lt4 fd

Hey guys Im about to have to take my stock heads off and put some stockers back on and was thinking about how to keep dirt out of the cylinders and stuff and got the idea of using those glad press and seal plastic covers for tupperware and such rather than laying a dirty shop towel over them or something. I saw a thread down below about why people spin bearing most of the time and thought I would start a thread some people could post tips and helpful ideas as to how to not just do a head swap but make sure its done very well so you eliminate your chances of encountering a problem... only other thing I can think of is maybe not to torque your heads down to 60 lbs all at once... other than that Ide like some suggestions and tips... BTW I havent got a cam swap planned but tips for that may help some people as well...

Silvershark

Check this site out.

http://www.afrashteh.com/guide/install.htm

lt4 fd

wow and I thought longtubes were a pain... I felt relieved just being done reading it and I didnt even touch the car, maybe its just me but that seemed a bit intimidating... Im in for a big one thats for sure, just hope the garage is available for that long. Btw how long has it taken most of you and how often did you work on it?

30thannZ28

I used the guide listed above for mine, and I did it all myself. If you do it yourself, plan on spending a lot more $$$ than you thought. Between the special tools I needed that I didn't already own, and the little gaskets and seals and then the mod bug bites and you go out and switch your shorty headers to longtubes, and while you're in there you get your heads ported, and a bigger cam, and comp R lifters, and oh! you also need an electric waterpump, and bigger injectors.....

that happened to me. the list goes on and the bank account gets reduced drastically.

It took me a couple months of off and on working to get it finished to answer your question. you need patience, plenty of extra time on top of the time limit you set aside, and maybe some beer. A good friend/helper is also nice.

lt4 fd

Sounds good but Im thinkin if I do a cam at the same time, which seems like most of the work I would just get the hotcam since its cheap and can be resold easily. I would do headwork while the heads are off but I want to wait till im not dealing with emissions and can really do whatever I want with out having to rely on paying someone off which may be never to start spending that kind of money. Plus the guy that would do them isnt accepting work right now. BTW did you run into any trouble or did everything go as planned?

30thannZ28

I had the usual problems that everbody probably has had. I had a stripped head bolt (the last one under the cowl, yeah THAT was fun), ripped oil pan gasket (also really fun), found rags (yes, rags) in my lifter valley, had my 1.6 rockers waaaay to tight, etc...

But I'm sure you'll be fine

JamesNobles

You wont need injectors....reading it is kinda intimdating, but actually doing it is fun...But plan ahead and get all new gaskets and some RTV...with a little help you should be able to get it done over a weekend or so...If you are gettin a cam, get youre ECM reprogrammed too...like try madz28.com or pcmforless and they can hook you up!!

lt4 fd

I have tunercat so will prolly get a dyno tune... yeah Ill prolly have fun till something goes wrong, thats what it was like with the longtubes, which ill have to replace again Thanks for the replies!

Silvershark

I havent removed my heads. But I have removed other peoplesheads as a whole, intact and it took me about 4hrs to remove both of them.

So depending what you are doing after the removal will depend on the time.