Day Sixteen - Pulling off the head

Cleaning the oil pan

Wasn't sure how I was going to tackle removing the pistons yet, so I decided to start with a cleanup job first. The oil pan was filthy and I wanted to clean out any residual particles that may have fallen into it. I noticed what I thought were shavings from the destroyed bearings, so I had to make sure none of that was lingering. Using a bunch of engine degreaser, a bunch of old towels and some elbow grease, I think I got it looking pretty good.

Removing the head

So I had to eventually bite the bullet and get to it. I marked each of the 10 head bolts and removed them in sequence. I was trying to be careful with every little thing. I got a chance to see what a 147K+ mile engine looked like. I didn't really know what to expect. To my untrained eye, it was interesting to see all of the carbon buildup. I suppose it makes sense though. I took a lot of reference pictures, figuring I might need to show them to others for advice. 

I was particularly interested in seeing how the cylinders made out. Again, without any experience I was just making guesses. They seemed to look alright and I didn't see any scoring that I was afraid would have come from the destroyed bearing. I took reference pictures of the valves. You know, just take pictures of everything I thought.

Removing the pistons

Next came time to remove the pistons. One by one I unbolted the rod caps and slid the pistons out, making sure I labeled which one was which. I wasn't sure what I was going to do yet, so labeling them still seemed the most prudent thing to do. With all the pistons out, I got a good look at the crankshaft rod journals and they didn't look so good. Especially the one with the spun bearing. 

I boxed and labeled the pistons. Not sure if I was going to use them again. From what I read, it looks like I would go the over-sized route, which meant buying new pistons so the cylinders could get bored out. Of course, this required some consultation on the part of others who have more experience with this than me.

 I was done for the weekend. Off to do more research on what I'm getting myself into. Heh.

Day Seven - Reference shots and heater hoses

Not a whole lot done today. Just took more reference shots of wires and hoses. Trying to figure out what I need to disconnect and take enough pictures to refer back to when I put this thing back together.

Down the area behind the intake manifold.

Disconnected the heater hoses from the firewall. Had to be extra careful not to damage them after what I read about the difficulty in removing these.

The down pipe of the exhaust which is looming.

Wires behind the coil pack

Day Five - On a roll

So dedicated the entire Saturday to dismantling parts to get the engine ready for pulling. I'm planning on pulling both the engine and the transmission, even though the transmission should be fine. I've heard that it's easier to get the transmission off when everything it outside of the car. Makes sense and since this is an education, might as well learn as much as I can.

Before doing any more part removal, I needed to take care of the fuel lines and relieving any pressure in the lines. I'm doing all this work in my garage that has a water heater in the corner and the thought of gasoline spilling everywhere made me nervous. I want to heed all the warnings I've read about this. So, I buttoned up some of the parts I took off and pulled the car out of the garage into the driveway. While it was outside, I took the opportunity to try and clean of some of the crud in the engine bay. Nothing too extensive.

With that done I had to pull the fuel pump relay, open the gas cap and crank the engine a few times until it stalled. I was also a bit apprehensive about this, because of the state of the engine with the knocking and all. Was I going to be doing even more damage? Well, it already doesn't work so onward. Curiously enough, I don't recall hearing any of the knocking. I gave it a few cranks until is stopped. Waited a few minutes. Did it again for good measure and called it done. I'll find out when I try to pull the fuel lines. Images of gas squirting all over the place went through my mind. As it turned out, I was worrying over nothing. After making a detour to the local Autozone to pick up a disconnect tool, the line came off easily and without any spillage. With no return line to have to deal with, I plugged up one of the ends with a rubber stopper and the other with a bolt.

Fuel line disconnected!

With my son's help, we pushed the car back into the garage so I could continue. And so began the labeling of the wiring harness. While I was at the store, I picked up some masking tape and started to label the connectors and taking more pictures. Note to self: Don't try to peel off masking tape with your latex gloves on. It's just an exercise in frustration.

The wiring harness pulled back out of the way.

Guess I didn't really *need* to disconnect this hose, but looks pretty gunky here.

Next on the list is pulling off the power steering pump and wiring it away. This is so I don't have to disconnect any of the power steering hoses which would be an unnecessary pain. The same will go for the air conditioning compressor when I get to that point. Don't want to make more work than is necessary. And I really don't need another possible failure point.

Next to go was the alternator. I replaced the alternator about a year ago, so I was a little familiar with it. One thing I remembered I had to do was remove the intake manifold bracket which is in the way of the attachment bolt. All of the cleaning I did earlier was for naught when dealing with the underside here. It was completely filled with grime and crud.

Crud down there easier to see sans alternator

After a little cleaning. Much better!

Next to come off was the exhaust manifold shroud. Bolts were pretty rusty from the looks of them. One of them felt stiffer as I loosened it. Crap! Twisted the head off. This will be fun getting out. Ugh!

Hmmm, time to use that screw extractor set I have

I wasn't quite sure what this black crud was. I think it was some chunks of silicone sealant mixed with some left over water when I rinsed off the engine earlier. Looked horrible when I removed the shield. Heh.