Help/Advice Removing ST202 3SFE Head - NZ, Replacing Head Gasket Options

[jhaletama]

Hi Guys! Any help greatly appreciated. So far have pulled exhaust manifold off removed water connection and unplugged all connections passengers side of the vehicle. I read somewhere i can remove the head with the intake manifold still attached? do i need to remove the engine mount on the timing belt side? any help / advice would be awesome! also wanted to pull the oil pan off and just give a clean but this looks like a mission! like remove engine type?? as pan goes under a lip where the transmission is? is there a way to do this without removing the engine??

If anyone has a spare pdf manual for me that would be awesome to!

Thank you for all your help!

[3WayStunna]

Alrite firstly, you should check out a technical manual to give yourself a good idea of what needs to be done.
Secondly, the advice im about to give you, please use at your own risk, as i havent touched a 3sfe head in years, even though i have done the job you are about to do many times, memory doesent serve me right, right now. And also im no mechanic, and neither are you. I say again, read the technical manual if you can find one, because there are alot of torque specs, and such that need to be adheard to, when removing and installing the head.

And with that being said, yes you need to remove your timing belt from around the cam gear. Dosent need to be completly removed, just loosen it enough to slip it over the cam gear so you can get it out of the way.

Also, to take the valve cover off to get to the head bolts, there are four HUGE nuts that secure it down. They can be found around the spark plug covers (not a coincidence ^_^). Afterwards you'll be introduced to the inner working of your cylinder head. You need to remove the cam-gear/cams/distributer (dizzy-rotor) to get to the bolts that hold the head down. And now for some more warnings.

Im no genious, but im sure there is an order at which you need to follow when removing those bolts. Also, when messing with your cam gears and distributor, your timing can become messed up. The tech guide shows you how to do things and im sure another Senior member here on this site can chime in and point out what i havent.
Nextly, you dont need to remove the intake manifold in order to take the cylinder head off. Just make sure all connections to the manifold and cylinder head are removed.

Thats the gist. Hopefully there are others who can chime in and help you out man!!

Anywho, thats the gist

Anywho, thats all i have for you now,

Btw, ill try and find a manual for you online. I just read where you said you dont have one ^_^
And no you dont have to take the engine mount off. Even though it gets in the way, you could but i dont know anything about that.