Upper engine disassembly

[Jams]

I am working on doing a head gasket in my 86 Van le 2wd auto (4y-e) I have removed everything except the power steering pump, and the intake and exhaust manifolds. I seem
to have run into a brick wall with these. For the combination manifold, i have removed the top row of nuts, but the bottom row is covered up by a heat shield. I have tried to remove this shield that sits between both the manifolds, but the two nuts sandwiched under the intake manifold have rusted over, and the stud comes out with the nut. Im not able to back them all the way out because of this, since the intake manifold is in the way. Im trying to think of a way i could just cut these nuts off, but it seems difficult to get any kind of cutting tool in there. This brings me to the power steering pump. If i can remove it from the head then i would have much more working room for the manifolds. Ive tried removing the pump bracket with the pump still on it, but im unable to crack the lowest bolt loose without rounding it off (theres only enough room to get an open ended wrench in there). It looks like id have to remove the pulley in order to take the pump off the bracket. Does anyone know a way to hold the pulley in place to break the nut free? Ive soaked it in penetrating oil and heated it up with a torch to help the metal expand, and while trying to hold the pulley still by holding tension on the belt, i wasnt able to crack the nut loose. If anyone has any ideas or advice, i could really use the help. Thanks! -Jams

[Burntboot]

Dont cut/destroy anything and dont remove the pulley from the pump

DO grab a beer and have a sit down with the search function.
Everything you are asking about has been covered a multitude of times.

[Jams]

Burntboot, thanks for the reply. I looked at the internet for a bit and took a closer look at the engine. I then realized i just had to use an extenstion for the two bottom bolts holding the intake manifold on. Duh!! I was able to easily remove both manifolds with no broken studs. Thanks for saving me so much trouble! Now on to the steering pump... i think i can get that lower bracket bolt loose if i just keep working at it with a wrench and some pb blaster. A heat wrench aka propane torch should help too. Unless you know of a better way? Thanks a bunch -James

[Carbonized]

Careful there with PB Blaster and the heat wrench, make sure you invite Mr Fire Extinguisher to the dance :wnk:

[Burntboot]

:whs:


I have tried a propane torch on a few occasions but found they dont generate enough heat, I prefer to fly with O/A.
Gets the heat where and when you need it, without the long wait.
Long heating times are best avoided.

I dont remember having any issues with pulling the pump but it was a long time ago and I do suffer from CRS
But if you can't pull the pump for the bracket, can you not pull the bracket from the block?
There is usually more than a few ways to skin any cat.

Have you read Tim's blogs on head gaskets and engine rebuilds.
I trust his insights far more than random internet suggestions.

[Jams]

Careful there with PB Blaster and the heat wrench, make sure you invite Mr Fire Extinguisher to the dance :wnk:
Yes haha you are correct, i usually wait a while after soaking it in oil before hitting it with the torch to minimize the risk of a fire

[Jams]

:whs:


I have tried a propane torch on a few occasions but found they dont generate enough heat, I prefer to fly with O/A.
Gets the heat where and when you need it, without the long wait.
Long heating times are best avoided.

I dont remember having any issues with pulling the pump but it was a long time ago and I do suffer from CRS
But if you can't pull the pump for the bracket, can you not pull the bracket from the block?
There is usually more than a few ways to skin any cat.

Have you read Tim's blogs on head gaskets and engine rebuilds.
I trust his insights far more than random internet suggestions.

i have tried to remove the bracked from the head, i got 2 of 3 bolts loose but the 3rd one is nestled right behind the pump itself and impossible to get a socket on. I can get an open end wrench on it but its hard to put enough torque without the wrench slipping and rounding the bolt head off. I think i just need to keep trying and it will break free eventually.
i have read several of tims write ups and they are always an interesting read. I’ll re read some of them and see if theres anything i missed on steering pumps.

[Carbonized]

Have you tried a Flare or Tube wrench? it's open but grabs the head over 5 sides and 4 corners, minimizing the chances of striping the head.

EDIT

My bad, if you had room to slide the flare wrench over the head you might as well use a "Closed end" wrench, the 6 sided kind wont round up the corners.

[Andywear]

......

DO grab a beer and have a sit down with the search function.
.......


THIS has saved me multiple times

[Jams]

Have you tried a Flare or Tube wrench? it's open but grabs the head over 5 sides and 4 corners, minimizing the chances of striping the head.

EDIT

My bad, if you had room to slide the flare wrench over the head you might as well use a "Closed end" wrench, the 6 sided kind wont round up the corners.

I dont think there would be enough space to get a box end or flare wrench on there. Good idea though. I think the open end wrench is my best shot. Just gotta be careful not to round the bolt off

[Jams]

Update: i got the power steering pump removed. Now the head is ready to start coming off. Fun stuff!

[Nolv4ho]

Im gonna do this real soon to my van. Where are you getting your gasket kit from? And what other parts are you replacing while youve got the head off?

Check out this thread-

https://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/showthread.php?1552-https://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/showthread.php?4938-Engine-bay-insulation&highlight=Insulation Valve-cover-gasket-%97-Oil-Leak-from-top-of-engine/page2&highlight=Engine+gasket+kit

I used the search feature typing in “engine gasket kit”

Good luck

JDM

[JDM VANMAN]

Im gonna do this real soon to my van. Where are you getting your gasket kit from? And what other parts are you replacing while youve got the head off?

Check out this thread-

https://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/showthread.php?1552-https://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/showthread.php?4938-Engine-bay-insulation&highlight=Insulation Valve-cover-gasket-%97-Oil-Leak-from-top-of-engine/page2&highlight=Engine+gasket+kit

I used the search feature typing in “engine gasket kit”

Good luck

JDM

[Jams]

Im gonna do this real soon to my van. Where are you getting your gasket kit from? And what other parts are you replacing while youve got the head off?

I got a Mahle head gasket kit. Everyone here says to go with a toyota genuine head gasket though. I found this out after i bought my gasket kit. Mahle makes good gaskets though so im gonna test my luck with this one. With the head off, im replacing fuel filter, got the injectors rebuilt, replacing all vacuum lines, throttle body coolant hoses(with new hose clamps) , throttle position sensor, distributor rotor+cap, plugs+plug wires, and all the seals that the HG kit comes with. Its also a good idea to test your ignition coil using an ohm meter, the specs for that are in my chilton’s manual, or you could probably find them online. In would also clean off the timing marks while you have it all apart, they are easier to access this way. I also got a new exhaust manifold. This way i wont have to worry about it cracking anytime soon. This ran me about $230 from toyota though so its a little spendy. I also got some new head bolts, and chased/cleaned the head bolt hole threads. When i took my head to a machine shop, i also took both the air manifold halves, and the valve cover to get cleaned in a hot tank. Im getting all that stuff back next week and am going to start putting that all back together. Im excited :D and good luck with yours!

[Nolv4ho]

Well Fiddlesticks. My buddy came over yesterday and helped me, I mean I helped him remove the head. What a pain in the butt. Took it to the machine shop and it looks like it has a few small cracks. Anybody got a line on a new cylinder head for an 87 le? I checked a few of these past links with no luck? Rock auto has one without the valves....

[Jams]

dang, sorry about your cylinder head, what a drag. If the valves are still good i would get one of the bare cylinder heads and have the machine shop transfer the valves over to the new one. Unrelated note: i made the mistake of using a normal cutting tap to chase over the threads of the head bolt holes on the block deck. I realized only after i had done this that its the wrong way to do it. Apparently it can reduce the clamping force of the cylinder head. I wonder if maybe i could torque the bolts a few extra foot pounds to compensate for lack of clamping force? If anyone has any insight on this it would be helpful. Thanks -Jams

[Andywear]

with less items available to purchase perhaps

https://youtu.be/VUp45DtEbAI?t=150


:?:

[boogieman]

theres a ton of brand new complete heads on ebay for around $300 delivered...previous owner of my cargo installed one, its going well with 30k on it so far...

[MyToy]

Last summer my head gasket let go. After removing the head I found that to have it cleaned up, re-surfaced and re-sitting I was able to find a new head offered by https://www.fulcrumparts.com. I bought it with new bolts and the van has been perfect now for over 10,000 miles. The guy I spoke to was great and very helpful. It was not a perfect match, mostly for fork lifts. The only thing I had to do was add a hold for the ERG air bypass. The studs on for the manifold was also different but easy to work through.

Nice getting a new head for the same price as a rebuild.

Check it out!

MT