yeah, I kinda did it backwards....I started with the manifold, and then moved to the radiator, fan, etc. Live and learn. Or read more in advance I guess.

 

OK, I now have all the head bolts out. The exhaust manifold is unbolted and free. (just the passenger side which is the only side I am removing and you cannot convince me otherwise MWAHAHAH!!) So the entire head is free and I can get it off the block by about an inch. The problem is that it is held in by a ridiculous bind between the power steering pump mount, the bolt that goes throught the engine lifting hook, and the exhaust manifold bolts to the crossover. What do I do??


BTW Justin, thanks for the tips. I went overboard with my cheater though. I used a galvanized fence post HA HA. 5 feet or so. Only broke one wrench but damn I broke it good.

 

Anyone?? Is it the EGR system?

 

Got pics?

 

Yeah, here is the current status. I have removed all the head bolts, the cam sprocket, and the 3 nuts n bolts on the crossover. Keep in mind I'm only removing the passenger head. I can lift the head off the block about an inch, but it is binded at what appears to be the power steering mount??







HERE IN THE RED IS WHERE IT SEEMS TO BE BINDING

 

unbolt the power steering pump from the head. The hoses will hold you off anyway.

 

OK, I have the head off!!!!!!!!!!!! Yippee!!! So it looks like I had a blown head gasket. I would like your opinions on this. Also, do you think that the valves look good? Any comments would be appreciated. BTW: Yes I know that one of the spark plugs is cross-threaded and will be attending to it shortly. Oh, and I used a new image hosting method. Thanks in advance.

Cyclinders:


Head:


Gasket:


#4 Cylinder (the bad one):


More #4:


More More #4:


Overall:

 

HOLY HELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Upon removing the cross threaded spark plug. I discovered that the thread inside was totally destroyed. I'll be using a way- cool thread replacement system from auto-zone by OEM. Is there a how-to on fixing cross-threaded spark plugs? Because I plan to take a lot of pictures and could possibly contribute.

 

Welp just finished re-threading my spark plug. Check out this picture of the plug I pulled out:


And here is the finished product:


I have all kinds of pictures here:
http://www.putfile.com/naadomail/images/141144

The process was really easy and if you have any questions about it just ask. And I still need help with the other pictures I posted Thanks.

 

great helicoil job!

 

I have worked on many 3.0's and I will say that you would be wise to have the heads reconditioned at a shop. The valve seals are now hard and very ineffective and will only get worse. #5 is showing oil and I suspect that intake seal is really bad. If you pulled all the exhaust valves they are all likely well pitted. The head surfaces need to be cleaned up a little for optimal gasket sealing. Fixing all the thread problems now will make things easy and be sure to get a big container of anti-sieze for reassembly. Engine Builder is a great resource for advice and good value parts. Trust me there are some crappy gasket kits floating around out there and some can be found on Ebay and come from Arizona...from a personal experiance. A good time to replace the water pump.

Good luck and take your time on the assembly. A second time will make you really mad.

 

I agree with SeaIrescue. What are you thinking? You have done a lot of the hard work, spend the money to redo the heads. And stay away from bargain gasket sets.

 

Welp, I took the head to the premier head guy for these parts. I was relatively impressed by his shop and know-how. He tested the valve seals with a vaccuum system and discovered that the exhaust valve for one of the cylinders was sealing. aside from that they were all shot. He is going to rebuild the head including valve job and re-surfacing for $180.00. After all that I've seen and heard here is my theory. When I took the thing apart, the timing belt was so loose that I pulled it off with little to no effort. It looks as though the little piston thing that tightens the belt is stuck. Also there is obvious evidence that the heads have been rebulit in recent history. There are a lot of new gaskets, bolts, and make-shift seals. The guy I bought the truck from said that when he got it, it ran fine. He cleaned the engine (hosed it down) and immediately after start-up it began to run bad and got worse. So, all that being said. I believe that the person the half-ass rebuilt the heads somehow failed to realize that the timing belt was not tightened correctly. The timing belt slipped on the passenger cam sprocket causing obvious problems (possibly connected with spraying it down with water). This caused all the valves (only on the passenger head) to fail and along the way the head gasket blew. I believe this is the life story of my engine. I can't wait to get my head back all shiny and new. Then is when the fun starts.

Oh and thanks Blurr, did anyone ever find a how-to on that or if it would be worth my time to write one up?

 

maybe list the size of the drill bit you used to drill out the hole and the size of the helicoil insert you used. might help out a few people later down the road.

 

Nice job on the helicoil. I just hope I don't need to do anything like that myself, I have anough other issues to deal with.

 

There is no drilling required with the kit I used. The tip has a cutting edge that resizes the hole, and a tap behind it that rethreads it. It's awesome!

 

Should be getting the rebuilt head in soon. Any suggestions on surface preparation when installing the head gasket?

 

get a scraper (one of those things that holds a razor blade) and remove ALL loose material on the block surface. if that doesn't work, get one of those brillo discs that you use with a cordless drill to remove the crud. now is also the time to chase the head bolt threads in the block. removing all the nasty junk that gets in there will ensure a more accurate head bolt torque.

 

should I use any apoxy or anything of the sort? I get the head monday!!!!

 

I love Permatex --- Copper spray-a-gasket. Have used it a lot of times, helps the gasket seal andkeeps it from sliding around, which on some engines can be a big help all on it's own. Just my 2 cents.
Jim