diy BHG fix

[woggin]

heyas,

I am interested in buying a car atm that has BHG, i have thought about it numerous times and come up with the fact that i dont know what fixing the BHG will be like, so i have decided to gather as much info as i possibly can, so i can make a well informed decision.

Motor is a 5m-ge, out of a MA61 supra. I can get a new HG kit from Coventry's for $250, i rang them up last week and that's the quote i got.

i went down to a engine rebuild in Oconnor (Perth) and was quoted $80 DOLLARS AN HOUR!!! ahhhhh!! scary!! so thats why i have opted to do it myself, as well as the learning experience involved.

I am gathering as much info as i can.
Tools needed
Sealants?
repairs?
tuning tools
whats involved
how difficult it will be
how long will it take (roughly)
how much to skim the head

EVERYTHING!

any info that can help would be awesome, thanxs

wog

[oldcorollas]

torque wrench, razor blade, patience.

and luck that it is just a BHG

[Vios-GT_07]

unless u've got a massive 100,000 dollar machine with you to test the head and skim it, u'll still have to outsource it.. and if you put the head on a wrong way, the machine shop will not be responsible for it, even if they've not done the head properly.

taking it off is easy.. u'll need spanners, socket wrenches, screw-drivers etc etc.. and yea like OC said, razor blade to remove all the old sealant and stuff,and a good torque wrench to put it back together.

If you have enough skills, taking the cams and lifters off will save you money at the machine shop as they won't have to do it.. and yea the machine shop will charge extra if there's a crack or repairable damage on the head,apart from the usual vacuum test and skimming.

difficulty = the hardest bit i remember of doing a 5M-G head is the loom, but it's been hacked up so i got a bit confused with putting it back, the weight of the head itself and it's position in car so it stressed my back to get it out, and i snapped two nuts on the exhaust side because i was young and dumb.

time = in terms of labour it took me about 6 hours.. 2 to remove the head, cams and all. 4hours to put it back on,( again got confused as i didn't mark everything properly) was my first time though. the machine shop took a day to skim the head, clean the ports and repair 2 small cracks, also needed new valves.

[woggin]

i should of said shop will do the head, my bad.

how long would it take to take off all the cams, lifters and assosciated bits and pieces, coz i aint keen on f$kin it up!

what do you mean by put the head on the wrong way? (i.e. on the motor??)

any idea on price of skimming??

Also, i have been thinking alot about this but have not yet come to a conclusion! Is the 5M-GE head gasket the same as the 5M-E gasket, i think it should be, since the shape of the block/head should be the same, because if it is, a 5m-e gasket can be had in a few hours, from Toyota, instead of a few weeks from Coventry's!

How much did the new valves and head skim set you back Vios??


cheers

wog

[oldcorollas]

oh, first thing you shold get is a manual for the engine

[Kedderz]

I have just gone through this process on my mz21 soarer. It was my first major mechanical work except for replacing a turbo and injectors. The only thing I outsourced was the machining of the head and the valve stem seals replacement. I did the rest all by myself and as long as you have the manual for things like timing and basic mechanical knowledge you should be fine.

All up my mechining cost $80 to skim the head and $70 for seals + cleaning of the valves and pressure test. Check out the thread in my signature for a full blow by blow description, since the 5m is N/A it should be alot simpler and alot of parts should looke the same as they are the same series of engine.

[Vios-GT_07]

yea i stuffed up because i didn't torque the head properly and didn't use enough silicone where i should, so i had vacuum leaks, some oil leaks, didn't realise the valve stem seals needed replacement etc.. so yea had to do it again

and it took me about 30 minutes to remove the cams, lifters and stuff off.. but again, i didn't mark it so yea that's why it took me a long time to put it back together. yes again, OC is right when saying you should read the manual thoroughly first.

[woggin]

soo theoretically i can have it done and running over a weekend yea??

what other things would i need to buy/get in order to do it...timing light being one of them i guess!

cheers

wog

[Kedderz]

you can take the head off, thats easy as, buy the VRS kit (stem seals, gaskets etc u need to replace) and get it machined during the week then the weekend after put it back on.

[woggin]

how much is a VRS????

[Vios-GT_07]

i have a timing light somewhere if you're nearby i can lend it to you

and eya one weekend sounds good, but the machine shop doesn't open on weekends.. so u'll have to drop the head in on friday morning or monday morning and expect it back end of the day

[woggin]

i can drop it off on Wednesday and pick it up Friday arvo, if i get the car and IF all goes as planned!

In the time being, MORE RESEARCH!

thanxs mate

wog

[wilbo666]

You could try a cheap VRS off ebay.com (usa)

This should help in regards to an engine manual..
http://www.cygnusx1.net/Supra/Librar....aspx?S=EM&P=1

Cheers
Wilbo

[woggin]

heyas again,

JUST thinking, (dont neg rep ) but would a bottle of LCS (liquid copper solution) do anything for a BHG!??

also is the 5m-ge and the 5m-e head gasket the same?

Any more info guys, c'mon i need to make a well informed decision....there is no point me buying it then realizing, oh sh#t the block is rooted, or some other cr@p, how bad does BHG have to be before a car is rendered non-drivable.

cheers

wog

[bunkyt18]

Lols no disrespect but why not try some 'Seal Up" or "Chemi weld" you may get another couple of years out of it like that. enough time to save some cool drink money to get the head sorted properly...