Down to the Block

The last four days were BUSY! With a move on the horizon and a 96 hour deadline, The Project went into overdrive (no pun intended, ok maybe.) To ensure that I could get things knocked out in an expedient manner, I enlisted the help of my neighbor Bob.

July 30 - 7am-1pm: The timing belt came off. After extensive reading and computer research we figured out where the timing marks were, so we could figure out how to get everything lined up again. Then the Alternator came out and the coil packs (which I should have removed earlier *shrug*) We finally got that stubborn intake bolt off, FINALLY! When the head was unbolted, there was no dynamic, extensive damage to the gasket, but there was a spot near the 2nd cylinder which appeared to be the culprit.

Though a pressure check and head resurfacing and the like would have been the smartest route, I neither had the money, inclination or (most importantly) time, to do that. Under those circumstances, the only thing to do was clean everything, put the new gasket on and pray.

Head, with lower intake manifold still attached.

I spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning gasket residue off of the head, block, exhaust header, intake manifolds (upper and lower) and the throttle body.

With the head off, I was finally able to get to that spark plug with the plastic melted around it. turns out it wasn't as bad as I thought. When the engine overheated, at cylinder 2, it melted the plastic cover on the spark plug wire. I was able to chip out the plastic and the plug was fine, no damage. whew!

Side note: Parts are numbered and designated as if you were sitting in the driver's seat. I didn't know that. I thought it was from facing the vehicle. I've been calling left right and calling right left etc and counting bolts back wards, calling 1 4 and 4 1 ad naseum.

Timing is Everything

Thanks to my excellent Hayes manual, I figured out what this timing stuff is all about. Timing is what coordinates the crankshaft and camshaft and in some cases the oil pump. It is controlled by the timing belt. When you take the timing belt off, the sprockets on the end of the cam and crank are free to move around independently and get out of sync. When you put the timing belt back on you have to line up the sprockets with timing marks, to get everything coordinated, then the belt goes back on and runs everything in time. If the timing is off, valves will open at the wrong time, the pistons could come up too soon and smack them, then we're in a whole world of hurt. So yeah, a little important.

A/C Compressor, Power Steering Pump, Timing Belt Cover

Back to it...

...Today, with some help from my neighbor Bob, I detached the Air Conditioning Compressor (you can't disconnect it entirely or all your refrigerant will vent into the atmosphere, then you'll have no cooling and destroyed ozone and its illeagal) and set it aside. Then I unbolted the A/C compressor bracket with the Power Steering pump still attached and took it out completely.

(A/C compressor bracket, power steering pump, powersteering pulley, idler pulley)

Then I got the timing belt cover off...

...so next I need to take the timing belt off...which is apparently more complicated than it sounds. Something about getting the timing marks lined up...Clearly I need to go read some reference material to figure it out.

Woah...slow down there motivator!

Ok, so as it turns out I got a little ahead of myself on the cylinder head removal front. I have discovered (thanks Bob) that I still have a compressor, compressor mounting bracket, power steering pump, timing cover, timing belt and water pump pulley to remove before the head will be clear for removal. I will try not to get frusterated, because this project just continues to get more and more complicated. Its a learning experience...which also happens to be a giant pain in my a$$!!

Valve Cover, Throttle Body and that DAMN Intake Manifold Bolt STILL won't budge

I've got a 5 day weekend to finish my project, so first thing this morning I jumped right in. Even with the penetrating oil to loosen the intake manifold bolt, I can't get that stupid thing to move, so I went to plan C. The intake manifold hangs off the right side of the engine and is attached to the head, so I can remove the throttle body and the valve cover to get to the head bolts, without actually having to remove the intake manifold (it just makes it a lot easier if I COULD remove it). This should allow me to remove the head, with the intake manifold still attached.

throttle body (at least that's what I think it is. I'm still learning the names of all the components. Please correct me if I'm wrong) detached and set aside (upper right hand corner).

I pulled out all but one of the spark plugs (this thing is a 4 cylinder engine with 8 spark plugs...I don't think that's normal). Anyway, this one particular spark plug melted the plastic cover on the wire that it was attached to and some of the plastic has melted over the plug, so I can't get a socket on it. I'll just pull the head with the plug still in place and see about getting it out then. I've got a bad feeling about that plug. I hope there isn't major damage there.

I disconnected most of the wiring (making sure I marked EVERYTHING) and then I pulled off the valve cover (pictured above)).

And that, ladies and gentlemen... 

...is what a single overhead cam looks like.

I also got the exhaust manifold unbolted, so as far as I can tell the next step is remove the head bolts and see if I can pull the entire assembly out with the intake manifold still attached.

Autozone, Intake Manifold Bolts and 4th of July

I swung by Autozone to grab a filter wrench, drain plug gasket and to pick the brain of my friendly neighborhood mech. Kirke has been incredibly helpful, since I'm doing this project on my own (My instructors up at WNC are gone for the summer) its been great to have someone to go to when I get stuck (case in point, immovable intake manifold bolt). If you need anything automotive related please go see the guys at Autozone on Rt 50 in Carson City, they are AWESOME! (no I didn't get anything for saying that.) Anyway, now I've got a couple ideas about how to get this intake manifold off and with a loooooong 4th of July weekend coming up, I am prepared to wail on this beast until it is fixed!!

The Head Gasket Job Begins

Sunday 6/27

I had every intention of starting and completing the head gasket job on my truck on Sunday. I got the oil drained (it was more coolant than oil...not good) and the the coolant drained. (and the power steering fluid...unrelated maintenance, the fluid was gross and needed replacing.). However, I got stuck on the intake manifold. Those bolts are torqued down @ over 120ft/lbs. I got all of them off except the one in the far back. There is so little room that I could barely get a wrench on it and forget about leverage. I've yanked on it (from a very akward angle using my left hand, and I'm right handed), hammered on it (which is useless, there's no room for the hammer to swing back) and I still can't break it loose. About 4 hours into the ideal, I decided to call it a day and reevalate the following morning.

The offending bolt in question!

Monday 6/28

I went back out to the truck with fresh muscles this afternoon and wailed on it some more (for about 45 mins) and I still couldn't get that Son of a B#&%$ to budge. I'm gonna run by Auto Zone and talk to my buddy Kirke D and see if he has any ideas. I need to grab a drain plug gasket and a filter wrench anyway. I am trying not to get frusterated. The Intake Manifold bolts have the highest ft/lbs of torque of any part of the engine (according to my Hayes) so if I can get this bolt out, I should be home free for the rest of the job...and with 4th of July vacay coming up, I will have tons of time to get this done next weekend...I hope.

Parts List

These are all the things I need to buy, in order to do the head gasket job (and other overdue maintenance) on my truck. I will check them off as I get them.

Head Gasket Job Parts:
-Head Gasket Kit (head gasket, intake manifold gasket, exhaust gasket, valve cover gasket...) (bought)
-Head Bolts (bought)
-2 Drain Pans (1 for oil, 1 for coolant) (bought)
-Oil Filter (bought)
-Drain Plug Gasket (bought)
-Engine Oil (bought)
-Coolant (bought)

Head Gasket Job Tools:
-Reference Materiel (Hayes Manual) (bought)
-1/2" Torque Wrench (borrowed)
-Straight Edge (for checking the head and block to make sure they aren't warped.) (bought)
-Feeler Gauge Set (to use with the straight edge to check for warpage.) (bought)
-Filter Wrench (bought)
Other Maintenance Parts:
-Thermostat (For the cooling system. I changed the radiator hose and didn't replace the thermostat, like I was suppose to, so this is way overdue.)
-Power Steering Fluid (bought)
-Timing Belt (I actually have to check the timing belt, to see if it needs to be replaced, but the engine has over 180,000 miles on it, and I don't think that the timing belt has ever been changed. So there is a decent chance I do need to buy a new one.)(Matt informed me that this was replaced recently so no need to worry 'bout it.)

If I think of anything else I need, I'll post it on here.

Parts and the Almighty Dollar

This week I set out to take car of the next step of my head gasket project, purchasing the new head gasket. Simple yes? NO! It turnes out, and I didn't anticipate this, that its strongly recommended to replace valve cover gaskets and intake manifold gaskets along with the head gaskets. So, a $35 head gasket turns into a $72 head gasket kit. Then I discover that the head bolts on my particular engine are no reusable, so a $72 head gasket kit turns into a $105 head gasket kit and head bolt set. The moral of the story? Do your homework (which I thought I had. I'm still so new to the auto mechanic world, that sometimes I don't know the questions to ask, to do the correct research.) and even then budget extra money for parts.

Since the parts cost more than I anticipated, and I'm on the starving college student type budget, it looks like I'll be aquiring all the things I need a little at a time. Most likely it will take the better part of the summer to purchase everything, so I'm gonna shoot to have the truck finished in time for the snow, this winter.

Top Tier Gasoline

One of my Auto Mech Professors is really adamant about the importance of using good quality gasoline. He says its well worth the extra 10c or so a gallon. So I got online, did a little research and found some of the most familiar top tier gasolines:
-Chevron
-Shell
-Texaco
-Conoco
-Phillips 66
-76
-MFA Oil Co.
-Entec Stations
-The Somerset Refinery, Inc.
-Tri-Par Oil Co.

all information was retrieved from http://www.toptiergas.com/ . You can check out the website and get more info about the advantages of running your vehicle on top tier gasoline.

Reference Material

My professors keep hammering home the importance of using reference material. I always thought that good mechanics could just start tearing things apart, then put them back together. According to the guys who teach at my school, that is not necessarily the case.

I need all the help I can get, so on their advice, before I started pulling the valve covers and heads off of my engine, I decided it would be a good idea to purchase a Hayes manual for my truck.

Manuals like this one are based on a COMPLETE breakdown and rebuild of the specified vehicle. It has all your torque specs and tolerances. Invaluable!

To find a manual for your vehicle, check out half.com or amazon.com.

The Project

This is my brother's 1999 Ford Ranger. Its a 4 cylinder, 2.5L, with a 5 speed manuel transmission. As you can see, it got into a little fender bender. The accident caused the upper radiator hose to crack, leaking coolant and allowing the engine to overheat. I replaced the radiator hose, refilled the coolant, but the engine still overheats.

I've had a couple people listen to the engine and the consensus is that I've blown a head gasket.

 My Mission: Confirm the diagnosis by removing the head and checking the gasket. If the head gasket don't turn out to be the problem, then I have to find out what is.

...and FIX IT!!

A Couple Useful Acronyms

I'm thrilled that I'm learning so much important information in my automotive classes.

C:racked
H:eads
E:very
V:alve
R:attles
O:rings
L:eak(ing)
E:xhaust
T:ube

T:ake
O:ff
Y:our
O:versized
T:ires
A:sshole

F:armers
O:nly
R:eason to
D:rink

J:ust
E:mpty
E:very
P:ocket

F:ix
I:t
A:gain,
T:ony

P:oor
O:ld
N:inny
T:hinks
I:ts
A:
C:adillac

G:overnment
M:otors

Special thanks to the guys from AC/Heating, for these little gems!

Intake Manifold? Timing Belt? Catalytic Converter?

    It has been a constant source of frusteration for me that I never learned about automobiles as a kid.

    For as long as I can remember I've wanted to know how a vehicle works, what its components are, how to diagnose problems and above all how to fix them.

    I knew, just from the few times that I helped change sparkplugs and air filters, that I loved turning wrenches, but I couldn't exactly mechanic on a car when I had NO CLUE how they worked or what their parts were called.

    When people spewed off terms like turbo charger, main bearing and rocker arm, It was like hearing a foreign language and when they tried to explain, it just confused me more.

    Several of my friends can pop the hood and start wrenching on a car or truck like they were born with a 5/8 socket in their hand. It drives me crazy.

    This year I decided to do something about it. I enrolled in an A.S. program with an emphasis in Auto Mechanics. Hopefully by the time I complete my degree I can be the one who seems like she was born with a 5/8 socket in her hand.