progress of my Z *56K warning*
03-21-2006, 07:42 AM
#1
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Pensacola,fla
Posts: 359
progress of my Z *56K warning*
whelp, I suppose the more information the better so here goes. I bought my Z with a blown headgasket from a friend several months ago, it's a 1979 2+2 with 78,803 original miles on chassis and motor, great body and even better interior. At the time I didn't have the money or tools to really work on it so it sat in the garage for awhile but, after I totaled my daily driven Z I knew it was time to get started on the project Z.
To be perfectly honest I had no need to ever take off more than a cam cover, a starter, or a few other external parts until this point so, needless to say I had no idea what I was doing but, with lots of online help from bleach, my old roommate brian, a few select research sites, a local car forum, and of course the haynes manual, i was on my way.
I'll admit that I was lazy most of the time, not taking every opportunity possible to get out there and work on the car but, I figured it'd be best to take my time and make sure it was done right, although I did have to cut a few major corners simply because I didn't have the money to do such things and surely didn't have the time to wait until I actually had the money. Basically this means I couldn't have the head machined like I wanted but, instead I checked it for straightness to the best of my ability, I couldn't take my time to clean and paint every single little part that I took off nor could I replace some parts.
I went by the word of my dad for several legs of this race but, looking back I realize just how big of a mistake that really was, he claimed to know exactly what he was talking about but in the same sentence told me that TDC wasn't important, that properly aligning the timing chain wasn't important, and basically thick oil and over tightening any bolts will solve all problems.
Anyways, now that the backround is taken care of I'll move on to the actual progress, It took a few weeks only to accomplish a very little bit of work but, in the past few days I've actually become filled with a passion to see this car run again, I've spent more than seven hours almost straight out in the shop working on the car for several days, it seemed that each time I did that and made a lot of progress I became more encouraged to do it again. I decided to take the head off with both manifolds still attached, I couldn't get the metal EGR line to unbolt so I cut it and clamped each end shut I hope to bypass this someday anyway, I spent several hours cleaning up the head, the valves, the manifolds, and the block. I thought it would be best to set the head on the car by itself to make lining it up with the block a little bit easier, I thought that was a good idea at the time but, now im stuck trying to tighten those bolts between the manifolds.
Anyways, yes I ended up having to pull the front cover because of the tensioner but, before I get flamed for screwing that up you guys should know that it was the previous owner that had started this job, and one of the few things he did was, . . yep that's right pull off the cam gear and let the chain drop down. At the time I didn't realize the importance of timing chain alignment so I did have to pull the front cover back off to get that right. By now Im realizing that the hard part is over, the head is back on, the chain is back on, im confident that everything is aligned properly, i have tdc, the oil pump is aligned, the chain is aligned, and then it hits me, eventhough half this motor is taken apart, this job is almost done. Sunday I spent seven hours out in the shop with my friend scot putting anything that I needed to, to see if it would start. at 9:36pm I turned the key. . . . and realized the battery was dead, then my second battery was dead, and yet another battery I had (an optima redtop no less) was also dead so I stole this huge **** of a battery out of my grand marquis.
At this time there are still a few things left to be done, mainly there are a few manifold bolts that I hadn't taken care of and the exhaust wasn't hooked up yet, I knew this would keep it from running properly. I turned the key and the motor turned over as it struggled to come to life and as I feathered the gas it roared to life deadening out all other sounds in the neighborhood I let it die because the coolant system still wasn't hooked up, I tightened a few more bolts, and had my friend press the manifold against the head, and I gave it another try this time it started up with more ease and eager to rev but would still die if I let off the gas.
The next morning I woke up and rushed to the garage, I bolted on the a/c compressor, the power steering pump, the radiator, the coolant hoses, the thermostat, etc. Also I got to a few more manifold but still have a few left that Im having one hell of a time getting to. LOL. As of right now I haven't let it run long enough to actually warm up but from what I can tell the longer it runs the smoother it gets. I seem to have lost the drain plug for the radiator so I'll have to wait to fill it up. I will be sure to keep all of you updated on all further progress. I did skip a few parts of the job but assumed that those areas are basically self explanatory and I'd just be quoting the haynes manual anyway. I would like to once again thank everyone on this forum for their informative posts and especially bleach for keeping me from screwing up this car LOL.
To be perfectly honest I had no need to ever take off more than a cam cover, a starter, or a few other external parts until this point so, needless to say I had no idea what I was doing but, with lots of online help from bleach, my old roommate brian, a few select research sites, a local car forum, and of course the haynes manual, i was on my way.
I'll admit that I was lazy most of the time, not taking every opportunity possible to get out there and work on the car but, I figured it'd be best to take my time and make sure it was done right, although I did have to cut a few major corners simply because I didn't have the money to do such things and surely didn't have the time to wait until I actually had the money. Basically this means I couldn't have the head machined like I wanted but, instead I checked it for straightness to the best of my ability, I couldn't take my time to clean and paint every single little part that I took off nor could I replace some parts.
I went by the word of my dad for several legs of this race but, looking back I realize just how big of a mistake that really was, he claimed to know exactly what he was talking about but in the same sentence told me that TDC wasn't important, that properly aligning the timing chain wasn't important, and basically thick oil and over tightening any bolts will solve all problems.
Anyways, now that the backround is taken care of I'll move on to the actual progress, It took a few weeks only to accomplish a very little bit of work but, in the past few days I've actually become filled with a passion to see this car run again, I've spent more than seven hours almost straight out in the shop working on the car for several days, it seemed that each time I did that and made a lot of progress I became more encouraged to do it again. I decided to take the head off with both manifolds still attached, I couldn't get the metal EGR line to unbolt so I cut it and clamped each end shut I hope to bypass this someday anyway, I spent several hours cleaning up the head, the valves, the manifolds, and the block. I thought it would be best to set the head on the car by itself to make lining it up with the block a little bit easier, I thought that was a good idea at the time but, now im stuck trying to tighten those bolts between the manifolds.
Anyways, yes I ended up having to pull the front cover because of the tensioner but, before I get flamed for screwing that up you guys should know that it was the previous owner that had started this job, and one of the few things he did was, . . yep that's right pull off the cam gear and let the chain drop down. At the time I didn't realize the importance of timing chain alignment so I did have to pull the front cover back off to get that right. By now Im realizing that the hard part is over, the head is back on, the chain is back on, im confident that everything is aligned properly, i have tdc, the oil pump is aligned, the chain is aligned, and then it hits me, eventhough half this motor is taken apart, this job is almost done. Sunday I spent seven hours out in the shop with my friend scot putting anything that I needed to, to see if it would start. at 9:36pm I turned the key. . . . and realized the battery was dead, then my second battery was dead, and yet another battery I had (an optima redtop no less) was also dead so I stole this huge **** of a battery out of my grand marquis.
At this time there are still a few things left to be done, mainly there are a few manifold bolts that I hadn't taken care of and the exhaust wasn't hooked up yet, I knew this would keep it from running properly. I turned the key and the motor turned over as it struggled to come to life and as I feathered the gas it roared to life deadening out all other sounds in the neighborhood I let it die because the coolant system still wasn't hooked up, I tightened a few more bolts, and had my friend press the manifold against the head, and I gave it another try this time it started up with more ease and eager to rev but would still die if I let off the gas.
The next morning I woke up and rushed to the garage, I bolted on the a/c compressor, the power steering pump, the radiator, the coolant hoses, the thermostat, etc. Also I got to a few more manifold but still have a few left that Im having one hell of a time getting to. LOL. As of right now I haven't let it run long enough to actually warm up but from what I can tell the longer it runs the smoother it gets. I seem to have lost the drain plug for the radiator so I'll have to wait to fill it up. I will be sure to keep all of you updated on all further progress. I did skip a few parts of the job but assumed that those areas are basically self explanatory and I'd just be quoting the haynes manual anyway. I would like to once again thank everyone on this forum for their informative posts and especially bleach for keeping me from screwing up this car LOL.
Last edited by HybridS130; 03-30-2006 at 08:42 PM.
03-21-2006, 09:40 AM
#3
Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Temecula, CA
Posts: 5,485
It's good to hear you've almost got it done. You make it sound like it took you for ever. There are people who have had smaller issues than a blown head gasket that have taken a lot longer than you did to get their cars to fire back up 
That Z looks really good too. And slicktop, 
. Those bolts between the manifolds can be a real pain in the *** until you get to know where they are. I've found it's easiest to use a 1/4" drive ratchet with a really long extension. The smaller diameter of the extension makes it a littel easier to manuever than the standard 3/8" drive. The first time I had to do it I made referrence marks on top of the intake manifold with a sharpie to tell me where the bolts were that I needed to tighten. If you're limber you should be able to wiggle a hand up in there to feel around for the bolts and then use your other hand to feed the socket and extension in. Good luck with getting it all buttoned up.
That Z looks really good too. And slicktop, . Those bolts between the manifolds can be a real pain in the *** until you get to know where they are. I've found it's easiest to use a 1/4" drive ratchet with a really long extension. The smaller diameter of the extension makes it a littel easier to manuever than the standard 3/8" drive. The first time I had to do it I made referrence marks on top of the intake manifold with a sharpie to tell me where the bolts were that I needed to tighten. If you're limber you should be able to wiggle a hand up in there to feel around for the bolts and then use your other hand to feed the socket and extension in. Good luck with getting it all buttoned up.
03-21-2006, 03:48 PM
#4
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Pensacola,fla
Posts: 359
Thanks a lot man, im actually capable of getting the 3/8 in there and still feel for where it has to go but, im having a hard time getting the nut to actually start threading. I think im going to try taking off the heat shield and see if that helps any, if not im going to jack up the car and see if it's possible to get access from underneath
03-21-2006, 09:27 PM
#5
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Temecula, CA
Posts: 5,485
This is how I do it and its really simple. First I put the exhaust manifold in place and snug it in place with the two end nuts and the center bolts that that ONLY hold the exhaust manifold in place. Then I thread the rest of the nuts onto their studs. Just slightly though. Then the intake manifold will slid down between the nuts and the head. Then I snug the top intake manifold bolts. Then I go under and tighten all the lower bolts that I threaded on before. Then I finish tightening all the other bolts that I snugged before.
I had the same problem you are having til I figured out to thread the nuts first.
I had the same problem you are having til I figured out to thread the nuts first.
03-23-2006, 04:35 PM
#8
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Temecula, CA
Posts: 5,485
A little trick that I've used to get hard to reach nuts started is to use a little tape and secure the bolt into the socket. Then once you get that bolt started you can just pull the socket off. Tape it on just enough to keep the bolt from falling out. Use like masking tape or something cheap.
03-29-2006, 07:34 PM
#12
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Temecula, CA
Posts: 5,485
Spark plugs very rarely keep a car from starting completely unless they're in really bad shape or fouled. The close up pic isn't too clear but they dont look bad enough to cause a no start. When you remounted everything to the intake did you make sure to reconnect all the grounds? Are you dead positive that everything is plugged back in? It's obvious you're getting fuel if your plugs are wetting out. So that leaves spark. Pull the sparkplugs one at a time and test to see if they're sparking. The correct way would be to get a spark tester. But the way I do it is just to keep the spark plug in it's wire boot and just hold the boot (with hand or tool) and holding the plug a short distance from a grounding point like the shock tower bolts. You should get a bright solid arch. If you get no spark or the plug has to be practically touching the grounding point to arch then you know for sure that spark is your problem. Once you've verified that you can start on figuring out why.
Oh and just for kicks: You do have the plug wire in the correct order on the distributor right?
Oh and just for kicks: You do have the plug wire in the correct order on the distributor right?
03-29-2006, 09:56 PM
#13
Head Muckraker
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Bay Area
Posts: 9,221
Originally Posted by jfairladyz
Oh and just for kicks: You do have the plug wire in the correct order on the distributor right?
Check your firing order again. I'm embarassed to say how many times I've screwed that up...
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