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.