1G 1.8L 4G37 Head rebuild

[girlsare3viI]

Ok.. i searched the post so here i go.. I was goin to rebuild just the top end of my 1.8L. I have a new head for it.. valve springs and rocker arm.On the original i was getting a nocking noise we figured either from a bad rockerarm so in turn probably bad push rob.. Either way iv never done anything like this.. I have my haynes Manual and my friends dad is a mechanic im doin the work there but hes not goin to babysit me all the way threw it. So i was curious on how hard of a job this is. What step should / do i need to take while goin threw with this and what parts should i go buy before goin on. 1 Head gasket 2. push robs then what? im wanting to do this tomorrow well.. its 1:36am so i guess later today.ALL help would be great.Seeing how you could call me a n00b on all of what im gettin ready to do..
Thanks again.

AIM = girlsare3vil im on 24/7

 

[Nt-Eclipse-Dail]

My advice is:
Buy a head gasket 'kit'. You may not need all of these gaskets and seals now, but at least you will have them and it is cheaper to buy them as a set vs. buying them individually. Kit should also include new valve stem seals (you will need these).

Find lifters and replace them while you are in there. It is too easy to skip and you will be glad later. Your car will be more quiet (less ticking) and happy you did it.

Forget what the manual says about completely removing the intake and throttlebody from the engine bay. Just unbolt it from the head and have a friend hold the whole assembly back out of the way while you lift the old head off. If you are careful, The only gasket back there you will have to replace will be the one where the intake bolts up to the head. This worked well for me and saved time. A few reversable, ratcheting wrenches will help a bunch with the bolts back here as it is cramped working space.

When you get done and go to set your timing, Put your number one piston at TDC by turning crank, set gasket and head on block, position your distributor so that the rotor is pointing straight down (I marked mine while engine was at no.1 TDC before I removed the head, but this is not necessary if you are careful. I marked it so I could put it back exactly where it was to begin with). Lift the rocker assembly up until you can insert the distributor shaft without it turning any. Check to be sure rotor is still pointing straight down, and then set rocker shafts down where they go and tighted bolts as per manual.
Double check that rotor is still pointing straight down... Your timing is set. Be careful here but don't let the manual scare you or confuse you. The timing is really easy to set on this engine if you install the distributor first and then set the shafts down on top of it...

Don't buy parts that you do not need. Let the machinist that is resurfacing your head tell you what needs replacing. The valves in my 1.8l have seen 247k and so have the springs.
The machinist will inspect your valves, springs, etc. and tell you what you NEED... Save money if you can.

P.S. My machinist did a fine job with my old valves and springs. My car blows NO smoke and scores real well on the compression gauge (even at 247k).

Good luck with your project... Keep us updated!

 

[girlsare3viI]

wow! thanks alot that really helped as well im sure its goin to help alot later on today. One thing is i dont have a machinist resurfacing my head. Is that a must ? Also a head gasket kit any clue on where i can pick on of those up? Thanks again for the help didnt really expect anyone to go into that detail its appreciated.

 

[Nt-Eclipse-Dail]

To answer your question about 'needing' to get your head resurfaced: I have seen many heads get rebuilt without resurfacing and they all 'seemed' to do ok but... That's not all that a machine shop will do and if you are going through all the trouble to remove your cyl head, Why not service it right the first time? Cheap insurance, IMO.

A good shop will probably less than $50.00 to clean and resurface a cyl head for this car.
My last 1.8l head cost me about $75 to get machined. They cleaned it, checked it for cracks, resurfaced it (get a better head gasket seal), painted it, reassembled with my valves, springs, and seals (glad they did it and not me, saved me a lot of time) and then after they got all the valves seated right they checked and adjusted the installed spring/valve height. I dropped my head off at 8:00 am and picked it up the same day at 4:00pm. They had it completely done, ready to install on the car. While they were working the head I was getting the rest ready for the install.

To sum it up, A reputable machine shop has tools and experience that most people do not. They will check things that you might overlook, and sometimes they will even warranty the work that they do. You can't go wrong getting it done right and the better the job that you have done the longer it will be before you have to fool with it again...

That head gasket kit can be found anywhere (Advance, Autozone, etc.) Check on it soon because they may have to order it. Mine cost about $100 and took about a day for O'reilly's to get it to their store. It had all the gaskets and seals needed + others that I ended up needing at a later time (like the thermostat gasket). I would suggest you try to get the kit even if you have to wait a day or two. It costs much less to get the whole set vs. buying all of them individually. My kit was a Felpro kit. Part no. HS 9846B. I have had no problems with it at all, and for the last 20k miles everything has been great. It's nice not leaking oil down onto the block anymore!

Let us know how your project comes out and Good Luck!
James