1989 3l s2 head removal

[tom_babbs]

So i started to strip the head off to see the state of the head gasket, am i right in thinking that in order to get to the head bolts i will have to take the camshafts off, and in order to do that i will have to take the front pulley off of the cam shaft in order to get the bridge off of the front of the engine?

I will upload pictures later if i have to.

Sorry for the garbled message i have the wife nagging me to go out and i wanted to ask the question before i went.

Any help much appreciated. Tom

 

[ukmastiff]

You see that's the trouble with wives ! you're trying to give some attention to the real love of your life and ....................

 

[TTM]

I went through all this several months ago, and yes the camshafts have to be taken out.

To sum it up :
- Turn the engine manually to top dead center, then lock it there. Engage first gear if you don't have the special tool
- Loosen the tensioner for the timing belt then gently pull the timing belt frontwards to slide it off the camshaft pulley
- Before loosening the bolt that secures the camshaft pulley onto the exhaust camshaft, note the indexation of the camshaft pulley with regards to the three holes in it. This is going to affect ignition angle slightly if you get it back wrong, and it's a pain in the back to perform the indexation method described in the service manual
- remove the camshaft pulley
- remove the pulley housing
- remove cam chain tensioner
- loosen all the bridges holding both camshafts, then take both camshafts out and keep the chain where it is

You may not be able to take the exhaust manifolds off unless pulling them out along with the head. My back remembers this step well [8|]

If you have any question on other parts removed during the process, just ask.

 

[bmnelsc]

ORIGINAL: TTM

I went through all this several months ago, and yes the camshafts have to be taken out.
...
You may not be able to take the exhaust manifolds off unless pulling them out along with the head. My back remembers this step well [8|]
...

Good point here - I've been thinking of having a look at my head gasket also - and being well past my prime - how much does that head weigh? I'm guessing this is fairly heavy for the posture that must be assumed to reach over the bodywork...

 

[JamesO]

ORIGINAL: TTM


- Before loosening the bolt that secures the camshaft pulley onto the exhaust camshaft, note the indexation of the camshaft pulley with regards to the three holes in it. This is going to affect ignition angle slightly if you get it back wrong, and it's a pain in the back to perform the indexation method described in the service manual

IIRC You can replace the 3 bolts with longer ones to lock it in place and preserve the timing.

 

[TTM]

ORIGINAL: bmnelsc
Good point here - I've been thinking of having a look at my head gasket also - and being well past my prime - how much does that head weigh? I'm guessing this is fairly heavy for the posture that
must be assumed to reach over the bodywork...

Well it's not light but it's not impossibly heavy either.
Anyone should be able to pull the head with exhaust manifolds on without too much effort, but your back will be happy that you're succefull at the first attempt.
As I said the key is to loosen the manifolds so that that they can freely hit the side member as you pull the head out. Same when installing the head afterwards.

 

[bertelli_1]

ORIGINAL: JamesO

ORIGINAL: TTM


- Before loosening the bolt that secures the camshaft pulley onto the exhaust camshaft, note the indexation of the camshaft pulley with regards to the three holes in it. This is going to affect ignition angle slightly if you get it back wrong, and it's a pain in the back to perform the indexation method described in the service manual

IIRC You can replace the 3 bolts with longer ones to lock it in place and preserve the timing.

The ignition timing is controlled by the ecu. Moving the position of the 3 bolts changes the cam timing - it is imperative that these are aligned correctly!! I usually remove the exhaust manifold studs & take the manifold off completely, it makes removing & refiting the head much easier.

 

[TTM]

Not sure I see the point of removing the 12 studs when it's not necessary.

Do you have an easy method to adjust the cam timing?

 

[tom_babbs]

Do you mean the three bolts that hold the rotor onto the camshaft pulley (i marked this with tipex, as i wasn't sure if the bolt pattern was such that it would only go on in one position)
Next question is how do you take the pulley off when the somebody in the past has stripped the spline bit in the centre of the pulley (i am presuming that i need to grip this and turn the big nut at the same time) also is this an anti-clockwise thread?

I have already got the exhaust studs out.

I also discovered that the back injector was missing its green top hat and rubber ring from where it sits inside the manifold. I dont think this has gone whilst i took it apart but would it not have been noticable to the running?

 

[bertelli_1]

I would guess the injector parts are still stuck in the manifold. there isnt an easy way to adjust the cam timing.and dont forget to remove the 13mm nut before removing the head - its near the top hose.

 

[JamesO]

The 3 m5 bolts which hold the rotor arm to the pulley will lock the cam timing if you use longer bolts. Pretty sure its in the manual.