Well, my weekends started to free up in September and Steve
Good came over to help me with the engine for a day. It was time to install
the head and timing chain so we could move forward and prepare the engine to
be installed in the car.
Below is the famous
"cutting ring" or "motorsport" head gasket for the M10 block. It has metal
rings which actually cut into the head surface for a tight seal when using
high compression pistons. My engine has the stock 9.3:1 compression pistons
but is a tii engine, so it was a stock part. These cost upwards of $75 or
more and don't come in the stock gasket set for a 2002 engine rebuild. They
are readily available as of this date.
1) Make sure pistons are located as shown below, in Top
Dead Center (TDC) position.
2) Next, make sure the camshaft is also on the TDC mark. The
front of the cam has a
3) Make sure and line up the head properly so that the
exhaust is on the passenger side of the block as shown.
Just for grins... here's the before shot of how the head came
off the block!
Last... The dowel pins installed in the block surface make
sure the head fits right and flush with the surface of the block. The
oil tube goes on top of this, and the new head bolts.
Note that I won't argue the part about re-using head bolts
that originally stretch when installed, but it's silly when they cost little
for a new set. Make sure and save the hardened washers underneath the bolts
as they can be reused. They are special to this setup and are required for
proper torque.
Last, I would defer you to the shop manual or Haynes book for
proper torque sequence. This is also located in the original owners
manual... Make sure you have a good torque wrench to do it with!
We stopped taking pictures and started working on other parts
of the car in progress. I was short 3 c-clips for holding the timing chain
guide on so I stopped. I took these pics later on in the day. We were both
anxious to see how the powder coated engine parts would look on the engine.
Spectacular!
