thanks for that @funair02- I thought about new heads after I dropped them off but I'm gonna go with my old ones; just got them back- checked for cracks (none), resurfaced and cleaned for 90$. Thats the kind of price I like...

I appreciate the talking-through about the torque down. there has been a smoking little sticky note in the back of my mind that I've been trying to ignore about that... It will be a beeeeotch I believe but I will heed your words best I can.

I don't have an air compressor and have been avoiding getting one since I travel so much... I might need to find a rental place and do it.

Also I'm sitting here trying to replace the valve stem seals, I believe mine are leaky or maybe the valves need to be grinded or replaced. I dunno. Still I'm walking into unknown territory... need to do more research.

My biggest problem is that I currently can't depress the springs with the tool I got at autozone. It simply pulls the spring up to the top. Nothing like I watched online...






It's frustrating although I've given up on anything going smoothly like i see it in my head.

My guess is I need one of these....



...and none of the store have one...
any suggestions? Also what about just replacing the springs (will check out 1.7RR springs) and valves while I'm in there? I just started poking online so I don't know what kind of $$ Im looking at but Ive recently read a few stories about springs breaking ... yikes.

 

1. Grab the spring lower, the more coils you're collapsing the easier it is to remove them. It looks like there are two more coils you can grab.

2. Place a rag under a pair of valves to keep them from moving down, then smack downward at the edge of the spring retainer (round washer thing). This will break the spring retainer free from the two keepers in the center. I prefer a rubber mallet or if using a regular hammer use a block of wood.

 

yup that did it. When things don't happen easy I have a tendency to overthink the problem; especially before using any type of force. Just can't afford to not be careful at this point. careful and slow has got me this far.

so it's clear all my seals were bad which I assumed. The valves were pretty messy with carbon too. I'm thinking about doing the valve job myself. I watched this and don;t feel it's out of my skill-set. Not trying to sound cocky but I'm good at tedious stuff and have the steady artists hand.

This project just won't die...
Any thoughts?

 

Valve lapping by hand is very slow and tedious. You could very well spend 2+ hours per valve. Ask that machine shop you went to how much they would charge you to grind the valves and seats if you brought it in disassembled and did the reassembly yourself. Just be sure to identify each valve so that they go back into the same cylinders.

 

How important is it to replace the bolts for bolting the head down?

the guys at the machine shop said to reuse them, Ive read not to.

If I want to wait for my order of mailed new ones I wont be on the road until mid next week. If I don't have to wait I could prob have it together by friday (this WOULD BE AWESOME btw..)

Opinions?

 

Head bolts with an iron head and iron block can be reused...while some wont recommend it, it can be done. Make sure you put them back in the same holes you took them out from.


Our head bolts are rather inexpensive, so I would personally use new ones.
The ones you cannot reuse usually are either 1. aluminum head/iron block and 2. some headbolts actually stretch when they are torqued down. These cannot be reused at all!

 

Rule of thumb is after 5 torques you replace them. So if you haven't removed, installed and torqued them 5 times yet, then they're still good. The reason for changing them is that they develop a twist and get stretched every time they're torqued. At some point the bolt gets to where it's possible for it to snap while driving.

 

yeah - it's been a long road getting this far- it will certainly lend itself to my piece of mind if I can be patient. thanks

 

Couple more questions-

1.) I sent the head parts (push rod, rockers, brackets, bolts etc) to the machine shop to be cleaned with the head. I had everything separated and labeled. It cam back all in one box. The technician said it didn't matter. What kind of trouble am i in?

2.) I have removed all the springs and valves and cleaned them; everything separate and labeled. One of the valves has a warped base and I will be replacing it. The rest are straight with no checking or issues I can see. Some do show discoloration in places. Are these okay to reuse? in a perfect world where valves dont cost $30 I wouldn't hesitate to replace them...

3) when tourqiing down the head and rocker assembly bolts down is there any prepping I should do to the actual bolts? (I will retap and clean before this step). Should I use thread locker? Be careful to not let any oil get on the threads? Soak them in oil? anti seize? Just paroniod of those bolts loosening at all.

 

1. Don't worry about it since they've all been machined.

2. Discoloration is fine, reuse them.

3. Clean and lightly oil them, with WD-40 and not motor oil, anti seize is not necessary since they're not aluminum threads. Do not use thread locker or you might never get them out again. The WD-40 will burn off due to the engine heat and the bolts, if properly torqued, will never loosen on their own.