pulling the head, rth with twin cams

[60 toy ota]

yes i have looked through faq at the hg threads. like the title says, i'm in the middle of pulling the head on our 97 lx450. (HG is fine, the valves on #6 are done after 222k and its getting 80 psi). i've done the head gasket on our 60 twice, an inline 4 camery once, and pulled the engine on another camery, so i'm pretty familiar with what needs to be done and how to do it. my only question is about the timing chain, i haven't dealt with one yet seeing as the 2f uses pushrods and our camery's uses belts. so...how does one remove the cams to access the head bolts? i have the fsm on pdf and i know to go TDC and align the 2 dots, but i'm a little bit lost after that. the fsm doesn't go into great detail with this part of a job, and i don't think it's so simple as you just take off bolts, so any help here would be great. thanks,
Drew
Also, which option is best? disconnect the #@$%# wiring harness and snake it through the manifold, or take the manifold apart while the head is still in the truck? I already have almost all of the connections off, but there is one harness section (10 wires) that goes on top of the transmission to the 02 sensors and something else, and it won't come off without either cutting it or dropping the tranny. i may just cut it and pull the harness through, because the injector rail is already off. thoughts?

 

[Pak Meul]

Going from memory here, but I recall having to run a small bolt into the front of one or both of the timing gears. I dont remember the size. I believe it is in the FSM.

 

[Pak Meul]

Also on the wiring, I did it per Doug's video. Again, from memory a couple years ago, I think the harness was left in place and manifold pulled to the side, out of the way.

 

[robertaleon]

Check out hg job done in my sig. You need to do the service bolts on the cam gear. You also should know the images in the fsm are reversed if you look carefully. One is from front on and the pic inset is looking from the inside towards front of motor IIRC.

 

[fj4068]

Is your electronic copy of the FSM possibly missing a few pages? The 1997 Land Cruiser FSM pages EG-26 & 27 version specifies the order of the cam bearing cap bolt removal. Basically, on the USPS, caps #4 & 6 are the last two left in place, so they may be loosened evenly in relation to each other, thereby allowing the camshaft to rise straight up and not bind in the races. IIRC on the USDS cam it is #2 & 5.

For the harness, I used the technique from IdahoDoug's DVD of leaving the harness and intake runners in the engine bay but pulled off to the side enough to be out of the way.

Link for harness: https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/603411-engine-harness-kicking-my-rear-help.html

 

[60 toy ota]

thanks for the great replies, i did eventually find the pages i was missing and am past that step, and i'll probably end up doing as you all recommended with the manifold, even though the harness is half disconnected at both ends
we'll see how this goes now, thanks again for the replies. and can i just say, i love not having rusty bolts to work with on this project. 99% of the work is on the 60, and i half expect to break or strip or somehow battle to the death with each bolt i see...the 80 is great that way.

 

[IdahoDoug]

You'll need long extensions (I think about 30" worth) and can separate the intake man pieces and then just pull to the side with a motorcycle strap and don't mess with the wiring. The exh man can also be left in place after disconnecting the studs - leaving it intact to the exhaust and pulling aside with a strap.

DougM

 

[blkprj80]

Getting the wires out of the firewall sucked, but it was do-able. Unplugging the series connectors is tough, or at least it was for me. There's about 2' of wire & connectors on the other side of that big grommet. I never did figure out which connectors had to come off the transmission. You're right, one bundle goes to the o2 sensor. I hope I can figure out the others once I have the engine out.

I started out thinking I could just pull the cylinder head. Ha. I've done it the hard way though. I have pulled everything EXCEPT the head (& cams etc) already. I decided to go through the whole engine while I have the time to do it.

Good Luck!

 

[60 toy ota]

I never did figure out which connectors had to come off the transmission. You're right, one bundle goes to the o2 sensor. I hope I can figure out the others once I have the engine out.

Good Luck!

thanks, the head is out and being rebuilt now. i decided to separate the manifold at the head and leave it intact, as i had already undone everything. on a side note we had the cylinders measured today and it looks like we'll be re-ringing as well.
there are 3 wire harnesses that go to the tranny. the first is dis-connectable via 2 huge plugs by the starter. the second and third go around the top of the tranny; one ends with a big connecter near the top PS of the tranny, towards the engine. its in front of the shifter linkage. the second is with the 02 sensors, it also has a 3rd connection farther up. the reason i didn't follow through with the wire harness like this is because the 02 harness threads underneath a hard line at the top of the tranny, and won't pull through without either dropping the tranny to move the line, or cutting the 10-12 wire harness. let me know if you want some pics, hth.
Drew

 

[Kernal]

Pics and specs/measurements on the head and cylinder/ring work would be great.