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Head Gasket D.I.Y.

279K views 281 replies 115 participants last post by  L3GDKANG/JDMKANG 
#1 · (Edited)
I'm starting this thread for anyone who has enough GUTZ to attempt a Head Gasket Replacement. I'll give the reasons and also tips and tricks I used while doing mine. Hopefully anyone having any of the problems I experienced will be able to determine if they need to do this or have it done.

"This will be a work in Progress because it is such an intense repair so bare with me as I have little time each day to post."

I'll start by giving the symptoms that led to this major repair

1. Temperature gauge going all the way to hot, then suddenly dropping back to normal. "Every day"

2. Engine idles irratically;up&down;fast then slow; during cold starts. Especially in the morning.

3. No Heat. Then heat only after symptom #1.

4. Traces of coolant in the engine bay. Mainly on top of the radiator fan cover.

I went to the Acura dealer and here is how they beat me over the head, stole my check book, then had me begging to do it all over again.

1. They told me to bleed the air out of my coolant system. Did this 10 times with no improvement.

2. Suggested I get a new radiator. I replaced it myself and after 4 hours of work(because I had no garage at the time), it happened all over again. Basically I threw away a perfectly good radiator.

3. Told me it was a water pump problem so I had them do the timing belt and water pump which cost over $800.00. A day after I drove off .....it started all over again. :mad:

4. A month later coolant leaked right into the passenger floor. Had the stealer I mean dealer change out my heater core. Can't remember but it was 500 or more $$$. What tha F.......! Drove off Tuesday and behold back there on Wednesday Temp Gauge up and down, idle crazy, and sure to happen again if I don't find the real problem, a busted heater core.

5. After I took it back complaining like h*ll. The manager was nice enough to offer me $1000.00 off of the head gasket job which he originally quoted for $3000.00+ :giggle: . I'm like O.K. who is the genius certified mechanic who diagnosed my problem the 1st time I came in? Which mechanic in these 20 pictures on the wall here do I have to thank for wasting my money and time? I grabbed my keys, ran over the manager, dumped a quart of anti freeze on the mechanic, and did a Michael Knight right through the garage door!!!! :D No seriously I told him he was CRAZY and left never to return to that place again!!!

Now to the D.I.Y.........Took a lot of tools and Balz to do it but my Legend is one fast azz new gasket having Beauty right now. Also did water pump so I'll post instructions 4 that as well. Here we go.......

NOTE: DO AT YOUR OWN RISK. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE YOU DO TO YOUR VEHICAL AS A RESULT OF THIS REPAIR. THIS D.I.Y. IS ONLY TO BE USED AS A REFERENCE GUIDE IN CONJUNCTION WITH YOUR OWN EXTENSIVE RESEARCH AND MECHANICAL ABILITIES FOR THIS JOB. ALSO IF I POST A LINK FOR PARTS REFERENCE I AM NOT PROMOTING THAT COMPANY. I'M JUST GIVING A POINT OF REFERENCE. SHOP AROUND FOR YOUR BEST PRICE PLEASE!

All that being said if you have a garage, a good assortment of tools, a lot of patience, and some good mechanical skills, you should be able to complete this job with no problems. Just take your time, pay attention to what you are doing, and do it right the first time. Aprox time to complete for a 1st timer. 48 -72 hours. If it takes you longer don't worry, you can't rush perfection. That ACURA LEGEND is a work of art so take your time........

Latest quote I got for this job was $1700.00. It end up costing me about $1000.00. Oh and I get to keep all the x-tra tools I bought :D I made a stupid mistake that cost me $200.00 but I'll talk about that later. Would have been $800.00.

Must have tool set:

1. AIR-TOOLS
a) IMPACT WRENCH
b) AIR WRATCHET
c) AIR HAMMER (FOR RUSTED EXHAUST BOLTS YOU NEED TO BUST)
d) METRIC IMPACT SOCKET SET
e) IMPACT SOCKET ADAPTER SET FOR ALL SIZE WRENCH TO SOCKET SIZES
f) IMPACT UNIVERSAL JOINT ADAPTER (FOR HARD TO REACH BOLT ANGLES)
g) AIR DRILL (ANY DRILL WILL DO THOUGH)

2. SPECIALY TOOLS
a) CRANKSHAFT PULLEY (HARMONIC BALANCER) HOLDER TOOL( If doing water pump and/or timing belt)
b) TORQUE WRENCH
c) 1/2" SOCKET SIZE BREAKER BAR
d) LONG IRON PIPE TO FIT OVER BREAKER BAR AND 1/2 INCH WRATCHET FOR XTRA LEVERAGE. (FOR CRANKSHAFT PULLEY BOLT)
e) A GOOD SHOP LIGHT.
f) ABRASIVE PADS FOR DRILL. (FOR REMOVING STUCK ON GASKET MATERIAL.
g) DREMEL TOOL WITH FLEXIBLE SHAFT (get wire brush set for cleaning. Polishing set optional.)
h) ZIP LOCK BAGS AND A BLACK SHARPIE MARKER ( ORGANIZATION OF NUTS AND BOLTS IS A MUST)
i) Chilton and or ACURA service manual. I have both.
j) Masking tape for labels.
k) Plastic BINS for larger parts.
l) Wratchet style oil filter wrench tool.
m) Magnetic Antenna screw getter thing. A MUST! drop a screw or socket down that engine compartment without it and you'll be sorry.

3. BASIC TOOLS
a) Good metric socket set with all size extensions and adpaters.
1. Most used sockets for this job from most to least are 10mm - 12mm - 14mm.
b) 1/4 ; 3/8 ; 1/2 wratchets.
c) FLOOR JACK AND JACK STANDS! DO NOT GET UNDER YOUR CAR WITHOUT JACK STANDS. (I STRESS USE THE STANDS AND PROP THE JACK ON SOMETHING UNDER THERE...JUST TO BE SAFE.)
d) Needle nose and basic pliers.
e) Standard and phillips head screw drivers.
f) A good metric wrench set. I had flared end and s shaped hard to reach wrench sets.

CHEMICALS and CLEANING:

a) WD40
b) Carb cleaner
c) easy off oven cleaner
d) Simple Green
e) SOS pads
f) Household Wire Brush

ENGINE BEFORE WORK BEGAN "What a dirty mess"


I'm going to say this one time only. As soon as you Take off your bolts, screws, brackets, etc.. , place them immediately into labeled zip locks or plastic bins and store them neatly. You will thank me later.. Hit up the dollar store and get a bunch of stuff to store your parts. Work smarter not harder.

I. Disconnect the battery terminals.

1. Check your ceiling height in your garage. Your going to need to stand the hood straight up and out of the way. This includes the x-tra height you will need to jack the car. Give yourself at least 8ft or more. If you don't have this headroom you will need to remove the hood completely. This will also save your back.

2. Remove the 4 10mm bolts that hold the hood supports to the hood, not the body. 2 on each side located about 1/2 way up the hood. Lay the supports down and prop the hood straight up using rope or some other clever support. Run the rope through the hood latch bracket for safety and attach the ends to something in your garage. I used the garage door guide assembly to attach it to. Be creative with your lighting you need plenty of room and focused lighting to see down in there. A hanging shop light hooked on string that you can slide from side to side would be perfect. That's what I did. :2cool:

3. Jack the car up enough so you can get underneath where the exhaust manifolds attach to the y pipe. One on each side. Use jack stands so the front of the car is up in the air. (PLEASE USE YOUR EMERGENCY BRAKE AND STICK SOMETHING UNDER THE REAR TIRE(S) TO PREVENT ROLLING. DON'T BE STUPID!)

4. Now that you have plenty of room to work under the car. Remove the plastic shield under the radiator. 10mm bolts. There are a lot of them so find them all. Plastic anchors in there as well. Get them out of there so you'll have complete access to the radiator. Drain the oil and coolant. Remove the oil filter after draining and replace with new. If you don't know how to do this please stop here because it doesn't get any easier. Screw the oil plug back into the engine because you won't need to remove it again. Tighten but don't over do it.

5. Since your working under there grab your impact wrench, a 12mm impact socket, impact extension, and universal impact joint. Spray the exhaust bolts coming from the head pipes with WD40. let em sit for a min or 2 then impact them off of there. Make sure you seat the socket on the bolts clean so you don't strip them. You'll see why you needed that universal joint here. If you strip them or can not get them off, use an air hammer with chissel attachment to fracture the bolts "NOT THE SCREWS DO NOT DAMAGE THEM YOU HAVE TO PUT NUTZ BACK ON THEM" You may want to try a nut breaker tool if you are not comfortable working with an air chissle. Choose your weapon wisely.



6. (If your not changing the timing belt or water pump you will not have to remove the radiator. Skip this part.) Last thing under the car to do is remove the bottom coolant hose to radiator as well as transmission coolant lines to radiator. Grab your pliers for those clamps and a screwdriver to work the transmission hoses loose from the radiator. The've been on there a while so they will be stubborn. Wear some gloves to prevent slips that slice your hands up. Same thing for coolant hose just use a socket for the clamp screw. Can't remember the size. Maybe 8mm??? Can't recall.

7. Back to the top of the car. Remove the stabalizer bar and upper radiator hose completely.

8. Remove the plastic fuel rail covers 10mm.

9. Take a 17mm socket or wrench and a shop towel, wrap the towel around the fuel line to catch fuel, then loosen and remove the fuel line bolt and washer. Move hose out of the way towards windshield in towel. NO SMOKING PLEASE.

10. Disconnect all 6 ignition coils from wiring harness(Press Tab till you hear a click then pull) and unbolt them. Remove and take care in storing them. I even put them in order as to return to original locations. If you think you will not remember, now would be a good time to start labeling your harness with tape and markers( I didn't do this for this step but use your own judgement).

11. Remove the 4 nuts that hold the fuel rails down 2 on each side. 10mm.

12. Move on to removing the battery and mounting plate. The horn is connected to this plate so unbolt it as well but leave it connected to the harness.

13. Open the fuse box and unbolt the 2 power lines that connect with 10mm/phillip head screws. Unbolt the fuse box from the car frame. Push it towards where the battery was. It still has the wiring harness connected to it so leave it be. You just need to move it to get the left valve cover off.

14. TAKE THAT STUPID AIR FILTER ASSEMBLY FROM THROTTLE BODY TO FENDER OFF THE CAR AND THROW IT IN THE F'N TRASH! LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING YOU CONNECT TO YOUR TOILET! TAKE THE MONEY YOUR SAVING ON THIS JOB AND BUY AN AFTERMARKET INTAKE. I GOT A RM RACING INTAKE FOR $190.00. SEARCH THE WEB AND FIND ONE THAT'S RIGHT FOR YOU. I HAVE A TYPE II WITH TCS. YOU MAY HAVE A DIFFERENT SET UP. READ MAN, GET TO KNOW YOUR RIDE'S SPECS BEFORE ORDERING ANYTHING. O.K. SAVE THE THING TILL YOUR DONE JUST IN CASE YOU NEED IT FOR CLAMPS AND STUFF. OR JUST NEED SOMEWHERE TO THROW YOUR BEER TOPS. IF YOU HAVE A LEAKING GUTTER SPOUT, STICK THAT THING UP THERE, IT'LL PROBABLY WORK.

15. Remove the throttle and cruise control cable cover. Remove the cables from the bracket. They slide right out once you take the tension off them. Figure it out. Remove the 3 10mm bolts that hold the bracket. The bolt underneath is hard to get to. Not sure if that one is 10mm or not. I didn't take that 3rd bolt out until I lifted the intake manifold. I bent the bracket a little so don't do what I did.

16. Now comes the hard tedious part. Starting from the 4 major electric connections on the passenger side close to the windshield, remove all the main wiring harness connectors. Do this all the way to the drivers side. You do not have to disconnect the fuel injectors. What we are trying to do here is move the main wire harness out of the way of the engine. There are plenty of screws and connections. Be careful and do a good thourough job. Do not damage any connectors take your time and look around. You will find them all. AAgain the idea here is not to take it completely out of the car but to move it out of our way. There is a ground connection attached to the right side valve cover. Now is a good time to label a bag valve cover and put that nut in there. It's a 10mm. CAUTION: The fuel injectors pull right out of their ports easily. There are rubber seals on top of hard plastic seals. Do not lose those plastic seals. The rubber ones come in the head gasket set to replace but the plastic ones do not. Remove them individually and put them away. Do not bang the injectors around. Be very carefull when repositioning them for anything!!!!! Here is a pic.


17. Once you get that harness out of the way now comes more tedious work. Start by removing the two 10mm bolts that hold the metal vacuum tube rail and breather hose to intake manifold. It's on the right(passenger) side of the engine. They are bolted to the valve cover. Disconnect all the vacuum hoses (pliers and flat blade screwdriver a must. They are stubborn. Put some gloves on.) from these rails at the front and rear of engine. The idea here is to free up the intake manifold for removal. (LABEL THEM) Take the two coolant hoses going into the heater core off as well(pic below). I'm talking about everything connected to that intake back there. Look around for em. I like to leave my clamps on my hoses. The ones in the front are easier to get off cause they are clearly visible. Once you have all the vacuum hoses disconnected remove the metal vacum rail completely and the breather tube. Store them somewhere safe.


Continued below .. Ran out of space in this thread.
 
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#52 ·
lgnd said:
Yesterdy I have a BHG at 115000 miles because the mechanic did not bleed the system and the car overheated in the repair shop. :( 99% percent BHG. I am very upset. They will do the complete HG job valve job for free and water pump, timing belt, hydraulic lifters, radiator, hoses. May I check the piston rings also?
I would not worry about the piston rings. To change the rings is another story. If you are burning oil(blue smoke) than either you have damage rings or vavle stem seals. (during engine idle) Most likely it is the valvle stem seals. Valve stem seals come with the head gasket kit.

This happened in the shop so it is the shop's fault for technician dumbness.
 
#53 ·
Yesterday I had the same problems as DatStyle with my 91LS.I was driving and nothing was wrong but when I parked I noticed a small trace of antifreeze inside the engine bay on top of the intake manifold, but the car was not overheating.So I started it back up and let it run and nothing.When I started driving it againg about 2 hours later I noticed more smoke from the engine bay and it was trying to overheat.Stopped the car and low and behold I could hear air spewing from near the firewall and antifreeze was leaking from the same area.At this time the car had overheated so I left it there until today because it was dark.Is my had gasket blown or is there something else wrong.Prior to that I was going to bleed the air from the coolant system on Monday because I had all of the symptoms for that.Any incite as to what may be wrong.

Thanks to DIY by my fellow legend lovers I can see clearly now. :2cool:
 
#54 ·
I know on some Vehicles with high milage, that when getting a head job done and head resurfaced. It can cause higher compression. I have a Acura with 300k plus, great compression, and runs great. Will I have any problems with the lower end after repairs. Like I said, car doesn't have any problems, but the cooling overheat after 6-7 days of driving, small amount of air in system. Bleed and its fine for a week! Anyone here done a head gasket with this milage? Just wanting to know if its worth the time! :bowdown: Thanks in advance!
 
#55 ·
#56 ·
Removal of Cylinder Head Cover

What are the minimum types of parts needed to remove prior to removal of cylinder head cover. I have to replace the cylinder head cover gasket for passenger side. I have removed all nuts and bolts on top of the cover but there are still nuts on each sides. Its difficult to loosen those because of other wires, which are in my way. I removed three ignition coils and harness cover. Fuel injectors assembly is almost unscrewed. I don't know what to do next. I will appreciate if anyboy may help me!
 
#58 ·
Thanks

Thanks everyone for keeping this thread going. I'm glad to see that there are still alot of us with Legends who want to keep them going.....I haven't look at this thread since June05. Job change... Sorry for not getting back to those who were asking questions. I am however proud to say that since that time I have not had any problems and the car is running better than when I got it used in 2000. That HG job was the best thing I ever did to my GS!
 
#60 ·
I'm new to these forums, but I work for Acura as a tech and did tons of these head gaskets as more and more Legends and RLs come in for these repairs.

Here is something I must stress bout doing this job on your own, take the heads to a reputable machine shop to get them tested for cracks. I've had 2 Legends and 2 RLs that each had one head cracked and coolant was leaking into the intake or exhaust ports on the head. Anyone in Chicagoland area whos looking for a excelent machine shop should give Weiner Machine (I don't have their # handy at the moment) shop a call, they will recondition your cylinder heads to that "like new" look and finish. Also they can fix severely warped cylinder heads for an extra charge. I have a 91 Legend Standard Model w/cloth interior that I bought for my fiancee off some old folks for 600 bux in mint shape, it needed a set of head gaskets. I pulled the job off in 6 hours and took a chance with the cylinder heads. Every car we do at the shop gets the heads sent out to Weiner for a head job, you simply can NOT take a chance of the heads being cracked and tell the customer after they spend 3K on the job they need to do this over again as the head is cracked.
 
#62 ·
My best freind (very good mitsu mechanic) just finished mine with a WP/TB install at the same time.

He replaced all seals, gaskets, everything.

Everything went well but two things.

1.) Exauhst leak, no biggie, we'll fix next weekend.

2.) THE PROBLEM

Imagine if you will........ You'r sitting in the car, it's idleing good, you push on the gas for normal "green light" acceleration and the car kinda sputters. So you try variations of this:

Start to go, it sputters, you let off the gas, the car picks up like it should have when you were giving it gas (just for a second), then decelerates.

Start to go, it sputters, you keep giving it gas, it works it's way through the sputter and then drives and accelerates as normal

Gas to the floor (on a dirt road), the car starts to move forward but does not even spin the tires (on gravel), you keep it floored and about 2500-3000 RPM it "kicks in" and starts spinning the tires. Kepp in mind that it took 2-3 seconds to reach 3000 RPM.

And now...... tonight, it is idleing way low, to the point that the lights start to dim.

What do you think?

Thanks in advance,
Tom
 
#63 ·
Make sure the timing belt is installed right, all the hoses are hooked up and the EGR port inside the intake manifold is not clogged up.

I always take the EGR port plate off the back of the intake manifold and clean all the snot out of the port. Last Legend I did HGs on, had alot of hesitation before the HG job, after I got done with the hesitation was completly eliminated. Acura has a TSB on EGR port clogging which can cause hesitation and drive line vibrations on the MDXs. Similar principle applies to the Legends, but none of them but the 95 models will code for a EGR problem. 95s will code saying the EGR valve is bad, but in reality the port is clogged and it needs to be cleaned. 96-up RL and TLs with the C series motor will code with a P0401 EGR flow insufficient code, I get to fix alot of independent shops misdiagnosis because they always install the valve and never clean the port out- causing the light to come on within 100 miles.

Port can be cleaned without taking the intake manifold off, you just need to remove the EGR pipe that runs from the back of the right cylinder head to the intake manifold-remove the black box on the firewall where the MAP sensor sits in to see the pipe better and get at the bolts. Get a small but long drill bit and stick it in the EGR port hole (where the EGR pipe bolts up too) till it pokes a hole in the EGR port hole-there is a hole there that will be all carboned up. You will need to gradually move up in drill bit sizes till you make that hole perfectly clean. After that you will want to reinstall the EGR pipe (clean all of the stuff from it also), remove the EGR valve itself and get some Honda Top Engine cleaner and pour the whole can down the EGR valve hole. Put the valve back on, and go drive the car around a secluded area to get rid of all the white smoke from the tail pipe. The Top Engine cleaned will dislodge any of the carbon that might be still in the intake manifold EGR port and will burn it all off in the engine. At the same time Top Engine cleaner will burn off some of the carbon sitting ontop of your piston tops and clean the intake valves/ports.

Hope this sorta makes sense, unfortunately I do not have any pictures of the EGR port cleaning procedure.
 
#64 ·
Most likely the timing belt is one notch off.

Here is a tip for timing the engine.
Remove the spark plugs! Set the drivers side cam pulley right on the timing mark, set the pass. side cam pulley on the timing mark then rotate the pully towards the engine about 1/2 of a tooth. Set the crankshaft right on the timing mark. Install the belt starting at the crankshaft then tensioner the pass. cam pulley ect.. Loosen the tensioner bolt to allow the tensioner to tighten the belt then tighten it back. Rotate the engine through 6 times and check the timing marks, they should be right on. Loosen the tensioner bolt again and retighten it.

I had trouble with this until I used the 1/2 tooth tip.

Here is a good thread for timing belt help
http://www.acura-legend.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=67679&highlight=timing+belt+tip
 
#65 ·
Make sure the timing belt is installed right, all the hoses are hooked up and the EGR port inside the intake manifold is not clogged up.

I always take the EGR port plate off the back of the intake manifold and clean all the snot out of the port. Last Legend I did HGs on, had alot of hesitation before the HG job, after I got done with the hesitation was completly eliminated. Acura has a TSB on EGR port clogging which can cause hesitation and drive line vibrations on the MDXs. Similar principle applies to the Legends, but none of them but the 95 models will code for a EGR problem. 95s will code saying the EGR valve is bad, but in reality the port is clogged and it needs to be cleaned. 96-up RL and TLs with the C series motor will code with a P0401 EGR flow insufficient code, I get to fix alot of independent shops misdiagnosis because they always install the valve and never clean the port out- causing the light to come on within 100 miles.

Port can be cleaned without taking the intake manifold off, you just need to remove the EGR pipe that runs from the back of the right cylinder head to the intake manifold-remove the black box on the firewall where the MAP sensor sits in to see the pipe better and get at the bolts. Get a small but long drill bit and stick it in the EGR port hole (where the EGR pipe bolts up too) till it pokes a hole in the EGR port hole-there is a hole there that will be all carboned up. You will need to gradually move up in drill bit sizes till you make that hole perfectly clean. After that you will want to reinstall the EGR pipe (clean all of the stuff from it also), remove the EGR valve itself and get some Honda Top Engine cleaner and pour the whole can down the EGR valve hole. Put the valve back on, and go drive the car around a secluded area to get rid of all the white smoke from the tail pipe. The Top Engine cleaned will dislodge any of the carbon that might be still in the intake manifold EGR port and will burn it all off in the engine. At the same time Top Engine cleaner will burn off some of the carbon sitting ontop of your piston tops and clean the intake valves/ports.

Hope this sorta makes sense, unfortunately I do not have any pictures of the EGR port cleaning procedure.
Great info here. This could explain why my 92 was faster than my 94LS
 
#66 ·
Thanks for the tips Blackbird and Jetdoc

Jetdoc, maybe the previous owner of your '92 installed a turbonator :giggle:
 
#67 ·
BlackBirdVQ said:
Make sure the timing belt is installed right, all the hoses are hooked up and the EGR port inside the intake manifold is not clogged up.

I always take the EGR port plate off the back of the intake manifold and clean all the snot out of the port. Last Legend I did HGs on, had alot of hesitation before the HG job, after I got done with the hesitation was completly eliminated. Acura has a TSB on EGR port clogging which can cause hesitation and drive line vibrations on the MDXs. Similar principle applies to the Legends, but none of them but the 95 models will code for a EGR problem. 95s will code saying the EGR valve is bad, but in reality the port is clogged and it needs to be cleaned. 96-up RL and TLs with the C series motor will code with a P0401 EGR flow insufficient code, I get to fix alot of independent shops misdiagnosis because they always install the valve and never clean the port out- causing the light to come on within 100 miles.

Port can be cleaned without taking the intake manifold off, you just need to remove the EGR pipe that runs from the back of the right cylinder head to the intake manifold-remove the black box on the firewall where the MAP sensor sits in to see the pipe better and get at the bolts. Get a small but long drill bit and stick it in the EGR port hole (where the EGR pipe bolts up too) till it pokes a hole in the EGR port hole-there is a hole there that will be all carboned up. You will need to gradually move up in drill bit sizes till you make that hole perfectly clean. After that you will want to reinstall the EGR pipe (clean all of the stuff from it also), remove the EGR valve itself and get some Honda Top Engine cleaner and pour the whole can down the EGR valve hole. Put the valve back on, and go drive the car around a secluded area to get rid of all the white smoke from the tail pipe. The Top Engine cleaned will dislodge any of the carbon that might be still in the intake manifold EGR port and will burn it all off in the engine. At the same time Top Engine cleaner will burn off some of the carbon sitting ontop of your piston tops and clean the intake valves/ports.

Hope this sorta makes sense, unfortunately I do not have any pictures of the EGR port cleaning procedure.
I don't know where you got the idea that only 95's set EGR codes. I've seen EGR codes on all model year Legends (even G1's for that matter). A clogged port at the pipe to manifold connection wouldn't cause this code either. All the ecu looks for is feedback from the valve lift sensor. As long as the valve opens on command and the sensor is operational, no codes will set, regardless of whether the ports are clogged. EGR codes on these cars are generally caused by either a faulty valve lift sensor or control solenoid, or a disconnected/damaged vacuum line.
 
#68 ·
quick question for iceman or anyone who knows...while doing the head gasket job..one of the first steps was to jack the car up..but after i disconnect the exhaust manifold..can i bring the car back down? or shall i leave it up for other reasons?
 
#69 ·
PearlWhiteLedge said:
quick question for iceman or anyone who knows...while doing the head gasket job..one of the first steps was to jack the car up..but after i disconnect the exhaust manifold..can i bring the car back down? or shall i leave it up for other reasons?
Leave it up for dropped tools etc, and when you take the heads off you'll need to put a catch tray under each head for the antifreeze pouring out.
 
#70 ·
Leave it up for convenience, like dethred said for dropped tools, screws, coolant, etc. I am working on it rightnow actually and I've had to go there a few times to grab stuff; I think it's probably a good idea to leave it on Jackstands.
 
#71 ·
PearlWhiteLedge said:
quick question for iceman or anyone who knows...while doing the head gasket job..one of the first steps was to jack the car up..but after i disconnect the exhaust manifold..can i bring the car back down? or shall i leave it up for other reasons?
Yeah, you can. I was tempted to drop it back down, since pulling the heads(with the headers and primary cats still attached) was awkward enough, but ultimately I left it in the air. Though if I had it to do over, I'd drop it back down....any tools dropped will either be in reach outright, or use a stick; and shallow pans do just fine for coolant either way.
 
#73 ·
Just did my HG now car wont run. It sounds like it wants to run but it just doesnt. I timed everything to TDC for the second time. First time I was way off. Anybody have any suggestions? There is a shop here in Houston that would have done it for $660.00 including parts. Am I an f&@!ing idiot or what for trying it myself.
 
#74 ·
I had some trouble getting mine in tune the first time until I followed this tip.

Remove the spark plugs! Set the drivers side cam pulley right on the timing mark, set the pass. side cam pulley on the timing mark then rotate the pully towards the engine about 1/2 of a tooth. Set the crankshaft right on the timing mark. Install the belt starting at the crankshaft then tensioner the pass. cam pulley ect.. Loosen the tensioner bolt to allow the tensioner to tighten the belt then tighten it back. Rotate the engine through 6 times and check the timing marks, they should be right on. Loosen the tensioner bolt again and retighten it.

I had trouble with this until I used the 1/2 tooth tip
 
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