ok, well i went and swapped my heads. it actually isn't that bad of a job. when i did the heads, i also did a oil pan and oil pump and engine mounts while i was in there. the oil pan and engine mounts were more of a pita then the heads were.
Dont be scared! take your time and double check your timing marks a million times and you will be fine. if in doubt, remove the timing chains and check your marks again. dont forget to prime your oil system before reinstalling the timing chain cover.
first thing, and i say this in general, if you can pull your intake manifold. you can do this job. if you dont understand things mechanically. dont do it.
also note, refer to the online ford service manual for torque specs and other useful information. like how to mark your timing chain if you dont have any visible marks
so, start by draining your coolant, and oil.
next removing your battery, battery trey, intake, intake manifold (fuel rails, injectors), engine belt, alternator, water cross over, radiator fans. disconnect hoses and electrical connectors as needed.
remove the crank pully, you will need some sort of puller, i have steeda udp's so i used a steering wheel puller. i think the stock crank you would need a 3 arm pulley. cant remember.
remove the power steering pump, it has two studs going into the timing chain cover.
i removed the water pump, not sure if you need to or not. coolant will drip into the oil pan with it off, so use something to cover the front of your oil pan.
now remove the coil packs, then unbolt the valve covers and remove.
next remove the timing chain cover. you should be looking at something like this!
piece of cake.
now using your old crank bolt, turn the engine over until your at TDC. refer to the service manual. remove the timing stuff. its not that hard, do not use a impact! if you put the car in gear with the e-brake on you can get the phaser bolts out before you remove the tensioners. be careful not to twist your tensioners if you plan on reusing them. they have a seal behind them that is easy to tear. and if you break that seal you need a whole new tensioner.
now you should be looking at this
now remove your heads, 10 bolts, and the exaust manifold/header bolts, and there is a stud on the back of each head, one side holds the heater hoses the other is a gournd wire. in the valley of the block there is a head temp sensor. dont forget to swap that over to the new heads.
I just left my exaust right where it was.
the stock head bolts are garbage now. just like the old crank bolt.
now clean the deck surface of the block. scrape it with plastic only, and carb cleaner helps. i used my finger nails for some of it. it was very time consuming. i'm sure google has a better way somewhere. or maybe someone can chime in with tips.
i soaked up all the coolant after i took the picture. and i tried to clean some of the carbon build up off the pistons. pretty bad for 25000km's i think... oh well.
now since i had the heads off i swapped all the rockers, lifters, and sensors while they were off the engine. it was easy. i unbolted the old cams off the old heads little by little until the spring tension was released. make note of the keyway in the old cam. then swapped it all over.
using my 'note' of the old cam keyway, i placed my new cam on top of the rockers in the new head, and slowly bolted it down. i placed either edge of the new cams on blocks since the lift is much greater then stock. i just worked my way around until they were all snug. didn't take more then 5 minutes. torque to 89 inch/lbs. follow the sequence in the service manual or the cam swap guides avalible.
now i installed phaser limiters. very easy job. loosen all 5 bolts, remove 4 that dont hold the clock spring. twist the plate off to the side. watch for a little spring with a valve on it. it will pop out at you and you could lose it.
except i had a hitch. i followed livernois instructions and ended up over torquing one bolt. the one that holds the clock spring
the torque on these bolts is 89 inch/lbs. livernois says 170, but that works out to 14 ft/lbs. a grade 10.9 8mm bolt yeilds (read FAILS) at 14 ft/lbs
i took this time to install motor mounts, new oilpan, new oil pump, and paint the valve covers, and timing cover. it looks good!
the oil pan i had to use a engine jack to lift the engine, and i had to drop the k-member. not so bad. remove your tires, remove your motor mounts (one of the bolts were already lose!). hold it in place with a jack. remove the 4 bolts that hold it to the frame. lower it. unbolt the pan, some of the RTV ended up ripping the stock oilpan gasket so i had to replace it. and chase all you oilpan bolt holes! i had to in order to get the bolts back in. some shit must of gotten into the threads. pita. this point i unbolted the oil pickup from the oil pump. then 3 bolts i removed the oil pump from the block. installed the new stuff. RTV the pan gasket in the back to cover rear block cover gaps. i swapped the motor mounts and lifted the k-member back up. bolted it back up and lowered the engine.... whew...
now go place your new head gaskets on the block deck, ensure all the cylinders are clean.
i had new header studs to install with my new stuff. so i put them in the bottom four on each head before putting the heads on the block.
i placed the new heads on the new gaskets, be careful with the head gaskets. the tabs that go to the timing cover can be folded over if your not careful.
at this point people who are smart would check the piston to valve clearance, and probably degree the cams to ensure its right... well, i didnt. worked out for me.
so using new arp head studs or new tty head bolts. bolt down the heads. i followed the service manual for torque sequence. but i went 3 stages, 30-60-90 ft/lbs (as per ARP instructions) i also used the 2v head studs. i kept one thread at the top of the studs visible. i used the supplied lube and worked the studs in and out of the block a few times.
now i inserted the header gaskets and bolted them back on... i just went for 'tight' because i cant get a torque wrench in there.
the fun part is getting the timing stuff back on. put the guide on the drivers side. check the service manual for torque specs. mark your chain. hold one link and mark it. then mark the one on the far end of it... they got a nice picture of what i mean in the service manual.
Edit:
this should help.
put your phaser on with a new phaser bolt, dont torque it yet. you should be able to put your marks in line with the mark on the crank sprocket and the phaser sprocket easily. you can turn your engine over a little if it helps.
i used a zip tie to keep the tensioner compressed. worked just fine.
this is where two sets of hands help. try and get the chain slack over on the tensioner side of the guides. have your friend hold the chain tight, then you can reinstall the tensioner arm. then the tensioner, apply a little oil to the seal. cut your zip tie and remove it. now VERIFY your timing chain marks.
thats one side
the challenging side is next, lol. its really the same process. i had to turn my engine backward a little, and hold the cam forward a little to get the timing chain in place on its marks. then i installed the tensioner arm and tensioner while holding tension on the chain and holding the cam forward a bit. once you cut the zip tie on this side it should hold it self.
VERIFY ALL THE TIMING MARKS AGAIN! its hard to see your back chain on the crank but get your head in there, use a mirror, whatever you got.
put your crank position sprocket back on, its stamped which way is front
now prime your oil system. there is a thread on here on how to do that. using a garden sprayer and a 1/4 npt to barb fitting. put it in place of your oil pressure sensor by your oil filter. make sure you got a new oil filter ready to go.
watch you chain tensioners get tighter. now put the car in gear and torque your phaser bolts down. follow the service manual procedure.
now reinstall everything you removed. the service manual has torque sequences and procedures. dont forget to rtv the gaps in the gaskets. and the crank bolt keyway.
fill fluids, try and wait 24 hours to let the rtv cure.
install tune. fire it up!
