noob to engine internals

[Shadow19]

ok another way to check for a bent valve is to remove the head and cams put a light under each valve and look down in the port. If you see light around the seats its bent or worn out. Or if you have them out stick them in a drill and see if they wobble...... Just dont tighten them too much in the drill and gouge the valve. Another way to do it is to set them on a flat surface and if they are not perfectly plumb (straight up and down) they are bent, Its REALLY obvious. And yes you do have to remove the harmonic balancer in order to get the lower timing cover off.

[reiketsutsukigami]

oh well then ya remove the cam gear, but with the bottom pulley you only have to take off the 4 12mm bolt not the middle one those 4 should be easy to remove with some moderate force the one in the middle is the crank sprocket it doesnt need to be removed.

[Galant306m]

the crankshaft pulley has to be removed to get the lower timing cover off. unless im missing something. and a few posts up is why i planned on removing the cam think im doing something wrong?

yea pull the head off first then pull the cam out, put the head on a bench then fill it with water.

[dGALANTc]

ok another way to check for a bent valve is to remove the head and cams put a light under each valve and look down in the port. If you see light around the seats its bent or worn out. Or if you have them out stick them in a drill and see if they wobble...... Just dont tighten them too much in the drill and gouge the valve. Another way to do it is to set them on a flat surface and if they are not perfectly plumb (straight up and down) they are bent, Its REALLY obvious. And yes you do have to remove the harmonic balancer in order to get the lower timing cover off.

thanks for the tips appreciated man

oh well then ya remove the cam gear, but with the bottom pulley you only have to take off the 4 12mm bolt not the middle one those 4 should be easy to remove with some moderate force the one in the middle is the crank sprocket it doesnt need to be removed.

no shyt really? the big ass 22mm nut or whatever with the 1/2in drive ratchet slot in the middle doesnt need to be removed just the 4 smaller ones around it?

yea pull the head off first then pull the cam out, put the head on a bench then fill it with water.

ok ill do just that and wont worry about the cam sprocket any longer

holy shit why am i still up its 4am

[dGALANTc]

oh well then ya remove the cam gear, but with the bottom pulley you only have to take off the 4 12mm bolt not the middle one those 4 should be easy to remove with some moderate force the one in the middle is the crank sprocket it doesnt need to be removed.

man thanks for that bit of info!!!!!!!!!!!!! helped me out 100% considering that the head is now off! finally huh. ill still let you know about the head sometime next week sorry for holding it off longer.

yea pull the head off first then pull the cam out, put the head on a bench then fill it with water.

ok so its off i put it on a bench and fill it with water and look to see if its leaking, and where right?

on another note the damn pistons have soooooo much carbon build up on them its crazy idk what i should do about that!!! look




all of them are pretty bad and i havent really even gotten to looking at the head any further.... thanks again guys be prepared for more questions soon lol

[Shadow19]

spray some brake parts cleaner on a rag and go at it. If i were you i wouldnt put water in the head and if you do remember to lube anything the water came into contact with. The light method will tell you if they leak or not. Remember water is thicker than air so......... you get the hint. Those look pretty bad, it actually looks as if you had a head gasket leak for quite some time judging by the crap the coolant burned off of the top of the pistons and the spots where it looks kinda clean. Make sure your head is not warped and DO NOT get a dumb idea with a wire wheel to the pistons to get the carbon off. I would say just saturate them with brake parts cleaner but youd have to soak it up immediately so just do the rag method, it doesnt have to be completely spotless just get the big chunks of crap out of there. Post up if you have any issues. Im not a 8g guy but its all pretty much the same.

[dGALANTc]

thanks for the advice^^^does the cam have to be out to test it its free spinning now and is making no contact with anything... just curious

[reiketsutsukigami]

damn that pic makes me glad i was running lean b4 i took my head off my pistons were spotless XD.

[Shadow19]

thanks for the advice^^^does the cam have to be out to test it its free spinning now and is making no contact with anything... just curious

How is it free spinning and making no contact with anything? Thats odd... the cam lobes should rotate and push on the rocker arms which push down the valve springs. Are you able to turn it with your hand? And you dont HAVE to take the cam off, you could rotate it to where all valves are closed but its best to take it off. Youll need to replace the valve stem seals anyways while youre already there. If not youll be fighting a big huge pain in the ass to replace them while in the car. Its not hard to remove the cam. 10 or 12 bolts. Just remember which cap goes where and note the direction they were facing then the torque on them should be like 23 ft lbs or something like that. Also the rocker arm shaft has two holes at the bottom, make sure you put them down so your lash adjusters will get oil. If not your first start up will be LOUUUUUUUD as hell.

[dGALANTc]

the rockers are out already but the cam sprocket is still attached to the cam. Thanks for the tips as well

[Shadow19]

The cam sprocket doesnt have to be removed atleast in the 7g it doesnt.

[dGALANTc]

so i did the water trick that was suggested and there was no leak from the valves so im guessing there is no leak because if its water tight it must be air tight right. tried the light thing too and i saw no light so im guessing the valves arent bent. if anyone could chime in i would really appreciate it.

[Galantman03]

there was no leak from the valves so im guessing there is no leak because if its water tight it must be air tight right?

NOPE.... water has bigger molecules than air.... so what might be water "proof" or water tight doesn't mean its air tight... example? gortex... water proof, but able to "breathe" or lets air circulate.. HOW? air has smaller molecules compared to water and is allowed to escape or breath but water isn't. another example? lol a condom...

[dGALANTc]

NOPE.... water has bigger molecules than air.... so what might be water "proof" or water tight doesn't mean its air tight... example? gortex... water proof, but able to "breathe" or lets air circulate.. HOW? air has smaller molecules compared to water and is allowed to escape or breath but water isn't. another example? lol a condom...

understood but i also shined a light in the head while it was dark and saw no light shining through. i figured two tests were better than one.

[Shadow19]

You should be fine then. Now replace the valve stem seals and you should be good to go. Remember when you remove valves they must go back in the port they cam out of or youll be cutting the seats and making them match.

[dGALANTc]

gotcha thanks for the help shadow and the other guys. appreciated greatly.