Rep Power: 190

Hey. I didn't feel like finding my old thread to bump it. too tired, lol.

Yesterday I got a late start and decided to start getting this car disassembled. I've:
- Removed intake and throttle body.
- Disconnected most of the connectors, removed the ignition coils.
- Got most of the exhaust manifold off, just need to remove the two rusted *** bolts at the bottom of it. (Soaked the heck out of them with liquid wrench, I'm going to again today before venturing to remove it).
- Moved the P/S pump, removed the alternator.

It was dark by that point, and working under a lamp got old quick so I quit.

I need to drain the oil and block coolant... I wanted to try and cheat and get access to the coolant plug from the top after removing the intake manifold (for easier reach), but it might be easier to get under to drain the coolant and just pull the head with the intake on... I'm not sure which I want to do, advice?

Also, do I need to remove the entire timing belt and pull the crank pulley, or is that a necessary pain in the ***... is there any trick to maybe marking the belt and slipping the belt off instead? (I never messed with a timing belt before, so I'm apprehensive of messing with it. Pulling all the other crap off and removing the head seems less daunting than dealing with the belt.)

(I have the helms digital manual, and also the DIY thread for reference)

 
Rep Power: 190

Another Q while I'm at it. I need the car back ASAP, should I bother to have it checked/pressure tested (which will add ~2 days to send it off by NAPA, and idk any engine shop near me...), or if it by some miracle is not warped, should I just throw the thing back on as is.

 
Rep Power: 312

I pulled the block coolant drain after the intake mani was off.. HOWEVER... I got covered in coolant when I removed the piping from the head, it wasn't fun. You can do it either way really, the bolt was seized on so I couldn't get it off from below, I needed a breaker bar. Also, you don't need to remove the intake manifold until after you remove the head. It's much easier to remove it with the head off the car, just make sure all the hoses and sensors are disconnected (And the lower bolts in the back), same goes with the exhaust manifold. It just makes the head a lil' harder to pull out but saves your knuckles from trying to get a wrench in there. If you aren't changing the timing belt I'm pretty sure even the alternator can stay in there, but I think you do have to remove the engine mount.

You uhh.. do need to remove the timing belt from the camshaft pulley but you don't need to remove the crankshaft if you aren't changing the timing belt. I assume you know that if your timing belt is near due to change it now because your already there.

Get the head checked unless you want to do this job again. Not only does it tell you the condition of the head it will prevent the same failure again. Cleaning the head is the hardest part because if it's done wrong you will eff your head up. You need to safely remove the old gasket without scratching the surface. Even a minor scractch can destroy a new gasket. That includes the block too, which has to be cleaned.

Oh yea, if your not removing the crank pulley that means you wont be able to check timing well when your done. So get as close to TDC as possible and mark it. Hmm.. I'll post something here that will help you align timing aftewards, but it's much better to do with the lower timing belt cover off (which you cant remove unless you remove the crank pulley)

 
Rep Power: 312

This will help you set your timing after the job:

 
Rep Power: 190

thank you. I don't need to replace timing belt cause I had it done (with water pump and tensioner) not long ago. I just want to get the head off as painless as possible lol. so should I remove the upper belt cover, turn crank pulley until markings are lined up, mark the belt and slip it off? or do I remove the

 
Rep Power: 312

The upper timing belt cover has to come off to remove the head. The lower timing belt cover doesnt have to be removed but it makes it easier to line up TDC but is absolutely not necessary if you mark things carefully and follow the guide above. Just be careful, and make sure you don't mark the head up where the head meets the block or you will have major issues. If I were in your shoes I'd leave the intake manny on, exhaust manny on, try to remove the drain bolt from below, remove the upper timing belt cover, mark and slip the belt off and proceed from there.j I'm not a mechanic however, I can just tell you my suggestion. Don't screw your timing up because you could destroy the engine, pay particular attention to get that right. Make sure its at TDC when you slip the belt off.

 
Rep Power: 366

yeah, the problem is that if when you remove the belt from top and the belt moves off the crakshaft pulley, then your mark on the top will not be accurate anymore. Not sure if there was enough space down there with the cover for the blet to skip a teeth, though - I might be wrong on that. Anyway, try to keep some tension somehow on the belt, so it will not go too loose down there.
So, i would suggest to remove the crankshaft pulley anyway.
I do believe you had only one quick overheating and no more? Potentially your head is good.

So, you finally biting the bullet on the HG?

 
Rep Power: 190

Indeed I am. I decided to stop where I am short of removing the t-belt. Local mechanic I know said would take over and discount labor to just a few hours (since the job is almost halfway done), and use my parts. I don't feel like dicking around with the crank pulley and pulling off the timing belt, so here's where I end my head gasket replacement journey. Thank you all for your advice.

 
Rep Power: 366

My miata is still over jacks waiting for the temps to go down and my job schedule to ease up (almost 2 months?) fer a clutch job :P If you have a spare car, it's best to DIY

 
Rep Power: 312

Sandro... you have to mark the actual crankshaft so you don't need to remove the lower cover. Removing the crankshaft is a lot of work since the bolt is normally on there so tight (yours might not be too bad since you just had the T belt replaced). There is also a TDC mark on the crankshaft itself just for this purpose I see what your worried about though, the belt not being snug up against the pulley but it has been done this way before.

 
Rep Power: 366

yeah, i am just unsure if the belt would keep itself in place around the crank... not sure if there is enough space for it to come loose, since i removed everything.

 
Rep Power: 312

There are ways to keep it tight.. The cover itself shoudl almost keep the belt in place. The belt can pass teeth on the pulley as long as the pulley is in the correct position. This is why you spin the crank pulley after everything is timed correctly. You should be able to see with a flashlight enough to make sure the belt is seated correctly. If it saves removing the lower belt cover that saves you a shitload of work.

 
Rep Power: 811

we tied my belt to the strut bar with a string to keep it from falling off the bottom. then slid the belt back on the cam gear when done and timing was perfect. not the correct way to do it, but it worked.

 
Rep Power: 312

It works and you can always check it... just mark the crankshaft when the cam is TDC , piece of cake.