NOTE: The E-Series Owners Club and the writers of the articles take no responsibility for any damage or problems or grief that may be a result of following one of our articles. Make sure you know what you are doing, are confident and competent before commencing any activity. You do so at your own risk!
Written by Alex Stojan
Owning an E-Series vehicle brings with it the unpleasantness of blowing head gaskets roughly every 100,000 kms. If you take real good care of your cooling system, the risk of this happenning is greatly reduced, if not almost eliminated. Those who tend to leave all the maintenance of the vehicle to the mechanics at the 10,000km service intervals, are the most likely to blow head gaskets. And when/if you do blow a head gasket, you're quite often up for roughly $1000. Not only that, but mechanics like extra business so they often tend to find other things that need attending to, and will try and convince you to carry out these other repairs also.
Now when you think about it, getting a head gasket changed professionally is one of the stupidest things you can spend your money on. Why? Because a head gasket kit only costs around $100. This contains the head gasket itself, and other gaskets that need to be replaced as part of the job, such as the inlet manifold gasket, etc as they cannot be reused. The rest of the cost is labour. And not only that, but the job is not difficult, and can be done by most people who know how to use basic tools, such as spanners, sockets, etc. So if you feel that extra $900 could be better spent elsewhere, then this guide is for you.
One other thing, this article is based on an EA Falcon CFI (Central Fuel Injection) engine. While the manifolds are quite different between a CFI and that of an MPFI (Multi-Point Fuel Injection) engine, the principal is the same.
Step 1 - Remove the bonnet
While not absolutely necessary, removing the bonnet will make the job 100 times easier. It allows you to use a hoist to lift the head off, it allows you to climb around the engine bay (as you will soon see) and will also save you from banging your big head and cutting it open on the edges of the bonnet.
This requires at least 2 people. Don't even think about doing it yourself, that is unless you call and let me know to come and watch you make an injured idiot of yourself. First, disconnect the gas strut lower mounting bolt. This must obviously be done on both sides. Next, undo the nuts that hold the hinges to the bonnet. There are 2 on each side. You will need someone holding the bonnet up at this point. Once all the required nuts have been undone, lift off the bonnet and place it aside somewhere in such a way that it won't get damaged. We place it on a table, this way no corners get scratched.
Step 2 - Remove the tennis racket
In order to get to anything, the big bloody tennis racket must be removed. It gets in the way of everything doesn't it? Undo the 4 wingnuts on the top of the lid, and remove the lid, then the filter. Next, undo the bolt that holds the racket to the inlet manifold. Note the configuration of the vacuum lines (the little rubber pipes) and disconnect them. Disconnect the hot air duct (the one that connects to the exhaust manifold) from the tennis racket. Remove the tennis racket.
Step 3 - Disconnect the throttle cable
Disconnect the throttle cable from the rocker cover bracket, and also from the throttle body. In order to remove it from the throttle body, you must remove the outer retaining ring, and then pull off the cable from the throttle body. DO NOT lose this retaining ring otherwise the throttle cable will fall off the throttle body.
Step 4 - Remove spark plug leads and spark plugs
The leads must obviously come out as they're attached at one end to the side of the head, and the other end is attached to the distributor cap, which happens to be underneath the inlet manifold, which can be seen in the photo for step 3 (the blue leads). It is easy to forget which lead goes on which spark plug, and they have to go on the right plug or the engine won't run, or at least not properly. They are all different lengths aswell, to suit the different positions of the spark plugs. As you remove the spark plug leads one by one, starting from the front of the engine, put a number on the lead corresponding to the cylinder you took it off. The piston is at the front of the engine is number 1, and the piston at the rear of the engine is number 6. Pretty simple. At the other end of the leads, where the plug onto the distributor cap, you don't have this problem. The distributor cap has the numbers already on it, so when you are reinstalling the leads, plug it onto the spark plug first, then weave it through the inlet manifold they way you found it, and then plug it onto the post with the corresponding number. Simple.
Step 5 - Removing the radiator
The radiator and fan shroud, while they have their purpose, tend to get in the way whenever you try to work on the engine. So we're going to remove it. A good idea is that while the radiator is out of the vehicle, you should get it cleaned out by some radiator place. What they do is the pull the side tanks off, push rods through the core of the radiator to clear all the crap out and then reattach the side tanks. This can't be done by the average home handyman, so don't bother trying. It'll cost around $70. I wouldn't be surprised if it was your blocked radiator that caused your engine to overheat and blow your head gasket, so it's a good idea. This does not necessarily mean that it was definitely your radiator that made it blow, but it could be. It's important to maintain your cooling system. Anyway, enough ranting.
First, you must disconnect the upper radiator hose. Loosen the hose clamp at the radiator end, then pull off the hose. If you find it's not coming off easily, try twisting it a little to loosen it up. If a lot of persuasion is required then it indicates that the hose has not been pulled off in a long time, meaning the radiator has not been checked in a long time. Once the water has drained out, disconnect the other hose clamp at the thermostat housing end and pull the hose off the thermostat housing cover. This way it won't get in the way of work.
The next step is to remove the header tank pipe, the transmission oil cooler lines and the bottom radiator hose. Loosen the hose clamp for the header tank hose at the radiator end (the rubber hose half way up the radiator as circled in the photo) and pull it off. Water will pour out, but don't worry, you won't drown. Next, loosen the lower radiator hose hose clamp, but don't pull the hose off just yet. The reason for this is that to pull the hose off when the tranny cooler lines are still plugged in, you have bugger all room to grip the hose with your hand to pull it off. And the reason for loosening the clamp now is because when you disconnect the oil cooler lines, a little bit of oil will drip onto the hose clamp making it very slippery and difficult to work with. So, disconnect the oil cooler lines, and the pull off the bottom hose (it can be difficult).
Once this is done, undo the two screws at either end of the radiator at the top which hold the fan shroud in place. Once this is done undo the the bolts on either end of the radiator at the top which holds the radiator to the radiator support panel. Maneuover the radiator out, leaving the shroud behind. This can be tricky as the shroud tends to get caught up on the radiator. It may take 2 people to maneuover it out. Once the radiator is out, move the shroud off the fan and lift it out. Get your radiator cleaned out now.
Step 6 - Removing the rocker cover
The key to removing the head is found behind the door which is the rocker cover. First, pull off the rubber hose towards the front of the engine on the rocker cover. This is the PCV valve hose. Place it aside. Next, pull of the oil return hose at the very back of the rocker cover on the top, and to the right hand side. It has already been removed in the photo. Undo the 4 bolts, taking care not to lose the washers or gaskets that go with them. Lift off the rocker cover. If you find it is a little difficult to pull off, try gently knocking it with a rubber mallet to free it from the gasket.
If when you pull off your rocker cover and find that your rocker gear looks like this, then it means either you or the previous owner hasn't been changing oil regularly and hasn't been making sure the engine isn't overheating. Poor maintenance basically. All this will have to be cleaned off. This takes several hours and is not pleasant. The process to clean this shit off is shown a little later, once all the rocker gear has been removed.
NOTE: In the photos that follow you may notice that the entire inlet manifold assembly has been removed. This is not required. The reason the inlet manifold was removed was for the sake of the photos and so that a clearer view can be achieved. It is much quicker and easier to leave the manifold in the engine bay, and the process to do so is what will be described.
Step 7 - Removing the manifolds
You can't take the head off without removing the manifolds, obviously. Well, I suppose you can but its a hopeless waste of time. Anyway, undo the 2 top bolts that secure the top of the heat shield in place, then undo the bottom 2 which are slightly smaller, and remove the heat shield from the manifold. Undo the bolts on the exhaust manifold, there are two per pipe, and 10 in all because you've already removed 2 to get the heat shield off. Once it's all undone, pull the manifold away from the head, and just pull it to one side, it'll stay there until it's ready to be put back on. Remove the exhaust manifold gasket. You should have a new one in your head gasket kit. If not, just clean it off a bit with a wire brush and it can be reused.
Now the other side. The thermostat housing is a part of the inlet manifold, so you have to undo the bolts for that too. To get to the bolts underneath the manifold you'll need a long extension bar. Once the bolts have been undone, move the manifold off the side and it will stay sitting there. This way you don't need to disconnect any wiring or hoses and then have trouble finding out where everything goes later on. As stated above, we removed the manifold for the sake of a clearer view. Remove the intake manifold gasket and the thermostat housing gasket and throw them out, they can't be reused.
Step 8 - Setting the timing mark to TDC
This is a very important step otherwise your timing could be way off when you go to start your engine, causing all sorts of problems. It's a very simple step. On the crankshaft pulley (also known as the harmonic balancer) there is a little notch carved out in the rear most ring. This is called the timing mark. On the timing case are two little arrow type things. The left one is 'IGN' and the right one is 'TDC', or Top Dead Centre. The mark on the pulley must be aligned with TDC. You will notice when you pull the head off that this has placed pistons 1 and 6 at the uppermost position. It's a good idea to do this with the spark plugs taken out as it takes away the compression which will make the pulley hard to turn. To turn the pulley simply grab one of the belts and turn it the same direction the engine turns until the notch is aligned (I forget which way, yes I know I'm hopeless, leave me alone).
Step 9 - Removing the power steering pump
The power steering pump must be removed in order to get to the timing chain tensioner, which has to be accessed in order to release the tension on the timing chain. First, you must loosen the power steering belt, which can be done by loosening the power steering idler pulley locknut. This is the larger of the two nuts. The smaller one is the adjusting nut. The way to tension the belt properly is explained later. Once this belt has been loosened, undo the 3 bolts holding on the power steering pump. There are two at the front, and one at the back. When you have unbolted it, place it to the side of the engine bay and out of the way.
Step 10 - Releasing the timing chain tension
The timing chain tension has to be released otherwise you will have a hell of a time getting the top sprocket off the camshaft, as well as making it difficult to undo the fixed timing chain damper bolt. First, you must undo the plug, which is the outer nut as shown in the picture. Once this nut has been removed, using a piece of wire with a small hook on one end, place it in the hole where the bolt was and withdraw the tensioner filter. It looks like a small bit of tube. Be careful not to lose the small o-rings on the filter. The next part requires a Ford special tool, however you can make your own. You'll need a 3mm allen key with a tube over all but the last 5mm of the shaft. Insert it through the tensioner plug hole, push and turn the tensioner cam sleeve clockwise until it locks. It should only require three quarters of a turn to lock it in the released position. To check if the chain tension has indeed been released, try lifting the chain off the top sprocket, if it comes up easily, it's released.
Step 11 - Removing the timing chain sprocket from the camshaft
In order to remove the head, the timing chain sprocket has to be removed from the camshaft. While it is not absolutely necessary, it is a good idea to remove all the rocker gear and camshaft as well because it is advised that you get the head checked out to make sure it's not warped, cracked or nearing the end of its life due to corrosion and what not. There have been instances when it wasn't the head gasket that has blown, but the head actually had a crack in it and leaked water into the oil, or even into the combustion chamber. Anyway, to remove the sprocket, you must do a few things. First, tie a cable tie through one of the holes in the sprocket and around the chain, to keep the chain from coming away and stuffing the timing. Next, place a large screwdriver through the hole on the left side to stop the engine from turning. Remove the rubber half moon from the front of the head so you have access to the bolt. Once removed, you can undo the bolt holding the sprocket to the camshaft. Take note of the two holes on the sprocket where the notches on the camshaft go into. Pull the sprocket away, and leave it to sit there. Also, undo the bolt on the front of the head and to the right which basically secures the right hand side timing chain guide. Remove the bolt.
Step 12 - Removing the rocker gear and camshaft
First, it is a good idea to place some paper or rags into the oil drainage holes on the sides of the head, so when the rocker gear is lifted off the hydraulic tappet components to fall into the holes and get lost in the bottom of the engine somewhere. Undo the bolts securing the rocker pedestals to the head. There are about 28 in all. Once these have been removed, lift off the entire rocker gear assembly. You may have to carefully pry up the pedestals to free it. Hold it at the ends as the pedestals and everything can slide off and come apart. Be careful not to lose any tappets that may come out from underneath the rocker arms. After the rocker gear has been removed, the camshaft may simply be lifted out. However, to make things easier later on, using some white out or similar, place a little mark on the end ring of the camshaft, just where the top of the head ends. This way you know exactly how to place the camshaft when you put it back in. Now it's not absolutely necessary as there are notches in the sprocket where the camshaft goes in, but it just makes it easier. Where to put the mark is shown in the picture.
Step 13 - Removing the cylinder head
This is it, this is why you're here! This is simple. Provided you get no stubborn head bolts that don't want to come out. When we were undoing the head bolts, we had one bolt which just refused to come out. It was an absolute pain in the ass. We were using your standard multisided sockets, and because the bolts are so tight, it just slipped and rounded the bolt head off. We were in trouble. But we got around it. Using a file we straightened off the edges of the bolt head, and using a six sided hexagonal impact socket, a ratchet and breaker bar, and me standing on top of the ratchet to make sure it won't come off the bolt, we got it undone. So basically, the moral of the story is to use nothing less than a quality hexagonal impact socket to remove the head bolts. This way you should have no problems with bolts being rounded. One other important thing you must know is that you are not allowed to take the head bolts out in any random order. There is a correct spiral sequence starting from the center and moving outward. The sequence is shown in the photo. Now, don't just undo the entire bolt one at a time, all you do is loosen the bolt just a little bit, maybe a quarter turn, then move onto the next bolt in the sequence. HOWEVER, start at the last number and move backwards. I created this image for the installation of the bolts, not the undoing of. So start from the last number and make your way back down to bolt one. Once the bolts are all loosened enough just take them out. The reason for this process is because the head is made of a soft alloy which is also very susceptible to warping. So by doing it this way it lessens the possibility of the head twisting or warping under the tension. Once all the bolts are out, lift off the head using a lifting tackle attached to a crossbeam in your garage. There is nowhere on the head to attach any lifting tackled or rope, so you have to temporarily reattach the brackets that were on the engine before you removed everything. There is one for the rear left and front right of the head, as shown in the pic. If you don't have any lifting tackle, use a friend and take the head off with some help. You may need to bump the head with a rubber mallet to free it from the gasket. Once it's off take the head somewhere to get it inspected, it doesn't hurt to get it reconditioned if you can afford it.
Step 14 - Stripping the gasket and cleaning the mating surface
Once the head is removed, you can pull off the old gasket if it didn't already come off with the head. You will notice that it doesn't come off cleanly, there is a whole heap of shit left there on the mating surface. This is not acceptable. The mating surface must be extremely clean. Do not use chisels or screwdrivers to scrape it off as you'll put dents and scratches in the block, making weak spots in the mating surface. It has to be perfectly clean and flat. This can be done with a grinder with a wire brush attachment. Using the wire brush grinder clean off the block until the metal is clean and gasket free. The head might need similar treatment if you for some stupid reason decide not to get it cleaned up by a professional. Although I can't say what will happen if you attack the soft alloy with the grinder.
Step 15 - Cleaning the rocker gear
This step may not be necessary if your rocker gear is relatively clean, by that I mean it hasn't got a half inch thick layer of oil burnt on to it. Most engines won't need this step if they've been looked after, but the engine we did this on needed it badly. So you can skip this step if you feel it doesn't need it.
If you do need to carry out this step, this is how you do it. This part is not pleasant, and it takes a lot of work. You have to basically scrub each component until it's clean. This means a bucket or large tub with plenty of degreaser to soak and wash the parts in. You'll need a wire brush, a smaller wire brush about the size of a toothbrush, and a normal toothbrush. Dismantle the rocker gear, noting the order in which everything goes. Don't lose the washers and spacers, they're critical. Once dismantled, either use compressed air or a screwdriver to scrape most of the crap off. Soak them in degreaser and using the wire brushes and toothbrushes clean the rest of the crap off. Once done, leave them to dry and while reassembling dunk them in clean engine oil so they are covered all over, this prevents wear when you start the engine, as it takes time for the oil to circulate and seep into everything. The last pic shows how the should look like after cleaning.
Step 16 - Installing new head gasket
This is the final half of the process. Hopefully you have already bought a head gasket set, and if so it'll look something like the image on the right. This will have all the gaskets you need. Take out the head gasket and place it on the block, ensuring it's correctly placed and not overlapping onto the cylinder or water or oil passages. You'll notice that the head gasket doesn't cover the front of the head. This is because there is a rubber gasket that goes here. Just where the head gasket ends and the rubber gasket starts, there are small notches on either side of the head. These will most likely be clogged by the old gasket. This must be cleaned out with a small screwdriver to make way for the new gasket. Once cleaned out, a bead of blue RTV silicone must be applied. It wasn't applied when we did it and it leaked oil later on. Place a bead of silicone along where the rubber gasket will sit, and a little bit over lapping onto the head gasket so it seals that corner. Place the rubber gasket on top, and apply a small bead of silicone on top of the rubber gasket as well, with the same overlap on the head gasket as before.
Step 17 - Reinstalling cylinder head
This part can be a bit tricky. Especially if you're doing this by hand. You have to lower the head onto the block, ensuring that the gasket is not moved, and the head is placed correctly. This is quite easy if you are using lifting tackle. Put all your new head bolts (you should have new head bolts, not a good idea to reuse the old stretched and stressed ones) into the head so that they can be used to guide the head into place. Once the head is lowered onto the block. As with removing the bolts, there is a sequence to tightening the bolts. The sequence is shown in the image. Using a torque wrench, tighten the bolts in sequence to 40Nm (Newton metres). Once they are all done, start the sequence again, tightening the bolts a further 90 degrees.
Step 18 - Reinstalling camshaft and rocker gear
This part is quite easy. Place the camshaft back on the head, remembering the little mark you placed on the end ring, aligning it with where the head ends. Basically the same place it was before you removed it. Place the camshaft sprocket on the end of the camshaft, ensuring the nibs on the camshaft go into the holes on the sprocket. Place a screwdriver through the sprocket, this time on the right hand side, and tighten the bolt to 50Nm. Reinstall the bolt for the chain damper and tighten it to 30Nm. Place the rocker gear back on the head as a complete assembly, the same as when you removed it. Ensure all the rocker pedestals are sitting flat on the head. Install the bolts and tighten them to 25Nm. The photo to the right demonstrates the benefits of having the bonnet off, you can play monkey in the engine bay. I thought it was fun anyway... Once it is all together again, retension the timing chain by inserting the allen key with the tube over it through the hole, and turn the cam sleeve anti clockwise. Inspect the timing chain on the sprocket to ensure it has tension on the right hand side, if not, turn the allen key anti clockwise some more. Reinstall the filter, and before you reinstall the plug, apply a bit of blue RTV silicone to ensure it does not leak oil.
Step 19 - Reinstalling the rocker cover
When you reinstall the rocker cover, ensure that both mating surfaces are extremely clean. Apply a bead of silicone the head where the gasket sits. Apply the gasket and ensure it is positioned properly. Apply another small bead of silicone to the top of the gasket and place the rocker cover on top. Reinstall the bolts and tighten the bolts to about 15Nm.
Step 20 - Reinstalling the rest
This part is basically the reverse of the removal procedure. Reinstall the power steering pump and belt, and ensure the belt is nice and tight. You should be able to apply about 10 kg of pressure the belt and it should only move about 1 cm or so. Do not overtighten it however as you'll wear out the idler pulley and power steering pump pulley bearings very quickly. To adjust the tension, place a socket over the smaller bolt, and turn it until the correct belt tension is achieved. While still holding the bolt in that position, tighten the larger locknut.
Reinstall the exhaust manifold with the gasket in place, and tighten the bolts to about 30Nm. Reinstall the inlet manifold with gaskets in place for the inlet manifold itself and also for the thermostat housing. Tighten the bolts to approximately 25Nm.
Reinstall the radiator (hopefully you got it cleaned out) and shroud, attach the hoses, tighten the clamps, and also ensure that the transmission oil cooler lines (auto transmission only) are tight, but not too tight. Reattach the air bleeder lines to the radiator and thermostat housing. Don't top up with water just yet. Reinstall the spark plugs, and also the spark plug leads, noting their correct spots on the distributor cap and spark plugs. Reinstall the throttle cable and ensure that the retaining clip is secure.
Reinstall the tennis racket, air filter and air filter lid. With the aid of an assistant, reinstall the bonnet.
Ensure the engine oil is at the correct level, top up if required. Top up the water in the water reseroir, and start the engine. Keep checking the water as it will circulate through the engine and the level will drop, so keep topping it up until it is well and truly full.
If at this point the engine hasn't blown up or made some bad noises or god knows what, you've succeeded in changing your head gasket. You have saved about $900! Congratulations!
Even if you could pm me some of the ones just needed for cam removal that would be great. Ive replaced the rocker cover gasket before but thats as far as ive gone.
