Emickelsen

Would it be ok to pressure wash the engine at this point?

jeff spahn

I wouldn't. Just get a case of brakekleen and rags

Rob Edwards

If you plug the oil drain tube, the dipstick, the tstat housing and whatever other holes I've missed, and focus on the bottom half of the engine, I don't see why you couldn't knock the big chunks off. I'd follow with compressed air to dry, very thoroughly, to make sure you don't leave standing water on anything.

the flyin' scotsman

Your taking this engine out right?

The belt tensioner should have a rubber cover so suspect it has no oil, rebuild or replace w/porkensioner.........oil pump gear looks shot so replace all cam belt gears, the belt and water pump.

With the engine out do all the gaskets and seals and spend much time cleaning........good luck.

GregBBRD

If you sealed up the cam seals and o-rings, along with the distributor, that only leaves the cam carrier gasket or the head gasket. Leaks in that area are getting to be more common, as these engines get older. Pretty tough to make paper based gaskets last over 25 years.

Mrmerlin

Note if you use any water it will also give the sealed areas time to start corroding, especially at the cam and crank radial seals,
Your going to have enough of a mess with all the coolant , drain the block first, I would use brake cleaner and a brush, stay away from the engine seals

Opelotus

Cam carrier gaskets were also replaced, pretty sure everything was done correctly, there's always a chance one of the o-rings or seals failed (unlikely though), but it's looking more and more like a head gasket.

GregBBRD

Take a look at the new cam carrier gasket, right around the front and back about 2 inches back and look for splitting. along the edge. They are very tricky to install and keep from splitting/leaking. The late version [which has been the only thing available (from most suppliers) for the past 10 years, or so] with the moly on both ends of the gasket, requires a magician to get it to work. I probably installed a half dozen of these stupid gaskets before I figured it out. I eventually had some gaskets custom made, from a different material, to help with this problem. We use those exclusively, now. I throw that stupid moly coated thing into the trash.

And I have absolutely no idea why they put that coating, part way, on this gasket, to this day!

Emickelsen

Haven't totally decided yet. I would really rather not. I'm not able to pick up the lift and engine stand until this weekend, so i figured i'd get as far as i could. I would like to get as far as getting one head off to see if it can be done in the car. Yes, I'm still a little scared, and I would REALLY love to not mess with the AC.

TB and WP are a definetly getting changed. I could use a putty knife on most of the dirt and grime on there, thats why I wanted to knock as much as I could with the pressure washer. Probably would be better not to though. Thanks again for the input, more pic's and updates to come

Rob Edwards

If you can do what you need to do without pulling the engine, then certainly don't go to the trouble of pulling the engine. But either way you don't need to discharge or mess with the A/C. If you pull the engine, just support the compressor with the hoses still attached:

Opelotus

I think I will try removing all the belt covers on that side of the engine, clean it, and run the engine to see exactly where the leak is. If the cam carrier gasket is still leaking, I'm pulling the motor to replace it. Such a PITA with the engine in the car.

Emickelsen

Thanks Rob, I was wondering if that would work.

GregBBRD

I understand the difficulty...but it isn't hard enought to warrant that..

The front and rear of the factory cam carrier gaskets that have the moly coating on them don't stick to the head or the cam carrier, while the center section will stick. They move and split. You can usually see this, by looking right along the outer edge.

Some people apply Gasacinch or some other contact adhesive to keep that gasket from moving while they are trying to get the cam carrier on....as it is pretty easy to tear that gasket. This is the "kiss of death" for that gasket. Might as well tear it iinto little pieces and install it. When I install the cam carriers, I always have a little "pile" of gaskets, so that I can throw away any that get "compromised" during installation....

It is a PITA, the first time...the second, third, and fifth times just make you crazy. You really need to do yourself a favor and throw that stock gasket in the trash, because if you are trying to learn what it takes to make that gasket work, on your own, you are going to need "wing nuts" on that engine before you are done.

SharkSkin

Hard to be 100% sure looking at that 3rd pic but it looks like you have either the wrong tensioner or wrong tensioner arm. The pushrod between the tensioner and arm should not be at that kind of angle. If it's just an optical illusion, great... but if it's not you'll want to "fix it right".

LT Texan

I wouldn't bother until it was on the stand.

Dont forget to break the crank bolt free while you can lock down the flywheel.

Do you have the engine removal instructions from the manual?