removing head, 3sgte gt4

[danny2]

I'll be removing the head on my gt4 in the next couple of days.. done quite a few before but never on a 3sgte and never in the jam packed gt4 engine bay..

removing or hanging turbo is not a problem as iv'e done it before.. anything i should know before hooking in?.. timing belt an issue?

[tooch]

You're gonna be in for a whole lot of fun
Removing the brace from the intake manifold to the block is a bit of a kent of a job. The timing belt is also not fun, basically you have to remove the engine mount from that side, and use a jack to lift the motor up and down as you work on the belt.

It's sometimes easier to drop the whole motor in a GT4.

[Classique71]

if your electronically skilled , make a quick release loom !

You may find this handy in the future ( planned for my group A when the engine gets rebuilt for convenience ! )

[danny2]

would you remove the lot if you had to remove the head?

[tooch]

Depends on the reason you're removing the head really.
Could also take the opportunity to 'freshen' up a lot of the other hoses and things which are hard to remove with the engine in place.

[Classique71]

Hmm in my case - probably - i have some serious bits waiting in the wings to be installed that requires extra work ..

Its a good chance to check things like the clutch or major leaks

[danny2]

pulling it off because of suspected bhg/cracked block/head.

[Mos]

Hi,

I was once involved in a "headgasket change" on an ST185 that started off as a "simple" head removal. We (very quickly) worked out that, while it's possible to remove it in situ, it will be extremely difficult to reinstall the head and everything on it. It was, therefore, decided it would be easier to remove everything and do the reassembly out of the bay.

This eventually turned into a full engine rebuild, but in any case I would never recommend that anyone tries to do this in the bay - it's not that difficult to remove the whole lot, and it makes it unimaginably easier to work on any component. In retrospect, I'd say it will probably take *less* time to remove the whole lot and pop the head off, rather than pulling the head off in the bay (but after removing the whole lot 3 times in one weekend you work out the corners to cut).

Convinced yet?

Mos.

[tooch]

In that case I'd definitely remove the lot mate. At least then you can get the block checked for cracking, and get it all cleaned up and nice and straight for a new metal HG and ARP studs.

[Classique71]

Mos knows .. Mos is a converter god ..

All hail mos !

tune my motec

[Mos]

Mos knows .. Mos is a converter god ..

All hail mos !

tune my motec

Bah ..

So should he change the water pump while it's out?

Mos.

[Dale]

I read your other thread and all I can say is I certainly wouldn't rush into removing the head right away - as said they'd be ridiculously hard to do with the engine in the bay, the lean the motor is on doesn't assist either. Get a TK test done to see if your HG is gone

If it comes to having to do the head gasket, pulling the lot out isn't overly hard, make sure you drain the diff oil as well as the gearbox oil else you'll get a nice surprise when you pull the tailshaft out if it's all coming out just a tip that the gearboxes in these are real fucking big and heavy, there was 5 people once all helping out when we refitted one to the engine

[danny2]

thanks for the wise words guys.. dale.. i'll definately get a few tests done and flush the system out to see if i can make sure, before ripping the lot out.. also if i do i wouldn't mind doing something about my 2nd gear syncro or maybe a st205 box?? are they hard to come by?

[celica_john]

on jobs like that sometimes i take a few digital photos as i'm removing it all. It helps when you come to put it back together and can't figure how a part is meant to be.

[Dale]

thanks for the wise words guys.. dale.. i'll definately get a few tests done and flush the system out to see if i can make sure, before ripping the lot out.. also if i do i wouldn't mind doing something about my 2nd gear syncro or maybe a st205 box?? are they hard to come by?

I don't think they're easy to come by at all.. nor cheap