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| Head Swap |
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Fucking shit. This job was ridiculous. Swapping the head is another one of those things you should NOT attempt by yourself, in my estimation, unless you: 1. have done it before, 2. don't care if you break something, or 3. are really fucking dumb. Do yourself a favor and get someone who has done this before to help you out. It's a BIG job to do with the engine still in the car. It's not quite as bad when the engine is out, but then you have to pull the engine, of course, which is a bitch in itself. All in all, swapping the head, intake manifold, and timing components took Jay, Sam, and I about 12 hours to finish. Quite a fucking day. It was worth it, though...fuuuck yeah. Anyway, to get the head off, you have to remove the exhaust header, AC compressor, coolant lines, ECTS, top motor mount, PCV, vacuum lines, EGR, intake piping, crank pulley, water pump pulley, serpentine belt tensioner, timing chain cover, timing chain, valve cover, and head bolts, among other things. I'm forgetting some shit, I'm sure, but you also have to drain the oil and coolant so it doesn't leak everywhere. I couldn't get pictures of all this stuff because I was....HELPING! So quitcherbitchin. If you have any specific questions about a specific part, email or IM me. Once you get all the shit off and finally remove the head, your engine will look something like what you see to the right.
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I have been having oil burning and misfiring problems for a while now, and I couldn't completely figure that shit out. It was pissing the fuck out of me. Finally figured it out when we got around to doing this job. The valve guide seals had been leaking oil into some of the cylinders, making the engine misfire at idle and leaving a whole assload of carbon buildup on my pistons. We used a combination of PB Blaster and Carb Medic to dissolve most of the carbon on cylinders one and two. The shit on three and four was just too much for them, even with a good scraping. Then Sam got the sweet idea to use pain thinner on it. We weren't sure if it would dissolve the carbon, the metal, or both, but it actually worked well. That shit is so fucking strong, if you get any of the mist on your body, it burns like hell for about 30 seconds or so. It's horrible shit. It sure eats the piss out of thick ass carbon buildup, though. Turns it into a slurry, almost. When it was all said and done, the pistons looked like this. MUCH better, eh?!
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While the carbon was dissolving, Jay started putting the old cams into the new head. When he went to check the lifters, though, he found that the ones in the new head were fucked up. To check a lifter, you put a straight edge on the top of the lifter and look for light shining through. The more worn it is, the more light shines through. We chose to use the old lifters for two reasons: they were less worn and they were already ground to the cams I had. After getting the cams out of the head, the lifters just pop straight out. You can just pull them out and push them back in with your fingers. Pretty sweet. Anyway, here's a shot of the half-assembled old head, and here are the beasts working on the heads.
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There are some good pictures of the porting work on the new head in the Commentary section, but I wanted to just take one more shot of those beautiful ass exhaust ports. So, here it is. Hotness. To finish up, just do everything backwards and put all the shit back in. Much quicker than pulling it all off. When you're done, drink a beer, take a nap, and remember to break the thing in for 200 or 300 miles, mainly to let the lifters wear to the cams properly before you beat on it. I gotta say, too, that this mod made an incredible difference. The car was running rich as fuck from the combination of the cams and the new head configuration, and it still RIPPED. It's a monster. Sam is available to port a head and/or intake manifold for you, too. His work is truly amazing. If you're interested in having Sam do some work for you, contact me and I'll put you in touch with him. Have fun, kiddies.
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