STLCA 60 Series Club Thread

[sk8salomon]

This is where I'm stopping for tonight. Head bolts out, just need to pull the push rods in some orderly fashion & take plug wires off. Next need some muscle to help me lift this SOB.

 

[FJCRAWLER]

Sean make sure the head gasket goes back on in the right direction . There is a small oil hole on the passenger side that allows oil to flow up to the rocker . Believe it or not the gasket will fit and seal either way , I learned the hard way the first time I removed a 2f head . So please double check to make sure that hole is open before installing the head . Also are you going to have the head checked at the machine shop they are prone for cracking between #3 and #4 cylinders . Good Luck

 

[sk8salomon]

Thanks Rocky! That reminds me I also need to fix the oil galley plug.

Pulled head off this am. Surprised it wasn't as heavy as I thought. I will say that working on a desmogged 2F gives you so much more room! I feel bad for those guys still wrenching on smogged ones...been there done that never again!!!
Stay tuned for more fun.

 

[jynx]

Can you tell where it failed. My untrained eyes are having trouble seeing any obvious failures.

 

[FJCRAWLER]

Looks like cylinders 1 , 3 and 5 had some coolant seeping into them . The little brown spots in the combustion chambers tell the story . Put a good Fel-Pro gasket back on . Good time to replace valve stem seals , water pump , t-stat , belts and hoses .

 

[jynx]

I see what your talking about. I learned something today.

 

[sk8salomon]

Funny thing is I put new plugs in 2 weeks ago. That blackness happened quick

 

[sk8salomon]

Ok here's some progress, small but baby steps. So I figured first step is scrape off all the old gasket. Then I used carb cleaner and some towels to wipe the goo away. What's next? I'd like to find a small rotary air tool and polish the ports. Any suggestions?

 

[FJCRAWLER]

TAKE IT TO A MACHINE SHOP AND HAVE IT CLEANED AND CHECK FOR CRACKS .

2F heads are prone for cracking so do yourself a favor . it maybe fine but then again it may not be .

 

[sk8salomon]

Thanks Rocky, will do

 

[jynx]

Not sure how much while your in there stuff is needed, but if they have it you could have it checked/ machined true on the deck surface and intake/ exhaust surfaces. Valve seals and a valve job might be worth it. I know you are looking at the clock, but may as well do whatcha can while it's off so you are all good when it goes back on.

 

[Elbert]

for that style of engine I'm not sure its worth the effort to do much in the way of polishing the ports. I would certainly want to have it checked for cracks and see if the valves and seals etc are good. To really clean the mating surface you can use a single edge straight razor blade with some carb cleaner.. Don't forget to fix the oil galley plug.

 

[sk8salomon]

Thx guys, here's my dilemma. Depending on what it costs for a shop to clean & pressure check, plus a top end gasket kit which includes valve seals, now I'm tapping on the door of a used Chevy 350 swap. I might take some steel wool to it & drop by the local engine shop just to see what it costs. If I don't buy a gasket kit & just throw a $20 felpro on it, there's a chance it will fix it. If it doesn't, then I really haven't wasted much. Just laying out the options. As much as I wanna stay w 2F, not sure it's worth fixing if the head is cracked.

 

[sk8salomon]

Got a quote from local shop, $80 to clean, inspect & test. Much cheaper than I expected so I'll go this route for sure.

 

[Elbert]

yes..personally I would not throw much $$ at fixing the 2f... if the head is good and its just a head gasket...then may not be too painful. Some folks say to run the OEM toyota head gasket. I dont' have any first hand knowledge of that (good or bad), but I've run felpro products for many years on GM stuff and not had any issues with their stuff. I've always been of the opinion that Felpro makes quality "stuff".

 

[FJ60Cam]

I'm pretty sure the OEM is Felpro, but I'd try to at least compare pics. The latest gasket has fewer holes in it for improved flow or something. Definitely don't go with an off-brand though.

You might consider running two Felpro intake/exhaust manifold gaskets. They are cheap at O'reilly's. I did that based on MarkW's recommendation, and my header ran leak-free for the six or so years it was on there.

 

[sk8salomon]

$145 to clean, pressure check & resurface head.

 

[FJ60Cam]

Did it get a clean bill of health?

 

[sk8salomon]

Did it get a clean bill of health?

Yep

 

[Elbert]

New front seats installed, from 07 BMW 328I using torfabs brackets (which by the way kick @$$). First step remove old seats, bolt adapter brackets to new seats paying attention to the orientation of the brackets (front and rear and orientation to the door). The bmw seats are power everything...and leather and they weight 2X or more than the OEM's and are very comfortable. Get the body harness side of the wiring too. My seats have a electronic module which has a fairly large wiring bundle with a unique connector. My seats came from a salvage yard north of Atlanta. These seats are gray but I could not wait around until I found the best color, no rips/cracks or missing parts (matched pair)... Wiring notes. Brown is ground and orange is power. Combine the two brown grounds and ground that and combine the two orange and power feed that. I've verified all the functions work except I'm not sure about the heat. So far just have the seats physically installed. Biggest pain in the but is getting the toyota body bolts back in without cross-threading. Pics below...I noticed the driver side is blurry I'll take another pic tomorrow. Other important note is the rear heater has to come out...but that was fine with me as don't use that anyway.