And I would not install Chinese injectors. There are shops who will clean and test your originals.

 

If nothing obvious, go ahead and pull the head.

 

I have used this place a couple times. They send a before and after report. Clean/rebuild the injectors. www.mrinjector.us

 

As reported on another thread I had no issues with the Amazon injectors I installed over a year ago.

That's not always the case with Chinese parts but so far so good.

 

Thanks for the input,
I turned over the engine by hand and there was nothing unusual or interesting in the rocker for #5. feels smooth, etc.

I am down to pulling off the heads, need to remove the push rods first.

Any advice on removing the SAI tubes? They have been soaked in penetrant but are still twisting when I put a wrench on them.
I am going to follow the AB video and separate the exhaust headers from the down pipes and work on them on the bench. I am waiting for these to completely sideline my progress.
You could spend forever cleaning these things, I think the plan is to power wash what I can once the heads are off. Copper wool and scotchbrite work great so far on the VCGs and related metal parts. Awesome from the dollar store is amazing, the best degreaser I have found, including brake cleaner.
Making good progress I think, have not broken much, but lost a 1/4" driver, a good one too. Just put it somewhere and now it is gone. Im sure it will turn up.

 

If you remove all the spark plugs you can get an open end wrench on the sai fittings to hold them while you loosen the tube nuts.

 

Luckily it's just the head gasket, you can see the blow out. Mineral spirits is awesome for cleaning out the carbon.

I have 2 head bolts on the passenger side I cannot seem to Crack. The one closed to the firewall of course. I love how on the Atlantic British video he skips over removing the head bolts.
I have soaked them in penetrant, wacked them with a hammer and punch, a harbor freight impact wrench is no help, i have ran it repeatedly. 4 ft of leverage is not getting it done either. I am worried about rounding it out. Almost stripped one in the other side.

Any other ideas?

Thanks

 

I don't seem to remember any head bolts being hard to access on the passenger side (USA spec). The fire wall lower on the divers is a pita. Some remove the rear transmission mount bolds and jack up the rear to give access. I use a half inch drive swivel extension and a breaker bar for access.

Since they are stretch bolts their torque seems to be all over the place. Some come out with no struggle, some require a 4 ft cheater pipe over my 3 ft breaker bar.

I also hate the sai studs. I finally came across a good set of non sai heads so I no longer have to fool with them. I usually removed them with a good set of heavy duty vice grips. The flat jaw variety, not the curve jaw.

 

Yeah, I was going to suggest a four foot bar as well. Maybe it needs to be a bit longer. Don’t strip the bolt heads! Make sure you are using a tight fitting 6 point socket in good condition. Probably should be an impact socket.

 

Those rear bolts can be difficult. I like to use a deep well 6 point impact socket. Put a bit of valve lapping compound on the interior surfaces of the socket and it will help to grip the bolt and prevent slippage. If you need to you can remove the motor mounts by jacking up the engine and then once they are removed lower it down and you will have better access to those rear bolts. I have never had to do it. 3 ft breaker bar are usually does it for me, be sure to get as close as possible to the socket with your wrench so that it doesn't pivot off as you start applying torque.