1slow98

I am going to attempt my first h/c install myself. I read the jmx how-to and seems very informative. Any suggestions or is the jmx how-to all u need to know? Any help is appreciated as this is my first h/c install.

Tim 98z

iTrader: (1)

I dont know what instrution those are but the one i printed off worked well. It's not hard to do just ime consuming. One word to the wise i have is clean the head gaskets off good. the instructions i had just said scrape with a plastic scraper (this should take 10 min per side) I didnt think that was anywhere near good enuf so i kept at it for about an hour a side atleast.
And be sure to have a good torq wrench and fallow the instructions.

1slow98

Thanks for the info. It sounds like you printed the same instructions i did. The only thing i didn't understand is lining up the crank and the cam. But in the instructions it is very very important.

theblur98ss

iTrader: (71)

It's takes some time but be patient, label anything your not sure about, keep parts seperate by passenger/drivers side. Doing the cam can be tricky but like the instructions say it's very important. You just have to line the dots up. It may take a few trys..inching the crank ahead until everything is where you want it.

felton316

jmX's how-to is excellent. The only other thing I can add is to wear a pair of gloves when removing the head bolts. I slipped once and split my hand wide open on the sharp machined edges. But hey, chicks dig scars.... right?

1slow98

sure they do. lol. Thanks everybody for the info. As you can tell im a idiot when it comes to this stuff. But im sure ill get the hang of it. Yeah that jmx how-to is very detailed and thats what i need. Thanks again guys.

Slowhawk

iTrader: (12)

I use a sharpie and right on most of the parts.ie;coil packs,rocker assembly's ect.

I think the hardest parts are pulley remove/install,timing chain(pick up bolt)and removing radiator/condensor setup.

DEVIATE

iTrader: (1)

I have a little bit of advice dont use assembly lube on the camshaft because it will stick the relief valve in the oil pump. Trust me I learned the hard way and had to go back in and replace it with an agostino pump. Just dip the camshaft off in some fresh oil that is all it will need. Hope this little tidbit helps keep you from the same troubles I had.

jmX

Over 2000 people in the last 2 months have read the heads/cam howto on my site, and I've personally got 20+ emails from successful people that used them (guess nobody likes emailing me with feedback or thanks <img border="0" title="" alt="[Frown]" src="gr_sad.gif" /> ).

Everything you need to know is in the writeup. Total newbies have done it. If you dont understand the cam/crank thing now, you will when you get there. You'll see the dots.

Any other questions during the install, just email me or post on here.

Zeta

JMX site is a good write up. Glad it is there.

I would consider doing two things differently than what is found there when doing a cam swap. That is lowering the AC condenser coil and pulley install.

As I recall it says have a 'friend' help you raise it out of the way. If you take it off of the lower support [shelf] it will drop far enough on the passenger side to remove the cam. The trick at that point is to keep the driver’s side from dropping down too far and tweaking the upper Al tube on the passenger side. I used a piece of wire to keep it from dropping to far. No friend required. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="gr_stretch.gif" />

The second one applies if you are installing a UD pulley, and do not want to tear up the Al center. I noted some nasty Al burs from the action of the steel bolt when installing. After you have the pulley started about five threads, pull the bolt, and use a washer and some lubricant on the washer. No Al burs, no scarring of the pulley bolt-mating surface. The other benefit is you are using more energy to seat the pulley rather than overcoming the friction in turning the bolt on the pulley.

TreeGreenZ

Thanks JMX, it was a great guide. There are only a couple things I would like to add.

1) Power steering pump, you can leave the pulley on and do it, but with teh power steering pulley puller from autozone, it only takes a minute to get off, and it makes it a piece of cake.

2) When pulling the crank pulley, I found it helpful to drill a spot on the old crank bolt to make a spot for the pulley to dig into. We bent 3 pulley bolts trying to get mine off :brick:
Along with actually breaking the pulley. LOL

jmX

Zeta, Those are interesting suggestions. I have tried putting the ac condensor down once but I tended to like the raising it up method (using a strap, rather than a friend, to hold it up). I also have been meaning to add that its good to grease the underside of the stock bolt before reinstalling the pulley, although I've never tried a washer. I'll at least add a note about the grease <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="gr_stretch.gif" />

Chickn, <img border="0" alt="[cheers]" title="" src="graemlins/gr_cheers.gif" />

TreeGreenZ, Thanks. #1 is a debate I've had with quite a few people. I generally try to do my writeups so that the least amount of special tools are needed, and once you get the PS bracket off you can leave out one of hte bolts in the future which makes removal and install a really quick task. I will probably do my next install by removing the pulley just so I can see which is quicker, but for now I still recommend the other method and leaving the pulley on. #2 sounds pretty dodgy, Maybe you were grabbing the pulley incorrectly? The only time I've ever had one break was when I wasnt pulling it from the inner tabs. I'll add a note about possibly needing to dimple the bolt if it wont stay center, but if you need to do that it generally means the pulley puller is on incorrectly or skewed. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Confused]" src="images/icons/confused.gif" />

WS6 RULES

I guess I'll add my 2 cents. I've read some posts here where people have installed new cam and then just get in the car and hit the starter! Well if the cam and crank are not lined up right you can guess what happens. Always have spark plugs out and turn motor over by hand when your are finished. If a piston hits a valve you'll feel it.

Argon Z

yeah thanks JMX you are the **** i just finished my head/cam swap and it worked out great. Thanks alot.

Mr. B

iTrader: (1)

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by jmX:
<strong> Over 2000 people in the last 2 months have read the heads/cam howto on my site, and I've personally got 20+ emails from successful people that used them </strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I agree!

I followed the intake replacement and then did the head swap with my Absolute Heads.

The JMX site is the BEST!

TreeGreenZ

Jmx, thats what I thought. but I did mine in a pit, so I was looking right straight in at it. I had a person above and me holding it. My buddy even tried once. We bent 2 bolts, from two different pullers..... I think what was happening was, the bolt would move off to one side, and this would cause the center bolt to kick. I even had my buddy try to see if I had mucked anything up, but he had the same problems. then I tapped the screw, and straightened one of the bolts with a sledgehammer, and got it.

We had it on the tabs, one of the tabs broke. There was just a little bit of tab left, and somehow that was enough to get the pulley off. Oh well I put the asp on and it is tapped so there is no problems getting it off.

With the powersteering pump, I messed around with it for 5 minutes and managed to only get that bolt turned once, and my buddy said quit screwing around and put the puller on (I was trying to do it your way), popped the pulley off, and this exposes everything. I was trying to be stubborn, and not use the puller, it just saved me effort.

<small>[ April 18, 2003, 12:42 PM: Message edited by: TreeGreenZ ]</small>

1/4master

i'm all thumbs and i did the head swap w/ no prob. just be patient and don't be surprised if good ol' mr. murphy and his law show up.