D2 Head Gasket home repair, Version Feb 2011

[jymmiejamz]

There are some interesting suggestions in this thread. Bashing in the fire wall is definitely not necessary. I use one of these with a short extension and a swivel (not u-joint) socket. It is a very expensive ratchet, but well worth it if you aren't just going to use it once, its huge, and has 80 teeth.

For the intake bolts I use on of these to avoid removing the fuel rail. You can get the bolts out without that tool, but I find that that one works best. I always break them loose with a u-joint 13mm socket first though.

I always leave the exhaust manifold bolted to the head, and just undo the 6 bolts from y-pipe. If you choose to unbolt the exhaust manifolds in the car you can get to them with an air ratchet and short extension.

 

[Dan B]

RE: Drivers side rear manifold bolt.

I got this one off last night (I'm doing the head gaskets like you).

You don't need to hammer the firewall - although that was my first thought when I saw the problem.

I used the normal 1/2 12mm 12 point shallow socket and my Pittsburgh tools torque wrench. For the other bolts I used a breaker bar (gently), but that wouldn't fit down the back. The torque wrench has a lot more shallow head than the breaker bar, so it squeezes in nicely. The moment arm is 12 inches less on the torque wrench, but is still came off no problem.

So far the biggest pain has been the two 8mm (they might be 10mm) bolts holding the coil packs on the upper intake manifold. You just have to be patient, use a light to see the bolts (the loom gets in the way a lot), and two long socket extenders.

 

[Dan B]

By the way, the manual says to remove and discard the SAI pipe fittings. AB have these listed at $50 each!!!!!

What is the feeling on this?

- Leave them in
- Remove and reinstall old ones
- Shell out another ~$200 and replace as per manual

(I have searched, but did not win).

 

[tex599]

As far as the SAI fitting, I just reused them and it worked fine

 

[Bosbefok]

Reuse them. Lube them with pb blaster before removing them otherwise they might get twisted up.

 

[seanmcd]

Quick question, will I need any loctite on any bolts during reassembly?

Also, what will I need for 12 point sockets, besides the 8mm for valve covers and 12 mm for exhaust manifolds?

I may end up not having the heads machined after all, costs are going up and well, money is tight here. I may go with the suggestion to not remove the exhaust manifolds and leave them and the CAi attached to the head. Suggestions?

 

[Bosbefok]

Negative on loctite, unless called for in rave.
Those are the only 12 point sockets you need.
It's a bad decision to not have the heads checked and machined. If they are out then you are wasting your money and you will be back doing the job again. Penny wise pound foolish...
Those exhaust manifolds are heavy, it's going to be a bitch the fit the heads and not fuck up your new gaskets.

 

[jymmiejamz]

Quick question, will I need any loctite on any bolts during reassembly?

Also, what will I need for 12 point sockets, besides the 8mm for valve covers and 12 mm for exhaust manifolds?

I may end up not having the heads machined after all, costs are going up and well, money is tight here. I may go with the suggestion to not remove the exhaust manifolds and leave them and the CAi attached to the head. Suggestions?

I use loctite on the intake bolts, I'm pretty sure they came with it on them from the factory anyway.

Those are the only 12 point sockets you need.

Its not the end of the world if you don't have the heads machined, it will probably go another 30k miles before they start leaking again. You have to remove the SAI pipes and fittings to get the head bolts out. It is easier to hold the SAI fitting with an 18mm wrench if you remove an exhaust manifold bolt. The SAI pipes are 27mm.

Another tip is to drain the coolant through the bolt hole on the lower right hand side of the water pump, it will drain most of the coolant from the block.

BTW, fuck RAVE.

 

[Bosbefok]

Put some anti seize on the exhaust bolts and the spark plugs.

 

[brianhoberg]

yeah if they're out I'd go ahead and get the heads machined just to be careful. $ spent now will save you $$ in the future when you are re-doing the job because the heads went.

 

[tex599]

Call around on pricing for the machine work. For me it ranged from $440 to $225. If you are going to go that far you might as well spend the money for the head work.

 

[brianhoberg]

Call around on pricing for the machine work. For me it ranged from $440 to $225. If you are going to go that far you might as well spend the money for the head work.

x2

 

[seanmcd]

Hypothetical question. If I were to take my truck off road only, drive around my property sort of stuff, is it possible to remove the CAI system? What would be the negatives of doing so? For 'off road use only' of course.

Can the CAI ports be plugged and the system removed?

Thanks

 

[mbrummal]

for offroad only you can do whatever you want to. The ECU wouldn't like it but it could be done. There are ways to trick the ECU though.

 

[kennith]

I'd just leave it where it is... you should only have to replace plugs/wires every 50k or so, and it's not that bad of a job after you do it once... best trick for wires is to put a blanket down on the engine and lay directly on it, makes life much easier.

Been there, tried that. I still can't do it. I can't get my hands back there properly. Even if I could, I've only got good dexterity with my right hand. Even if the left worked properly, I still can't feel things in any amount of detail half the time.

So, nope. Not possible. Can't get them back there, and it wouldn't change anything if I could.

It doesn't matter how often they should be replaced. I worry about one needing to be replaced. I don't want to have to deal with that in the middle of nowhere.

I haven't had an issue with it so far, but it's something I worry about, and I'm going to fix it. For now, I go prepared to remove quite a few things in order to get to them. I've got a few ideas on where to put them, but I haven't decided just yet which one I'm going to use.

I have to wait until I'm done with something else before I can bother with it. One alteration will affect where essentially everything else ends up, one of those being the coils.

I'm changing a setup that I've been using.

Cheers,

Kennith

 

[kennith]

let us know where you put them kennith. I would like them in a different place too.

I'd like to shove them up the ass of the guy who decided it was a good idea to put them behind the engine in the first place.

Cheers,

Kennith

 

[kcabpilot]

I'm getting ready to put mine back together. Here are some pictures:

Part I

Part II

Most everything has been covered here already. I'll concur on the head bolt removal - put all of your 3/8 inch drive tools away in a safe place or they'll get slaughtered. I busted two sockets and a breaker bar before getting wise (all on left head bolt #1)

I took the heads to the shop and had the valves done, it cost me $150 for both. I did all of the disassembly and reassembly- you can buy a valve spring compressor for what, 30 or 40 bucks? I just can't see going this far into it and not getting the head work done. My truck has 99k on it. I cleaned up and inspected the rocker assemblies (PITA) There's wear but they should be okay for another 99k before having to throw them away.

I also got all new hoses, thermostat and expansion tank cap (it was breaking apart). I'm replacing all of the plastic coolant lines with hoses. I've heard stuff and don't know if it's true or not but I'm flushing out the Dex-cool and going with the regular green stuff. You can see in the pictures how my gasket got eroded, that's where the leak was. It already had composite gaskets installed so maybe was done before? I don't know if Dex-Cool is a culprit but I basically don't like the stuff for other reasons anyway so it's history.

I also bought 8mm wires. Thought about doing the water pump but it feels pretty tight so I'm going to leave it be.

Should be putting it together this weekend if nothing comes up to interfere.

 

[seanmcd]

Ok so I have the upper intake off, removed the CAI which has been the biggest pain so far. Coil is off and the exhaust manifolds are off. It appears as if my coolant leak is coming from the rear of the valley pan gasket.

This job is not for people with large hands or arms. There is just no space to work and being built like a gorilla is not conducive to getting hands squeezed into small spaces. wtf

Couple questions so far.

-How do I remove the fuel rail from the hose that comes in from the rear of the motor? It must some sort of a fitting that needs to be pushed, pulled, squeezed or something, I just can't see how it comes apart and don't want to go ruin it.

-I asked about the CAI just wondering if it was essential to the engine managament or if it was mandatory emissions that can be junked and the ECU will adjust. Anyone remove it?

-I broke 2 studs from the down pipe into the exhaust manifolds, I will need to drill and EZ out them sometime before assembly. Can I get those studs at a regular Autoparts store, or are they special pieces?

-When the valley pan is reassembled, what type of sealant should I use? It says use part # xyz123yadayada. What does that mean in real world terms?

Ok, thanks for the help, I will post pics up in a bit.

 

[Dan B]

-How do I remove the fuel rail from the hose that comes in from the rear of the motor? It must some sort of a fitting that needs to be pushed, pulled, squeezed or something, I just can't see how it comes apart and don't want to go ruin it.

oooooh, this one is a ball ache until you know

You would think that you'd squeeze the little plastic "button" all the way down to release the hose from the rail, but nooooo. You have to squeeze it about 1/2 way down and then pull back (towards fire wall).

When you finally get the knack and get the damn thing off you'll see why. If you push the button all the way down it actually deforms the ring of plastic that latches onto the fuel rail so much that is bites down laterally to the original and stops it from being pulled off.

 

[seanmcd]

oooooh, this one is a ball ache until you know

You would think that you'd squeeze the little plastic "button" all the way down to release the hose from the rail, but nooooo. You have to squeeze it about 1/2 way down and then pull back (towards fire wall).

When you finally get the knack and get the damn thing off you'll see why. If you push the button all the way down it actually deforms the ring of plastic that latches onto the fuel rail so much that is bites down laterally to the original and stops it from being pulled off.

Thanks, I will go give it a try and see how it goes.

Hey Dan, have you done a head gasket yourself? Just wondering if I run into any snags I may ask some questions, I just saw you are in Melbourne and I am in Vero Beach. Would be helpful to have someone to ask a few questions as needed.

Thanks again !