L20b Head bolts

[Lozer]

Im about to reassemble the head on my l20b after a (stock)valve job. can i get away with using the original head bolts?

[datzenmike]

Yes. Short of a race car motor, the only advantage of new ones are that they are already clean.

 

Be sure to clean the threaded holes in the block. Clean the bolts and lightly oil the threads, put a drop of oil under the top of the bolt head against the washer. Clean the block and head surfaces as clean as you can. Be careful with the soft aluminum head. Use a dry gasket, DO NOT use any coatings or sealer on it. Torque down in this sequence:

 

FRONT

ENGINE

 

7...8

3...4

1...2

5...6

9..10

 

Following this sequence, torque to 20 ft lbs, then in sequence to 40 ft lbs, then to final 60 ft lbs. A few lbs either way is not as important as the sequence. In a few hundred miles when you have the valve cover off to re-check the lifter clearance check the head bolt torque as well.

Edited December 19, 2008 by datzenmike

[Lozer]

Thanks for the super quick reply Mike

[banzai510(hainz)]

L20b came with the cam sprocket on the #2 position

 

set up up close to TDC,meaning set dowel up so its in the 12oclock position then put sproket on and line up the V notch with the dash- on the back of thrust plate.

If chain is being held up with wooden bock(timming cover still installed) good luck as I could never do it myself,. after you think you got it would would turn motor a couple revelution then put at TDC again and notice the cam timming marks again. Is if V and dash line up. If yes its timed.

or watch this

http://www.guba.com/general/search?query=hainz&set=5

[Lozer]

watching your vid right now man thanks.

 

So one last q. ive got the wood block holding the chain up i line up the chain on the cam sprocket but im having trouble pulling the sprocket and chain onto the cam (tensioner got a little loose) Do you have any advice on how to pull the upper sprocket onto the cam without removing the front cover?

[hang_510]

the only advantage of new ones are that they are already clean.

thats not the only advantage...

 

 

 

 

if your having issues w/spocket, be sure the tensioner didnt come out...the gear should go on easy...try it w/o the chain on first

[datzenmike]

I did have trouble once, probably caused by having tranny in gear and bumping against the fender. Anyway, it was just tight enough that I couldn't lift it up onto the cam. I could however get the retaining bolt started and as I tightened it, it pulled the sprocket up over the lip and on. Beware! The dowel pin in the end of the cam has to line up and slip into the sprocket without binding. I put a pair of Vice Grips on the cam shaft and fine adjusted as I tightened the bolt. I was very lucky.

[Lozer]

is there an easy way to tell if the tensioner came out?

 

im only shy about 1/8" from just being able to slide the sprocket on the cam.

[hang_510]

is there an easy way to tell if the tensioner came out?

 

im only shy about 1/8" from just being able to slide the sprocket on the cam.

 

pretty much answered your ? if itll go on w/o the chain :mad:

[datzenmike]

Hummmm. Well you got nothing to loose now. Protect the valve cover gasket surface and put a big MOFO pry bar under the sprocket center and pry upward while having the retaining bolt handy (if) it pops on.

 

The tensioner does not have to come all the way out to remove some of the chain slack. Prying upward may be just enough to pull the chain tight and retract it.

 

Lifting upward will pull the chain and may loosen or dislodge the wooden tensioner so have someone ready to tap it back down to hold onto any gains that you get. Hopefully it will pop on and that's the end of it.

[banzai510(hainz)]

the 1st time I did it I ended up dropping the chain.

Hopefully you can do it.

Other wise youll have to pll tha radiator out drop the oil pan slightly to pull te front cover off. Than means pull the oil pump dizzy the 2 10mm small bolts.then while your at it get a NEW tensioner.

[Lozer]

Well the tensioner did slip out and the advice about prying up on it almost did the trick. What did work tho (i might just be one lucky bastard) was taking my medium snap on prybar and lodging it down by the tensioner and CAREFULLY aplying pressure till you feel it pop in. AVOID THE OILING NIPPLE mine survived unscathed.

 

The car runs damn near perfect with all the valves working.

[banzai510(hainz)]

good man!!!!!!!!!!!

[Freaky320]

Well the tensioner did slip out and the advice about prying up on it almost did the trick. What did work tho (i might just be one lucky bastard) was taking my medium snap on prybar and lodging it down by the tensioner and CAREFULLY aplying pressure till you feel it pop in. AVOID THE OILING NIPPLE mine survived unscathed.

 

The car runs damn near perfect with all the valves working.

 

yes you are a lucky i have tried to work the tensioner in a few time with no avail. lets see that bar iam going to go get one just for that lol

[Lozer]

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?P65=&tool=all&item_ID=103&group_ID=1005&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

 

if your going to buy tools buy the ones that last.

[hang_510]

AVOID THE OILING NIPPLE

:lol:

 

 

 

lucky bastard! i got lucky...once :fu:

[jonesy510]

well i was replacing the head gasket and i dropped a bolt down the front of the motor.... and a washer....... sucking fux....:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:....... can i use the same head gasket?? or should i just order a new one...again..... :(

[Buzzbomb]

well i was replacing the head gasket and i dropped a bolt down the front of the motor.... and a washer....... sucking fux....:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:....... can i use the same head gasket?? or should i just order a new one...again..... :(

 

Can you at least see the bolt and washer? Why not try a magnet tool and see if you can wrangle them out of there with that before removing the head again? Harbor Freight has these in a 2 foot or so range.

 

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=94162

 

If you haven't torqued the bolts down yet, I don't see any reason why you can't reuse the gasket. Otherwise, you might be taking a chance when you torque the head down, create a "pattern" in the gasket from it being bolted down once, and then reattach the head trying to hit that pattern again.

 

I recently replaced my hg on my truck, thanks to help from this board. After ALL the things I did to make sure it was right, I for sure would have put on a new gasket had I not done something right that required pulling the head after torquing the bolts. Yea, it's $12 or so out the window, but think of the time involved in taking it apart if you have a leak.

 

I'm sure someone more knowledgable will pipe in, but after doing my hg and if confronted by that scenario, that's what I would do.

Edited July 7, 2009 by Buzzbomb

[jonesy510]

yea i had everything torqued down and trying to get a sprocket on ... ill go check out harbor freight before i take the head off but as it is now i cant see ish... the only good thing would b at least my motor will have all new gaskets if i cant get the bolt and washer out...:mellow:

[Buzzbomb]

yea i had everything torqued down and trying to get a sprocket on ... ill go check out harbor freight before i take the head off but as it is now i cant see ish... the only good thing would b at least my motor will have all new gaskets if i cant get the bolt and washer out...:mellow:

 

:( ...Get the brightest light you can get, and shine that sucker down there. If you haven't done it, it might be best to put the sprocket on first, at least fingertight, so you can really get a good look down there. With any luck, the bolt/washer might be laying on the lower sprocket or hung up along the side of the chain somewhere where you can see it. I would think it would be easier to see down there without the wood wedge or whatever tool you used to hold the chain up. On the bright side, there seems to be a lot of snags in there that just might have stopped the junk from falling in all the way.

 

When I put my chain back on, I first worked it over the sprocket where the slack was laying so I could get it on the sprocket right. After getting the chain lined up with the marks I made on the sprocket, I then pulled UP and toward the cam on the sprocket to align it with the cam post. I figured since I didn't replace my good chain, everything should go back on the same way (and size) it came off, and it worked, knock on wood.

 

Sometimes taking a break and taking another look works great. Hopefully you'll be able to see that bolt and washer so you can fish them out :thumbup:

[jonesy510]

so i went to go get a smoothie with my girl friend and came back all happy and went to look and nothing... cant see the washer... nor the bolt... so i guess its time to watch hainz video a billion times and take apart my motor and put it bak

[ggzilla]

Leave the bolt and washer in the sump, just get another. The oil pump strainer will prevent it from being sucked up into the engine.

[banzai510(hainz)]

ggzilla is right get another same spec bolt.

fuck it

dont do it again.

 

Jonesy why was head gasket changed????

[Buzzbomb]

Well, there you go. Don't worry about it :D

 

If it bugs you, and depending on how big this bolt is, maybe you can still use some type of magnet to somehow wrangle that bolt out of there from the drain hole next time you change the oil. The oil plug hole on an L20B is pretty big, and it seems like the bolt would fall to the lowest point so you can get at it. That's assuming of course that the bolt/washer you lost are small ones.

Edited July 8, 2009 by Buzzbomb

[zed]

I've got a big magnet stuck on my L18 oil pan, right next to the drain plug - hope that any bits of metal getting into the oil will end up there. Maybe do the same for your missing bolt?