newbie heads/cam install
I wouldn't say easy.... be sure to keep unscrewing the crank bolt while you loosen the pulley with the puller. I made the mistake and thought it was out far enough and broke my pulley... so I had to buy an ASP 
Sucks it happened but gave me an excuse. If you know anyone with Air tools.... abuse them... big time. Makes the pulley very easy... Also be sure to use a new Crank Bolt.
Sucks it happened but gave me an excuse. If you know anyone with Air tools.... abuse them... big time. Makes the pulley very easy... Also be sure to use a new Crank Bolt. Depending on how long you can use the lift, I'd say it would be easiest if you dropped the engine out of the car... would make the H/C a breeze. Especially with air tools. The hardest thing about doing H/C is fighting with the engine bay. I still have scars on my hands from the spikes that hold the weather stripping on the cowl.
On The Tree
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 114
Likes: 0
From: Little Rock, AR
Having just completed my first head swap I figured I would give my opinion. 777, if you installed everything in your sig then there is no doubt in my mind that you can do this. I was worried at first but after its all over I wonder why I was ever worried. Like I said before, I just swapped my heads alone, but I have also done a cam swap on an earlier model 350. heres a few pointers, like someone already mentioned, the oil pressure sending unit on the block right behind the intake is very easy to break. i broke mine as well. Also, the back exhaust manifold bolt on the passenger side is the hardest one, so be patient, you will have to use different combinations of sockets and extensions to get the one that fits right cause there isnt much clearance between the bolt and the side of the engine bay. Also, the bolts on the exhaust manifold flanges (where the manifold connects to the cat) are usually rusted and tough to get off without breaking. whether you break the bolts or not depends on just how rusted yours are. use some WD40 and let it sit for awhile, then use a ratchet and socket to take the nuts off. they will be 15mm. try to not use a air impact wrench if at all possible because they have a tendency to break manifold bolts. but if you just cant get it off with a socket then you have no choice, however, if you do break one, at least the bolts are double threaded so you can replace them. its just annoying to have to do that. Also, the most important part is getting the block surfaces clean and getting the water out of the bolt holes. a common way to get the water out of these bolt holes is with paper towels. twist those bitches up real tight so they will go all the way down the hole and then check for water by sticking a pencil in the hole, if the pencil comes out dry, then youre good. you asked about keeping the pistons clean, its practically inevitible that youre going to get some graphite gasket material in the pistons, thats ok, just get a vaccuum and an air hose to clean it up, followed up by some paper towels. One last thing, This is something which Im sure you already know, but Im going to say it anyway because it would really suck for it to happen to you after just spending $2k on a set of heads, when youre putting in your head bolts, start threading them by hand first to make sure you dont cross thread them. aluminum is easy to do it on. Having said all this, just go for it. You will save a lot of money. and be happy that you did it yourself. If you need any answers, there are a lot of people (myself included) that have already done this and would be happy to answer any questions you have through threads, PM's, or whatever. hope it helps.
