Repalcing Head Gasket;Stuck on Timing changing

jca0306 · 04-05-2005, 10:50 PM

I just got this 1989 Nissan 240sx as a gift. Only thing the car has a blown head gasket.
Since I don’t have $ to hire a mechanic I decided to do the job my self. I started today and am already stuck.

How do I take off the timing change? Does it need to come out if I am only changing the head gasket? I was thinking of replacing the chain since the car does have over 150k, but that money is for the machine shop. I want to make sure the Head doesn’t have any cracks.

Any advice or Tips on the removal or installation process would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

TokyoDrifterxo7 · 04-06-2005, 08:08 PM

the best thing to do would be to drain all the fluids from your motor first. Im sure you might be able to find a KA on this site or somewhere for cheap. If not then you can always rebuild your motor. They make rebuild kits that are fairly cheap. You might wanna look into it. I hope you have tools bro. Your gonna need a special tool for the timing chain...forgot what its called but you can buy it at your local auto place. Best thing would be to carefully take the motor out of the car and put it on a stand. Expect your car to be out of commission for awhile. Good luck and hopefully it goes smooth for you. It would be a good investment to go out and buy a hayes car manual and your car so you can look in it if you happen to get stuck.

TireFrier · 04-10-2005, 04:34 AM

wow don't listen to that tokyo guy.
get some vicegrips or similar and GENTLY clamp the chain to the cam gear.
next find a good way to brace the cam gear so it can't spin. now remove the bolt from the center. be carful not to lose the "key" (halfmoon shaped piece of metal), although some cars have a little peg stickin out. now its VERY important that you don't let the timing chain move from the teeth its on on the cam gear. Otherwise your cam timing will never be right.
now remove the headbolts and pull the cylinder head off (if you already have your intake and exhaust manifolds off)
remove any old gasket material from the surface of the block with a razorblade/gasket scraper and some laquer thinner. pour some laquer thinner on the pistons and shi*t too to get the carbon off. wipe it all clean with a rag. Now get your shop vac and clean all the cra*p off that you just scraped into the cylinders and your waterjackets/oil passages. take that head to the machine shop and have it checked for flatness, otherwise get a machined straight edge and some feeler gauges and check the flatness yourself.
reinstall the cylinder head and torque the head bolts in sequence and to proper torque specs. typically you'll go to like 50 lbs first, then to 85-90 lbs. make sure to use a "Click type" torque wrench, because the ones with the little bar on them SUCK. reinstall your camgear. reinstall your intake and exhaust manifolds. put on your valvecover (or put it on before the intake manifold) and go drifting again.

04-05-2005, 10:50 PM	#1
jca0306 Registered User Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: socal Posts: 15	Repalcing Head Gasket;Stuck on Timing changing I just got this 1989 Nissan 240sx as a gift. Only thing the car has a blown head gasket. Since I don’t have $ to hire a mechanic I decided to do the job my self. I started today and am already stuck. How do I take off the timing change? Does it need to come out if I am only changing the head gasket? I was thinking of replacing the chain since the car does have over 150k, but that money is for the machine shop. I want to make sure the Head doesn’t have any cracks. Any advice or Tips on the removal or installation process would be greatly appreciated. thanks Attached Images

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04-06-2005, 08:08 PM	#2
TokyoDrifterxo7 Tokyo7even Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: SoCal Posts: 295	the best thing to do would be to drain all the fluids from your motor first. Im sure you might be able to find a KA on this site or somewhere for cheap. If not then you can always rebuild your motor. They make rebuild kits that are fairly cheap. You might wanna look into it. I hope you have tools bro. Your gonna need a special tool for the timing chain...forgot what its called but you can buy it at your local auto place. Best thing would be to carefully take the motor out of the car and put it on a stand. Expect your car to be out of commission for awhile. Good luck and hopefully it goes smooth for you. It would be a good investment to go out and buy a hayes car manual and your car so you can look in it if you happen to get stuck.

04-10-2005, 04:34 AM	#3
TireFrier Registered User Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 115	wow don't listen to that tokyo guy. get some vicegrips or similar and GENTLY clamp the chain to the cam gear. next find a good way to brace the cam gear so it can't spin. now remove the bolt from the center. be carful not to lose the "key" (halfmoon shaped piece of metal), although some cars have a little peg stickin out. now its VERY important that you don't let the timing chain move from the teeth its on on the cam gear. Otherwise your cam timing will never be right. now remove the headbolts and pull the cylinder head off (if you already have your intake and exhaust manifolds off) remove any old gasket material from the surface of the block with a razorblade/gasket scraper and some laquer thinner. pour some laquer thinner on the pistons and shit too to get the carbon off. wipe it all clean with a rag. Now get your shop vac and clean all the crap off that you just scraped into the cylinders and your waterjackets/oil passages. take that head to the machine shop and have it checked for flatness, otherwise get a machined straight edge and some feeler gauges and check the flatness yourself. reinstall the cylinder head and torque the head bolts in sequence and to proper torque specs. typically you'll go to like 50 lbs first, then to 85-90 lbs. make sure to use a "Click type" torque wrench, because the ones with the little bar on them SUCK. reinstall your camgear. reinstall your intake and exhaust manifolds. put on your valvecover (or put it on before the intake manifold) and go drifting again.