thefishguy77

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Edit: original question has changed to general head gasket help. See photos below.



I am in the middle of doing a head gasket and haven't broken the crank bolt loose yet. The valve cover/power steering/exhaust&intake off/ distributor out/ engine at TDC. Do I need to have the distributor back in and valve cover on to bump the starter to break loose the bolt. ? Most of the harness is unhooked with the intake being off but the starter is still plugged in. Any thoughts?
Thanks.

wyoming9

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You have to get things back in time when your all done.

Only if you want to .

Are you doing the timing chain as well??

I always thought turning the engine over to break a bolt loose was not a very good idea when I can get more torque with a breaker bar if my impact does not break it loose .

thefishguy77

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Yea my impact won't fit. It's about an 1" to long. And when I did my timing chain a few like a year ago it was bump the starter tight. 24" breaker with a 24" cheater was t enough then. I am going to try with a cheater pipe over my breaker bar first.

When I did the chain last time I used an engnbldr kit with steel guides. It does not have a new oil pump though so I should probably do that while I am there. My main question I guess is is it better to put the distributor back in before I try and break that bolt. Or as long as I bring it back around to tdc on compression will I be ok.

Thanks for the reply

thefishguy77

iTrader: (1)

Ok just pulled the head and found badness I think? Weird stuff #2 cylinder valves appear to be rusty, plug has rust on very end of threads.
#4 plug appeared to have build up on it? No real clear spot on the gasket where it went. I started going through water. Not water in the oil or oil in the water.

The filling series's or pictures are front to back 1,2,3,4 for orientation.





Plugs don't look great

Valves
1-4





And cylinders





Suggestions?

osv

you were planning on putting the head back on, to install the distributor?

if you are going to replace the timing chain, you'll have it far enough apart to sync the timing from scratch, maybe try looking up some old threads on the subject.

thefishguy77

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Thanks I was able to get I handled but I will definitely look up on the scratch timing technique. Just seems like a good thing to know.

What should I do about the rust on the valves?

osv

how many miles on the head? was the motor using any oil?

it would probably be a good idea to take the head down to the machine shop and get a valve job on it, also replace the valve stem seals.

SoCal4Running

Take head to shop for valve job, have it Magna-fluxed and checked for warping while it there.

For a $100 or so its peace of mind to know its 100% when you put it all back together.

How often do you change the plugs? I like to do mine twice a year with one of those times just before Smog Check and then 6 months from them. I use K16TR-11 which are dual ground plugs newer Toyotas but a great plug at a cheap price.

thefishguy77

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Those plugs probably have 10k miles on them or less. What I am trying to decide between is another $100 or so for a head with 200k on it or around $450 for a new head from engnbldr.

thefishguy77

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Well got my head tested and resurfaced. Not its time to put her back together.

Thanks for the help all.

If you want anymore updates I am going to do pics and such in my build thread.
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/show...e=3&styleid=51

thefishguy77

iTrader: (1)

Help again. Got it all put back together and she started up great. Let her come up to temp and shut her down. Removed the oil cap and water steam anyways. When I changed my oil before startup is it possible that there was residual water that I didn't get out. After all it was 30 deg out this morning so the oil itself took forever to drain. I am going to get a compression tester and check that out. But assuming that tests ok what else did I do wrong. I so dot want to do this again. Please please please.

Why does stuff only break in winter?????

SoCal4Running

I wouldn't be too freaked out yet about water in the oil.

After a HG job there absolutely can be residual moisture in the block that will show up as milkshake under the cap.

Run it for a while and yes do a compression test but don't throw in the towl yet.

osv

is there oil in the water, as in, mayonnaise under the radiator cap?

thefishguy77

iTrader: (1)

Radiator cap was clean. Oil cap had white residue. But she ran and sounded ok. Now she died and won't start at all. Sounds like no compression. No external signs of trauma on the motor. Need to run and get a compression tester. Might just be doing a motor swap from my parts truck.
Good times
Any thoughts on what to look for on this motor are much appreciated.

Thanks

SoCal4Running

Did you thread chase the block for the head bolts?

thefishguy77

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I did not. Because I never have in the past. But I am sure that step is there for a reason. What did I possibly screw up by doing or not doing that.

I feel dumb.

I did blow them out with compressed air.

SoCal4Running

If their is crud, carbon, rust, grime or anything else down in them you WILL get a false torque reading while tightening the head bolts.

Imagine the difference between tightening a bolt in nice clean threads VS. threads that have rust and garbage all in them. Your wrench will click off on 60 lbs when in reality you only have 20 lbs of force pulling the head down into the block.

I chase them all the way to the bottom which is farther than the bolts actually reach. Blow out with shop air and then use dental pics to scour the bottom of the holes for any stuck debris and blow out again.

The head bolts/studs will then thread in by hand all the way with little to no force. Only then are they acceptable.

thefishguy77

iTrader: (1)

Spk would have to take her all the way down again? Chase the threads and reinstall? Would this lack of proper torque be evident if I recheck them if one came loose on me? Or will I probably get the same false torque reading until I chase the threads. Tomorrow morning I am going to buy a compression gauge and see where I'm at.

thefishguy77

iTrader: (1)

If I end up doing a motor swap. In theory I can remove my intake and exhaust. Unbolt the motor and any remaining connections and pull ou the block and head and valve cover. And put in another block head and valve cover bolt it up and reinstall my intake and exhaust?
Thanks for all the help

SoCal4Running

It would be odd for all the cylinders to sound as if they have no compression.
The head would have to be seriously loose for that to happen.

Do a compression test and go from there. May not need to buy anything but a threads chase bit and handle.