BHG jOb

[wchico15]

EDIT: PICS ON PAGE 3 and 4




im doing a bhg job on my 7mge with 167,000 miles. i dissasembled all the necessary parts and lossend the headbolts in the specified order,etc. took tha head off and i noticed that the headgasket wasnt cracked but it did seem like it had stress line on it. what i want to know is should i use a factory headgasket from toyota or use the generic one that came with my gasket set??? im going to try and take off as much material as possible from the block to get it nice and clean and even. i would take it to a shop but i dont have that kind of money and im not going to be racing it just daily driving. on top of that im going to be replacing my old vacuum lines and coolant lines,etc,alternator,starter(both are bad from past events.) and of course valve stem seals,cam seals,arp hardware,timing belt was already replaced. i'll see if i can post some pics later.

 

[SupraSabre]

im doing a bhg job on my 7mge with 167,000 miles. i dissasembled all the necessary parts and lossend the headbolts in the specified order,etc. took tha head off and i noticed that the headgasket wasnt cracked but it did seem like it had stress line on it. what i want to know is should i use a factory headgasket from toyota or use the generic one that came with my gasket set??? im going to try and take off as much material as possible from the block to get it nice and clean and even. i would take it to a shop but i dont have that kind of money and im not going to be racing it just daily driving. on top of that im going to be replacing my old vacuum lines and coolant lines,etc,alternator,starter(both are bad from past events.) and of course valve stem seals,cam seals,arp hardware,timing belt was already replaced. i'll see if i can post some pics later.

I know that they are very expensive for some one on a budget, be sure to put ARP head bolts or studs on your list! And clean out the block threads really good. :thumbup:

And throw your old ones away.

 

[BlackDynamite]

Amen!

Arp=:thumbup:

And don't use the factory torque specs....Especially if you're going to use a normal head gasket...

I used 77ft/lbs

at least 70ft/pds

no higher than 85ft/pds

 

[jdub]

I really wish you guys would stop throwing out "hearsay" torque specs for ARP hardware. It's really simple...use the torque specs on the sheet that comes from ARP and is in the package with the bolts/studs. Pay attention to the sheet...it will have specs for either moly or motor oil as the lube. ARP bolts have an additional restriction, it's 75 ft/lbs (using moly) on an aluminum head (like the 7M).

 

[OneJoeZee]

im going to try and take off as much material as possible from the block to get it nice and clean and even. i would take it to a shop but i dont have that kind of money and im not going to be racing it just daily driving.

You're half way there. Might as well just pull the block and have it and the head machined. Would be a shame for you to have to do this again sometime soon after because the HG sprung another leak.

You don't have to be building a race motor for block and head prep to be necessary.

 

[jetjock]

Meh, for an N/A on a budget after the block and head are manually cleaned and the head checked for flatness use an OEM gasket and the original bolts torqued to 70-75. In other words follow the TRSM except for the torque. Anyone who tells you this won't work either hasn't done it or didn't do it right.

 

[iwannadie]

Just clean the block and head Really well, not just the best you can. It has to be free of any old gasket or it will leak again.

I used a razor gasket scrapper, then sanded it with 3 grits until it was smooth. I stuffed foam ear plugs into the block bolt holes to keep them from filling up with junk too.

 

[AJ'S 88NA]

I'd say if you are going to have the head off anyway, take it to the shop and let them look at it, might not be too much to clean up the surface of the head so you have a better chance of not doing it again soon. You can check it yourself with a straight edge and feeler gauges. The same with the block it needs to be flat for the HG to seal.

 

[wchico15]

before hand i wanna thank you guys for all your suggestions.

just to be sure, can i choose wheather i want headbolts or studs correct? i mean i dont have to use studs?

jetjock:
i always read that youre not suppose to reuse the old headbolts. now i guess your a SM expert so i was wondering whats the "right way" to do reuse the headbolts.

 

[SupaMan]

never reuse the old bolts period. thats asking for trouble. they could be stressed and streched out not giving you the correct torque readings and such, a number of things could happen. So splurge a little, buy some ARP bolts and your wallet will thank you later if its all done right it should last a very long time before you ever have to pop it open again.

 

[suprarx7nut]

There is no "right way" to reuse a headbolt from what I gather.

Don't risk it. Buy some new ones. OEM's are fine, just get new ones.

 

[wchico15]

do i need the studs?? i wouldnt think so i mean i only pulled out bolts not studs. also is ok to use 7mgte's arp bolts because i can only find them for turbo models. oh and OEM headgasket will be fine? or the one that came with my gasket set i bought from ebay?

 

[jetjock]

jetjock:i always read that youre not suppose to reuse the old headbolts. now i guess your a SM expert so i was wondering whats the "right way" to do reuse the headbolts.

People who say head bolts can't be reused need to learn some basic engineering and materials science. As long as they haven't been taken past their elastic limit they'll be fine and if your head has never been off your bolts haven't. Mike them if you want to be sure. If that isn't enough I have a turbo engine with nearly 9 years of running on original reused bolts that proves it.

We're talking about head gasket replacement on a N/A engine making stock power used as a daily driver, a run of the mill repair done worldwide thousands of times every year on hundreds of different engine models. A repair done since all of us were nothing more than a gleam in our father's eye. That's why the factory manual treats it as the routine procedure it is. Show me where it says replacement (forget about special) hardware is needed.

Do as you like but many people here need to stop thinking of this engine, turbo or not, in stock or lightly moded configuration as the Boogeyman.

 

[IJ.]

I did 75,000 KM's on reused headbolts in my old NA.....

 

[jetjock]

You don't count

 

[JustAnotherVictim]

N/a's aren't real.

 

[IJ.]

You don't count

 

[jetjock]

Lol. "One head bolt...two head bolts..."

 

[IJ.]

LMAO here for real Gary

 

[OneJoeZee]

Old guy humor. hmmm :0