So...so far this weekend I have gotten everything apart, pretty much. Water pump is off, cam cover is off, cams are out, timing belt is off, tensioner and idler have been swapped...

Two Issues I have run into so far: 1) I can NOT see any marks whatsoever on the crankshaft pulley to line up with the mark on the block/water pump assembly. I can deal with that though, I'll pull the pulley off a little later and see if i can spot the marks in some good light and after i clean it up a little bit.

2) I dont know what the heck they used to tighten down the T45 on the tensioner pulley assembly, but I am having NO luck getting it off. I may just have to decide that it is fine and not replace it, unless someone has a trick to getting it out of there. It's close quarters, and its VERY hard to get torque on it without it twisting out of the socket. Why on earth did they make the socket so shallow? Bad design, I think.

if anyone has some suggestions, I'm all ears. I plan on working on this some more later tonight and tomorrow as well, so im not in any huge hurry, but i DO need to have it done by tomorrow night.

Here's some pics of the topless engine:

 

Oh, and this is the little bastige I can't seem to get off:

 

I took my torxes socket and cut it really short. The I use my Gear Wrench serpentine belt tool as a ratchet to break it loose.

 

Thanks Tech. Not gonna be getting back to it for a few days. My mom died today.

 

Sorry for your loss!
Prayers are with you!

 

Thanks.

 

Back to work, at least a little bit, tonight. Got the new water pump on. MAN that thing is a pain in the anus to get into the right area... Also managed to get the crank pulley apart...cant BELIEVE how easy the timing marks are to spot with the pulley off. Now that I know what im looking for, anyway. I still ran a stripe of white paint down the groove that lines up on the block for TDC. Oddly enough, when i slid the pulley back on, i was spot on at TDC on the crank. Good luck for me I guess. after last week, I'll take all the luck I can get.

 

Glad you are making progress. I wish I was!

 

me too, Tech. me too. On a side note: how the HELL do you get all the old gasket material off the cam cover without knicking the crap out of them?

 

I have a special tool I use for doing it.
http://www.automotivetoolsonline.com...24_p_9996.html
That is made special to take stuff like that off of aluminum.

 

okay is there a solution that doesnt cost 48 bucks?

 

Some have had good luck using a spray on gasket remover. I think permitex makes it. You spray it on and let is set a few minutes than scrape it off with a plastic scraper.

 

Use Brake cleaner and saturate it REALLY good. Let it sit for about 30 seconds and respray. It will come off REALLY EASY. The brake cleaner will dissolve it quite quickly. You will still need to do a little scraping. Just take your time.

 

Cool, thanks Tech. matt: im sure that would work, but theres no WAY i want brake cleaner anywhere inside my engine. I may see if i can get those roloc discs cheaper elsewhere.

 

Update, again: Got the roloc disc i needed for 5 bucks at local paint company. and got the head and cam cover all cleaned up.

Today I had a free day so I spent a LOT of time getting some work in on the car. Got the cam cover bolted down and got the cams in, got the cam gears bolted on, got the car timed, got the timing belt back on, and got basically everything on the transmission side of the motor back together except for the pesky PTC elbow, which I somehow lost. Somehow I also managed to lose the crankshaft nut - but I think I can find one of those. All I have to do now is put the lower crank pulley cover back on (lost those bolts somehow too), put the crank pulley for the serp belt back on, put the serpentine belt back on, rotate the motor by hand a few times, then start it.

Oh, the reason the bolts are missing is probably my buddy Jason's dog. she likes to hide bolts, nuts, washers, pliers, etc. No big deal - it's what dogs are supposed to do...

 

Hope you find them!!
I hope to have mine running tomorrow.

 

no luck on finding them. The lower crank pulley cover bolts are no big deal, as they are 7x1.00 mm bolts that i can get at the auto parts store. The crank pulley nut, however, is gonna be a problem, i think. I hope I can find one at the junk yard. Anyone have any clue what the specs on that nut are if I cant?

 

I do not have the exact specs but I do know one of the sizes used for the axle nuts will fit on the crank. This way if you can find one to use for a temporary till you find a proper one.

 

I found one that will work. it was on a V70 at the boneyard. win! Hopefully mine is running by the end of the day too, Tech!

 

The Death Star is up and running! Immediate observations with the new cams: DEFINITELY more power than I had before. The turbo spools up faster. There's a VERY nice growl at mid to high rpm.

Thanks to Tech and everyone else who offered me help, advice, and encouragement through all of this project.