Head needs some tlc

http://www.tomei-p.co.jp/_2003web-catalogue/e107_CA.VG.FJ_gasket.html#FJ20ET

Hey Niel/Craig

Mine had studs on the cover, but that is not the biggest problem.........
The oil strainer is attached to the cover so the sump will have to be removed completely- very messy on the garage floor and putting it back on is even more of a pain in the butt!

It's a wonderful job on an engine stand though :)

I got most of my bits from Stewart Wilkins Motorsport. He's a top bloke to deal with and his prices are reasonable + he doesn't charge us Kiwis the GST!!!

Good luck Neil!!!!!!

Jon

Hi Neil

Just a thought - while the head is being checked out, get it pressure tested.
Doesn't cost much and good for peace of mind.
Cheers
Jon

Looks most likely that I have a blown head gasket in the FJ. I was wondering are there any tips or tricks that would be helpful when I pull the head? First thing I need to do is find a gasket set, Do I look for a copper head gasket? It would ease my mind if I knew where a spare head was in NZ if needed.

[url]http://www.tomei-p.co.jp/_2003web-catalogue/e107_CA.VG.FJ_gasket.html#FJ20ET

i just bought a genuine NA head gasket from nissan, it cost me $100 bucks which i thought was pretty reasonable. It didn't include the rest of the head set though. Is yours a turbo or NA motor?

Mine is a turbo, I will sort out the head set monday. am expecting to pay around $400 for a complete set.

Drain as much coolant from the block first...minimises the amout that will hit the pistons, and depending on mileage, it may not be a bad idea to do a valve job on it too, seeing as how you will have the heads off. 8)

dont forget about the 12mm head bolt behind the steel water pipe on the front of the head!
also, if you are doing the gasket with the engine in the car, be careful removing the top chain tensioner that you dont lose the piston out of it into the sump.
mark the cam gears to the top chain too, as there is no marks on the head to line the gears up with! the normal way to set the timing chain is to line the "shiny" links in the chain up with the timing marks on the gears, but once the engine has been rotated, it could take heaps and heaps of revolutions before the marks line up again, so dont bother turning it over until they do line up!(unless you are going to take off the front cover, and some fj's need the sump off to remove the front cover anyway due to studs sticking out the bottom)
i personally wouldnt bother getting the valve guides done as my old engine had done around 150000kms and showed no wear on the guides due to the direct action from the cam (ie no followers)
i was quoted about $400 nz from nissan for a turbo head gasket set a few years ago now. i ended up getting a set from 4 plus performance in Australia
$285 + freight and got it in two days. turned out to be an aftermarket set but used a genuine head gasket!?
if you want any specific info, you can give me an email and i'll give you my mobile number if you want.
[email removed]

Seems Nissan don't do a head set any more for the FJ20ET here are the prices that I have

email sent!

I just thought after i sent it... Segedins in Auckland also do some gaskets for the FJ, although i would recommend genuine for the actual head gasket.

Segedins: Dominion Rd Mt Eden
(09) 638 6439

also got some valve seals@ $6.00 ea and a cam chain @ $250 that was a shock, but I don't have time to shop around

Hi Neil
My advice is to take the motor out!!!
I mistakenly believed you could remove the front cover easily, but this is not the case as the oil pickup bolts to the cover, so you would have to drop the sump, etc, etc.
Much easier to take the motor out in the long run..........
Re chains (I think I read something about chains in the thread) it is not necessary to buy Nissan chains (scary $$$). The guts is that chains are chains and all have the same imperial pitch that has been used for yonks. Just go to an engineering place with your old chains and they just count the links and will make you two new ones on the spot!! That's what I did and I think it cost $50-60 for the pair.
Besta luck
Jon

Me again.
Sorry Neil I should have logged on here sooner............
My chain tip isn't much good now :(
Cheers
Jon

I hear what your saying Jon but I don't want to pull the motor unless I have too. The cam chain has a joining link so I could join the new to the old and pull it through. I have so far removed the exhaust, rocker cover, cam chain tensioner and most of the wireing on the inlet side. I am waiting for parts before I get stuck in.

Hi Neil

If you have done all that, then there isn't a lot of extra work to take the motor out.

I wouldn't mind betting you a jug of fine lager that you will end up with the motor out. The potential for something to screw up or a part to fall to the bottom of the sump is (IMHO) high. It's a great feeling with the timing cover off and you can see where the keyways are aligned and the timing marks are.

Good luck mate and I'd love to be the one shouting you a jug!!
Jon

I can now see the advantage of taking the motor out, but for a jug of speights there is no way its coming out. 8-) lol
Head is at the reconditioner for a resurface and valve lap, had a small leak in #4, easy to see where the problem was.

neil, i lost your email address. computer upgrade..

speights? i thought he said fine lager? he he, bloody southies....

seriously, you will need the front cover off to see the timing marks on the jack shaft. the front cover also has a "land" on it that sits underneath the chain to stop it falling away from the jackshaft gear. so in order to feed a new chain through as you suggested you will need to turn the engine over quite a few times...you dont want to lose that TDC mark do you?
something you might want to look at though,not all fj's have the studs sticking out the bottom of the front cover, so have a look underneath the sump and check if its held in with bolts or nuts.

p.s. if you do pull the engine, crack the front pulley bolt BEFORE you remove it,as i have had to do this the hard way on the floor, and they dont call it that for nothing!

and just for the record, im a mac's and monteith's man!

Fine ale=sp8s
If they are studs I could pull them and replace with a bolt. I have every receipt for this car from the day it was sold and the sale docs. This is the second time the head has been pulled and the last cam chain was 100,000km ago, its sitting on 150k now, for the price and labour content the chain was a simple and quick job 2hrs, I'll just see what happens,
I do thank you guys for your imput. you seem to be one step ahead of me so I know what I'm up against and have a plan in place for the next problem. So even if I dont pull the motor the sp8s are on me.

things are not going so well.
Head had 3 cracks in it and one of them is a problem, so its getting tig welded and a new valve seat. Made the mistake of going to Invercargill yesterday and not leaving a phone contact at the engine recon place, outcome is a day lost.

rather than repairing that head why not go for a new one? i have seen heads go on fj20.com for like $200 how much is it going to cost to have it fixed?

your right, i'd been inclined to replace rather than repair.

you could try cook motor sport, i know a guy who got one through them.

(09)292 8801. they are in Clevedon, east of Auckland.

email me if you do want to try and track one down...i can make the calls cheaper :)

good luck!

Well its done,
Head welding was only $35 and $40 for a new valve seat. It took 5+ hours to regap the valves and another 2hrs to work out how to do it at home. Not the sort of job you can take shortcuts with. Still have the old cam chain fitted but have fitted a new mazda chain tensioner, no more cold chain rattle (sounds Sweet)
The rest went back together sweetly with only 1 vacuum line to sort after starting the motor for the first time.

good stuff!

dont forget the re-torque at 1000km's...

did you do the clearances with the head on or off?
the guy who did mine did a precise job, but he did say doing the head off the car may mean that the clearance change a little once torqued down, but not that i noticed. the noisy ones were no longer noisy...

out of curiosity, where did it crack? any ideas why? fuel? detonation?

did the clearances with the head on, Book said to check when hot, Will check them again when I torque the head next weekend.
Still have a problem loosing boost but I think its a good to be like that until I re-torque the head, No point throwing too much at it at this stage.
As for the cracks, there were 3 in total but only one could have been a problem. they were all in the exhaust ports. The problem one ran from just below the spark plug all the way down through the valve seat but not quite to the valve guide. the other two ran between the exhaust valves. Could have been caused by heat, The welder said it was a very porous casting and did not pool very well, Pressure test was good so I'll keep my fingers crossed.

I have a full list of Part numbers for the nissan gaskets if you need them,