I'm just about there. I need to remove the exhaust manifolds, rocker arms, push rods, and then the heads. Does anyone have any tips for organizing that stuff as it comes out? Should I take the opportunity to clean it somehow? The rockers and inside of the valve covers are pretty gunked up.

 

Cardboard with holes in it works well for keeping the pushrods in their respective places. Clean everything one piece at a time and return it to its hole so you don't get thing mixed up. Same when you refurb the valves -- do them one at a time and replace each one before disassembling the next.

 

Good to see that you are doing the front cover plate at the same time. I recently did my heads and didn't take care of the front cover while in there. Now that its all back together I'm noticing a leak from the cover. Arrrrhhhhhh.

It's a bit of a hassle to individually sort and label everything but it makes a world of difference when it comes to re-assembly.

 

Egg cartons and ice cube trays work really well and I have seen guys use pizza boxes with holes poked in them for the pushrods. Really, though, for the relatively cheap price I would recommend replacing the rockers, shafts, tappets, pushrods, valves and guide seals since they are wear items and can contribute greatly to ticking/tapping/smoking.

If you decide to clean and reuse your parts I would recommend Chem Dip by Berryman for no-scrub cleaning. Really amazing stuff.

Have fun!

 

I'll probably get shot for suggesting this, but a bucket of gasoline to soak parts works well, chevron with Techron...

 

I always use gas to clean parts. I have a nice plastic tub with lid (old Costco laundry soap bucket). Just be sure to use a plastic scrub brush and wear some nitrile gloves.

 

Thanks everyone, that was going to be my next question. I'm glad about the gas to clean all those parts. I remember my grandfather cleaning tractor parts in gas.

I'm not sure about replacing all the parts. I'm already stretching my mechanical experience getting this far, and my wife is going to divorce me if I ask for more money for this job.

 

She will probably divorce you if you do all this work and don't get it right!

At a minimum you need to send the heads out to a machine shop(or buy my refurbished heads... Shameless plug) or even buy Chubbs set up he has advertised with gaskets, ARP studs and heads!

But again at least send the heads out.

I won't ever do a HG job again with TTY bolts, ARP studs all the way.

 

Remove rocker assembly in one piece and clean. Check oil passages through rocker assembly and blow out passages with compressed air if needed.

Exhaust bolts snap off easily if not careful. Penetrating oil before trying. Save spacers and I recommend new bolts.

For head bolts, use impact grade socket and get an impact grade swivel for the two rear bolts at the firewall. Use a 18-24" extension. Use breaker bar with two feet of pipe for leverage. Use good quality 1/2 drive for all of this. You will be surprised how tight the headbolts will be. If head warped, some may be extra tight, some may be loose from stretching while hot and looser after cooling. Likely all will be tight. Remove in reverse order of installation until all are broken free and start to back off. If head is warped, loosening one bolt and removing without loosening any other can allow block to move and add pressure to adjacent bolts. Be careful not to roundoff the bolt heads, keep socket as square to bolt as possible to maximize your force. Remember that you have aluminum threads in the block, don't mess them up. An impact wrench may do damage, so be wary of power tools.

When re-installing the heads, whether using torque to yield bolts or using studs, make sure the bolt holes on the block are clean of debris and fluids. This could throw off your torque reading if you are using bolts. Also, you need to figure a way to measure your 90 degree turns after your initial torqued turn if you use bolts. If you go with studs, you may want to use the manufacturer recommendation.