Tilley

Hey everyone...been on here a while just learning from everybody, appreciate the knowledge!

Ive got a question about when is the block surface clean enough to put the head back on? Ive scraped it with a gasket scraper, then used gasket removal chemical, then bladed and sponged it. It feels smoothe but is still a little dark in some spots. I may just might be being a little paranoid but i figured id run it by you guys just to check.

After removing the head...



After scraping...

GenXr

If you've got everything off with a razor blade, then use a scotch brite pad on it then clean it with acetone before you install the new gasket.

Also, you need to chase the threads where the head bolts go with a metric tap and clean up the goo that comes out of there.

Tilley

Thanks for the reply GenXr...i already hit it up with a scotch brite pad...but not the acetone yet so i will.

I was thinking about just cleaning out the head bolt holes with a nylon brush, but is that not good enough? also do you know what size tap that is?

Kiroshu

You won't get everything 100% off, alot of that material has baked into the metal over time. Get it off the best you can without damaging the machined surface. GenXr mentioned some good tips, Just make sure its all clean for you don't want to have to do that again do ya

LITLRED

You definitley want to chase those threads with a tap. Use a head bolt to match up the size. Take your time and until those holes are clean like new. Then run your finger over the mating surfaces to feel for any nicks or bumps. Remove with file then a hone. The head surface should always be machined, IMO. The block is tougher but should be checked with a straightedge.

LITLRED

And toss that fram oil filter. They're junk.

Tilley

Kiroshu- Well its kind of a relief to know that it wont be totally clean because ive been trying to get it there with no luck. So hopefully i wont have to do this job again any time soon.

LITLRED- Yeah ive given up on my loyalty to FRAM because my brother took apart a few different ones and its pretty crazy how FRAM is total junk as far as build quality. But yeah im most definitely going to chase the threads because i was looking at them earlier and they have a ton of junk in the threads.

Im also planning on changing the timing belt and im going to have to drop the pan too so i can get all the plastic out, but im not sure what order to do it all in. Do i put the cyl. head on then change the timing belt and then drop the pan? Thanks guys for your help....

norcal707

hey tilley, if you going to do all that work, why not take the engine off from the vehicle and rebuilt it or just do all the work but outside....just a suggestion.

92 TOY

TILLEY...

I bought a tap and then was VERY concerned at how tight it was (right size, checked a million times) and I decided I was not going to use it.

I've been told, and read that you can cut slits in the head bolts and use them like a tap as well. I don't have the capability of doing that either.

so here's what I did and it came out perfect.......

take an old head bolt....clean that bolt up perfectly...get all the crap out of it's threads......thread it in...slowly but surely...it will ooze out (very slowly) all the oil that is in there....you will have to thread it in and out several times to make that happen...have a rag or paper towel ready to catch the oozing oil.....some holes are very oily, some are downright bone dry and caked with crap.

I used a little screwdriver (the kind used for eyeglass repair) and jiggled it around in the hole to loosen and remove all the hard stuff.....buy an itty bitty bottle brush (i did not do this step because I bought the bottle brush AFTER i had finished all the holes, but used the brush to clean out the valves) and dip it in acetone or carb cleaner and loosen up whatever is left.

then....when I was mostly satisfied with my work...I grabbed a fil of q-tips and spent alot of time with acetone and q-tips cleaning the holes until i got no more stuff out.

I used a head bolt because I was extremely paranoid about screwing up the threads....I was very pleased with the results.

I know there are different ways of doing this, this worked for me.

as far as the top of the block goes.....i used a scraper and acetone...over and over....now that it is done it seems perfect.

a little tip someone told me.....turn the crank so that all the pistons are 1/2 up or 1/2 down...put a little lube (in my case , I used Lucas engine assembly lube) on the piston walls....and when you are done scraping and making a mess, bring each piston up top and wipe away whatever crumbs it will leave at the top for you.

also...because I am done with my block before the rest of the stuff, i took saran wrap and covered the top of the block to keep stuff from dropping on there.

hope these tips help you.....it's what i did

Tilley

Norcal77- Ive considered doin that because like most car projects this one has started as something easy and has progressively gotten worse. My brother had blown a head gasket on his pickup so i bought the pickup from him. He had already bought all of the head gasket repair stuff so i thought it would be an easy fix. Then the head has electrolysis damage so i bought a new head and then i realized the timing tensioners were broken and that i needed to drop the pan to clean out the plastic. So i am hoping to minimize down time and finally see my investment move...lol

92TOY- I think i am going to try your head bolt idea first, being just as paranoid as you were, and then after the threads are pretty clean maybe try running the tap in there to see if it makes it any easier. Thanks for all your advice. You have to do all the same stuff as me too on your project dont you? Did you decide to just leave the block in your truck?

92 TOY

Block is still in the truck......very slim chance of me pulling that....$20 is hard to find let alone the $$$ to buy a lift and a stand.......or send stuff to a machine shop.

definitely try the bolt.....it came out of those holes, it will go back in.....patience and persistence pay off on that little sub-project.

92 TOY

likewise check out my thread......it's quite long-winded and slow, but being a total newbie it gives a good perspective on how this is going.

norcal707

any updates???? tilley!!!!

hilandfrog

I think the tap size is 12 X 1.25...... for head bolts

Anyone else

I just did the block Saturday morning, seems most the holes were 1.25 just different sizes, 8x, 10X and 12x

Although the threads were tight it APPEARED only gunk came out no head shavings.

Lots of PB penetrating oil was used per hole, then cleaned w/ brake parts cleaner and q-tips.

Repo

mistergarrett

I, for one, am suffering from a rebuild that needed the block to be machined, so now Im rebiulding it. Make sure to check the block for flatness per FSM or you may doing this again sooner than later.

pb4ugotobed

Just make sure before you put the head bolts in to put the heads back on, that you use a blow tip and blow any/all liquid out of the head bolt holes. Otherwise you won't get an accurate torque on it

Tilley

Sooo.....NO real updates sad to say...been too busy working, rotating shift work sucks! But i have the next few days free to work on it so im hoping to wrap it up.

I did finish cleaning the block surface (acetone is awesome) but havent cleaned the threads yet, so thats next up. But upon closer inspection i, probably like most toyota owners that have done this job, found that one of the plastic guides broke and i cant seem to find any of the plastic pieces...my guess is because they are all in the oil pan. So its looking like im going to have to drop the pan too.

So what is the best order to do this all in...

1. Drop the pan clean out debris
2. Put on cylinder head
3. Reinstall timing chain and cover
4. Reinstall on oil pan
????????????????

I hear dropping the front axle is not really the funnest job, but hopefully its not too bad. Any tips on that?

Thanks for the heads up on the thread size. Yeah and i guess i need to make 100% sure the block is straight...but for the short term ignorance is bliss. I did use a straight edge to check but it was pretty quick.

92 TOY

TILLEY...i have a link in my sig to get the pan off. i killed all the pics when i rearranged photobucket so, until i go back and fix all the pics in my thread, that thread, my kid's thread, etc...just hit me up.

clean out the head bolt holes like i said and drop the pan like i explain in the thread and you should do fine. gonna try putting my pan back on today or tomotrrow so i will post up in my thread how that goes.