Well I blew my head gasket last week. so I started preping last night and worked on it this morning. So far almost everything is disconected except for the gas line and the header. So far it seems pretty easy except for getting the timing belt off. I am assuming that I have to pull the crank pulley off and then get to the tensioner and pull that off? Is the any other way? also any other advice on how to make this go smother would be nice :)

Thanx
Nathan

You do have to pull the timing belt off so you can take the rear half of the timing cover off. To do that you'll also need to take the cam gears off. Just wedge a large screwdriver in there to hold them still. DO NOT let the camshafts turn... you don't want the valves to touch the pistons!!! Also- be sure to loosen the head in the correct pattern so it doesn't warp... check out the Chilton's for more info on that. The FSMs may help too. Good luck!

Yup, make sure you follow the torque sequences, a chiltons manual would be good for this. Turn the motor to top dead center before you detension and remove tension belt. The when installing timign belt turn the crank half a notch counter clockwise to get everything aligned right.

Una salus victus.
He will triumph, who knows when to fight, and when not to fight. - Sun Tzu

Michael J. Kulaga
e-mail: Michael_97RS@2gntDSM.zzn.com aol IM: MJKulga
http://highlander.dsmpower.com/

All motor in the making.

Injen CAI, 55mm TB, P&P Intake Manifold, Hooker Header, GS-T Muffler, AFX UDP, S-AFC, 8.5mm Magnecor Wires, Crane Fireball HI-6DI2, SS Clutch Line, NRG Susp. Motor Mount Ins., FU/RU/RL STBs, TSW Blade 17x7.5, Bridgestone Potenza RE730, Front KVR Cross-Drilled Rotors & Carbon Fiber Pads

To Be Installed: P&P Milled Head, Rear Disc Brakes, Rear KVR Cross Drilled Rotors & Carbon Fiber Kevlar Pads, SS Brake Lines

Well due to me being an idiot I may or may not have damaged some valves. The car will be up and running tonight again so it looks like I may be rebuilding this head over the winter :)

all I can say is have fun :)