[vinman]

Help!! Am I stupid, or is the 1.8 head not that hard to change? I certainly may have looked at the Chilton's wrong, but it looks like the plugs, and about 8-12 screws and it would be off. It looks like I am getting a little blow by of the gasket, so is this pretty much all there is to it? I mean as well as scraping off the old gasket, cleaning it up, and installing a new one.

 

[slapyo]

yeah, pretty much. it's not hard at all. just make sure to get the surface extremely clean before the new gasket. and also make sure you tighten the bolts in the pattern the chiltons shows, as well as you loosen them in reverse order.

 

[birddog]

Back the wagon up. Easy, yes, that easy, no. Intake has to come off and a few other little things need to be moved out of the way. You also have to remove the timing belt. no big deal, but at the very least you have to remove the plastic from the side of the engine. Unless you bought a head with cams and a distributor you will need to swap those as well. And last but not least, the exhaust manifold has to be removed. easy to get to, but old rusty manifold studs are a lot of work.

 

[TheBlade]

yeah Birddog said it...easy job that's a pain in the ASS. Just give yourself 5x longer then you originally planned and dont kill yourself by trying to do it in one day.

 

[vinman]

This is why I asked for a little help guys. I am thinking the wrong thing then.

On the very top of the engine where it has stamped "DOHC" is what I am looking at. It seems the seal around that is leaking just a little. I thought that was the head cover. Can I just remove that and replace the gasket between there without removing all the rest that was brought up?

This is why I prefaced with the fact that I may be stupid about this. It looked like that cover would be pretty easy.

 

[nukewater]

removing the valve cover requires that much work!!?? 8O ..

 

[nukewater]

removing the valve cover requires that much work!!?? 8O ..



.... why can we not delete post's anymore in the edit command?

 

[bpletch1]

no, the valve cover is an easy job.
i believe you do need RTV sealant as well as the gasket (fills in the gaps at the distributor

 

[birddog]

Yep, the valve cover is pretty easy to do. just make sure to take the time to clean all the surfaces completely. RTV is a favorite, but don't be afraid to experiment a little. I found that Indian Head Gasket Sealer does wonders for me. With time you'll figure out what works and what doesn't. Just try not to experiment on things that are difficult to get to or use expensive gaskets.

 

[vinman]

There's where I was wrong. Damn terminology. I'll just have to keep learning. Like I said, my knowledge is small, but I like to try anyway. The Valve Cover should be a lot easier I guess. Thanks guys.

 

[birddog]

Not a problem. If you don't know what something is called, just describe it to us and someone here can help. Heck - even saying that there is a certain emblem or marking can help.

 

[chrismiller]

Get a manual

Vinman get yourself a Haynes manual. $15 at AutoZone (or wherever). It will be the best money you spend on your car. They are pretty easy to understand with good indexes and usually some good pictures to cover what you are doing. With it you shall learn.......

 

[vinman]

Got the Haynes manual, but sometimes it is just a little too general. As for the Index, go to the message on "Mechanical Assistance?" It's pretty good at describing the Haynes manuals.

That has been the way that I have gotten the nerve to tackle such tasks. I like to tinker and Haynes has provided me the ability, just still learning.