HG install is easy Anthony. I'll give you a ring tomorrow once I get her all buttoned up. The two 'tricks' are to leave the IM attached to the head, and leave the timing belt on the pulley when you take it off. Still mark the belt and the pulley to get the teeth lined up, but it's much easier than prying off the belt then taking off the pulley. This may be common sense for someone who does these routinely, but it's not the way I did my first one.
Since Glen is a whiny bitch
and a voyeur mechanic (as opposed to just being a whiny bitch) here's what I did tonight.
The ARP, HG, SRT-4, BC, and WG Spring Install Day 2
Got everything almost buttoned all the way up tonight. I thing I spent maybe 2.5 hours on the wrenches tonight. Had to fiddle around with the WG gaskets to get the right one in the right place so that took a little extra time.
First things first.
I had to custom fabricate a precision cleaning instrument to prep my head bolt holes. Since the coolant had sloshed over into the bolt holes, it had to come out, especially since it was mixed with oil. I used some a beige polymer bonding agent and a silicone extractor to attach it to my evacuation unit.
There's no fuckin' around in 'Foos Town. Only quality tools are used at all times. Who's town? 'Foos Town.
So that worked to get most of the crap out, then I twisted up some paper towel to get down in the holes to get the rest out, and finished it up by blowing them out with some compressed air. Messy.
Here's the user end of an ARP head stud. They take either a 4mm or 5/32" hex key. The instructions say to use the included ARP moly lube and hand tighten them.
It says "ARP!" and came with a free sticker in the box. The only better looking stud I know is me.
I spun them all down on to the block, blew away the little bit of fluid that came bubbling up out of the holes and did a final prep with a carb cleaner soaked paper towel. The studs were very easy to install.
Once those were in, it was time to finish prepping the head. I cleaned the rest of the old gasket material off it, then decked and degreased the VC mating surface. Then it was time to get rid of my 2-week old RSX-S injectors and drop in the SRT-4s. George if you're reading this, hit me with PayPal and I'll get them in the mail to you in two shakes of a lamb's tail.
OK, that's done and the fuel rail is installed once more. Time to drop the head back on to the block. Yes I already put the HG on. It sure was much easier to line up now that there are studs instead of the stock bolts. Sure as hell beats when I replaced it in June when it overheated on my wife and popped that HG. Anyway, ARP recommends that you do not use the manufacturer's torque specs, and instead, torque it down to 60 ft/lbs. Too easy. The ARP nuts take a 12pt. 12mm socket, so keep that in mind if you buy a set.
I grabbed my torque wrench, set it to 60 ft/lbs. and torqued down the top middle nut.
I'm kidding. That would be stupid. You still have to follow a stepped torquing sequence so you don't warp the head. I went with 16, 32, 48, and finally 60 ft/lbs to torque it down. She should be good to go. Look, its a head nut.
Then I put the timing belt and pulley back on, the accessory mounts, wired up the left side of the engine bay, plumbed all the vac lines back into the IM, reattached the throttle cables, swapped out the WG spring, and strapped the turbo mani back on to her nose like a big black and silver booger. Like I said, I had to fiddle with the gaskets on the WG-to-DT flange since I had developed a slight gap at the mani-to-WG flange. It's good now.
I just have some minor stuff to finish up tomorrow. I need to wire in the new injector clips, tie in the boost controller, and finish putting the rest of everything back together. I'll definitely finish tomorrow as long as my daughter has the early game. We'll see. Again I'm in no real hurry.
But I did take this (I think) cool picture of the sky as it silhouetted my chimney. Too cool.
