15) With the timing cover vent cover removed there is supposed to be a metal screen. It looks like someone cut out most of the screen. Inside the head can be seen a gear with a spring loaded button (top left of gear). To loosen the chain, the button is depressed and the gear is turned counter clockwise after loosening the nut. A special tool is requred to put the correct tension on the chain. However, they cost about $20. |
16) The rev counter at the back of the right cam cover and be removed with the cam cover in place.
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17) The cam oil line was pinched. This probably happen when the engine was put back in after changing the clutch. Repos do not look anything like
the originals. Luckily I was able to get an excellent used one.
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18) The cam timing gears are bolted to the cams and are wired in place. The gears have to be unbolted and moved inboard in order to pull the head. In this picture
I had added a nut (from a brake hose), which is a common method of preventing the gear from falling out of the slot while attempting to remove or install the head.
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19) In this picture the cam timing gears are unbolted and pulled inboard.
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20) In this picture the cams have been removed and the head nuts have been taken off.
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21) Removing the had can sometimes be very difficult if it has never been removed before. One method of breakig it free is to put a bottle jack under the left and right sides
of the head (where it overhangs the block) and jack against the block. In my case the head ominously came loose very easily. In this picture I had stuffed some blocks of
wood between the head and gasket so that I could get a good grip to remove the head by myself.
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22) The head came off easily enough, though I had to futz around to get the timing gears to clear. Inside the block was clean looking antifreeze. That is a good sign
for an engine that has not been touched since 2001.
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23) Here is the underside of the head. It doesn't look too bad really. The head had never been planed. You can tell by the fact that there are ridges on the four bosses that extend
beyond the head gasket. A planed head would most likely have the ridges planed down with the head.
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24) The engine is too heavy to put on a stand for one person. I jacked the engine in the air, blocking it up as I went.
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24) Then I slipped the engine stand right onto the back of the engine bracket.
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26) The oil pan broke free by tapping it on the side with a rubber mallet .
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27) Uh Oh! The number 4 piston looked cleaner and newer than the rest.
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28) Uh Oh again ! When I took the timing cover off I discovered that the lower timing chain tensioner had fallen apart inside the cover. The chain
had slapped arround and started to wear grooves into the the tensioner base and the block. Luckily the block was not damaged enough to warrant a repair.If you look closely at the picture to the right of the crank shaft you can see the lower timing chanin tensioner that I found floating around in the timing cover. |