im debating or whether or not i want to do head studs, cams, and head gasket myself. but wat is my best approach to it? i understand how to do the cams and watnot, but im kinda confused on making sure not to cause the car to go outta timing. how is this done when removing the head? do u have to remove the timing belt completely or is there a way u guys have done this without? ne help would b greatly appreciated

 

When doing cams you have re do timing. Head studs..there is a one by one method but its a 50-50 chance you'll blow a head gasket.

IMO if its worth doing....do it right. It may be more expensive to do it right, but doing it wrong then fixing what broke or got damaged then redoing it right cost way more.

 

well i have a blown head gasket and have to remove the head...so how should i approach this, i knw sum will say just go to a shop, but the shops around here are not even close to being evo specific...

 

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That's the hardest part of pulling the head

 

How many miles on the car? You may want to do a t-belt job while your at it. I took head off after I had done a t-belt a couple of years earlier. I just zip tied them in 4+ different places to the cam gears.

 

I tried to do exactly what your doing.

The only reason i pulled the head was because i needed to put new springs and retainers in.

I removed the head and tried to keep tension on the belt by putting zipties on a bunjie cord but at the end I was paranoid that it may have skipped a tooth.


If i was in your position I would do this

let your car sit in the place where your going to do the work for 24 hours just to be safe

pull the valvecover and do the headstuds first
Installation:

8 6 1 3 9
o o o o o

10 4 2 5 7
o o o o o

In that order. And when you take out the old studs get some compresssed air and spray the oil out of the hole so you get proper threading.

After that do the cams. One by one, your choice and make sure to have bungie cables to keep tension on the belt


thats a crash course. its not the right way but its the quicker and easier way, short term at least

 

theres only 82k on the car, i had my tbelt and all that replaced less then a yr ago...so i dnt need a new tbelt, but is it possible to take the head off with doin nething with the timing belt in regards to screwing up timing?

 

No.

To remove the head, you must remove the timing belt.

 

If you secure the t-belt to the cam gear I don't see how you can screw it up. I used the tool to take tension off the tensioner.

 

^^thats wat i figured...uhhh, im just not sure if i should do it myself...either that or pay 1600$

 

If you're meticulous it should be fine. Make sure you get the head checked out by a machine shop. Let them know it's for a MLS head gasket.

It's a good time to do the springs while the head is out.

 

i have cams springs and retainers...just debatin wat i wanna do lol

 

Timing belt skips tooth on crank pulley... Which is why it's best to just do it the right way. It's seriously 10-20 bolts more and maybe 30 minutes of your time lol.

 

i really think i mite just take it to the shop i was goin to originally when i had my cams appointment scheduled. atleast then if it blows up 1 mile down the road itll b on them instead of pay for a new motor outta my own pocket

 

True. I just did it a few months ago. I kept tension on the cams with a bungee.

There's always a better way. Taking the engine out is the best way Then you can always do the clutch while your at it. You might as well refresh everything while the engine is out too.