, but them heads ain't too heavy even with the manifolds on if'n you pick 'em up one at a time. At least not for this mid 40's southern boy. Maybe all that wacky weed and fresh air out on the left coast is making you guys weak. Are y'all drinking lots of soy milk? I ain't saying anything, just saying'.

Nawwww, rlordjr these heads wont be to heavy for this west coast beer drinking grass smoking good old boy, lol. I think all the fresh air and rain (pacific northwest) does a fellow like me some good. I think my shear size has a lot to do with it as well as im 6'-5" and 275lbs lol, so i dont think these heads are going to be much of a challenge for me to manhandle. WARMONGER88 makes a great point... Should I go ahead and order a roll of headder/turbo/exhaust wrap for the crossover pipe? If that prolongs engine life then i think its well worth it. let me know what you think???

Damn, son. You're a regular GO-LIATH! I am indeed going to wrap my crossover pipe after reading up on things. My HG failed in that #6 cylinder spot. I should take a picture. The fire-ring is starting to separate in about 2 places and the flat part of the combustion chamber was blasted clean by the boiling coolant. Thankfully no damage was done to the head.

I have some sound/heat blocking mat stuck to the firewall and the rubbery underside of the piece right by the crossover junction on the left head shows signs of melting. I'll probably wrap the down pipe on that side as well. Can't hurt anything except my wallet.

That's what i was thinking too rlordjr, it cant hurt anything and mite be a positive. I think im going to order my wrap off of ebay and try to get 2, 50 footers and wrap as mush as possible down to just before the cat. try to keep the heat in the exhaust for better scavenging??? I have had lots of success with wrap in the past with my old SBC. it dropped the underhood temp by 50%

i was talking about them being heavy if you pulled both heads ang exhaust all connected. I don't buy into that hippie crap either. I'm a loggin hillbilly myself.

When I pulled my heads, I pulled both WITH the manifolds & crossover pipe all in one piece. Manhandled it up off the engine (while sitting in the engine compartment) & almost gave myself a hernia trying to get out/down with the entire mess. Heavy as H@!!~

Get a ratchet like this one: http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...ABTestAvl=true (the bent handle makes all the difference). Now the exhaust cross-over will be easy to remove.

If you wrap the crossover with heat tape (header wrap), do you need to take the heat shield off first? I'm thinking it won't fit back in there with the shield on wrapped with tape. And I'm thinking wrapping the heat shield kind of defeats the purpose.

I pulled mine off for the same reason. It obviously doesn't work too well anyway.

Hey monoman, did you see my other thread on wrapping the crossover? Consensus seems to be don't do it. It will lower the under hood temp but make the head and interval temp higher. and that is bad. really bad.

yep i read that. that really bites too. I was hoping to solve the crossover heat problem without having to buy headers lol. oh well, in the near future i do plan on buying a set of headers. that leads to another question.... anyone ever put headers on with dual exhaust with a crossover pipe (H-pipe). I think the dual exhaust would kick ***.???