GP1138 Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 Since I'm going to be starting this project, I'll be bumping this thread up from time to time with pics and questions. A few to start: 1.) The plenum removal process: should I drain the coolant, or will there be a lot of spillage if I don't? 2.) Plenum removal: the FSM calls to remove the fuel lines from the rail??? Can I just remove the rail with injectors and set it aside? 3.) The plenum gaskets are dry, right? I don't need any RTV or anything? Chris White93 pretty much answered this for me, but I want a wide range of opinions. 4.) Spark plugs: the last owner had platinum plugs. I should just put plain old ACD's in, correct? 5.) I broke the vacuum line that goes into the pass. side of the front valve cover. Should I source this part from a junkyard, or should I get this new, if possible? 6.) There is NO... question 6. 7.) This is a biggie. Should I change the timing belt and retime it to stock while I'm doing all of this? I have new Fel-Pro intake gaskets to install as well, so I figured I'd do them all at once, but will I have to remove all of this again once it's time to retime and put a new timing belt on? If I do, do I reuse the valve cover gaskets? Sorry about all the questions, but I'm a 3.4 DOHC newb that wants to learn. I love this motor so far, it's just a little more intricate to work on than the 3.1L. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5speedz34 Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 1-Don't worry about draining the coolant. A decent amount will come out, just make sure to fill and bleed when your done. 2-I would remove the fuel injectors from the rail (there is like 4 7 or 8mm bolts. and leave it hanging attached to the fuel lines. I removed the fuel rail on my sisters car when I did hers and it made more problems for me in the end. 3-No gaskets are dry. 4-Umm, I've heard good things about rapid fires, never used them. If its daily I would just go with stock. If I had to pick, it would be coppers, rapidfires, or NGK's or Denso. 5-Junkyard. This is the one that wraps around the motor? The only part that goes bad on that is the little elbow at the end. I broke a similar one on my sisters car, which is slightly different since it's a '94 and it sucked. $27 bucks. 7-Never done one, they are a big deal and not for the faint of heart. Does it need it? Be prepared to spend like $250 or something in parts. Do not reuse the valve cover gaskets, once oil touches them they swell and are done. A gasket set should be $30 bucks for the intakes and $20-30 for the Valve covers. Here's my insight. Get some brakeclean, and clean the shit out of the intake valley/and LIM. Make it look clean. Check the distributor O-ring of course. Clean the TB and the IAC. Get a torque wrench. I can give you the torque specs if you need them. Does the car need the intake gaskets? Also check 60 they have a good writeup, or just call me. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 1: I never drained the coolant, never had a problem with much leaks either. 2: Just pop the injectors out, then swing the fuel rail to the side. 3: Yeah, just put the gaskets on, then rebolt on the manifolds. 4: AC Delco's or NGK's are fine. 5: Probably JY piece, or else get a piece of soft vacuum hose and put a piece in between the break, or hell, just replace the whole vacuum line with soft hose. You can get it at the parts store for dirt cheap. 6: Ok. 7: I'd keep the 13* timing myself, really opens it up, but idle's like hell. If you wanna retime it, do the 6 and 6, it'll idle better and still be better than stock timing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5speedz34 Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 BTW-Where did you post from I can't tell WTF that icon is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GutlessSupreme Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 I'm basing this solely on my 3.1 experience, but most of it should carry over. 1.) The plenum removal process: should I drain the coolant, or will there be a lot of spillage if I don't? It's probably not necessary to drain all of it, but I would definetly drain some to try and get it out of the LIM. Disconnect both hoses from the radiator, start the car and let the waterpump just dump out into a drainpan. 2.) Plenum removal: the FSM calls to remove the fuel lines from the rail??? Can I just remove the rail with injectors and set it aside? In my experience it is just easy/less frustrating to disconnect the fuel lines than to try and remove the injectors from the LIM, nevermind getting them back in. Pull the fuel pump fuse and start the car, let it run the lines dry. I don't know why you'd have to do this if you're only removing the plenum but I don't know how the DOHCs are set up in that reguard. 3.) The plenum gaskets are dry, right? I don't need any RTV or anything? Chris White93 pretty much answered this for me, but I want a wide range of opinions. I've always done mine dry. I put RTV around all the important places on the LIM gasket though. 4.) Spark plugs: the last owner had platinum plugs. I should just put plain old ACD's in, correct? might as well, won't see any gain from platinums. 5.) I broke the vacuum line that goes into the pass. side of the front valve cover. Should I source this part from a junkyard, or should I get this new, if possible? don't bother with old junkyard stuff, just get some new hose from a parts store and patch it up. 7.) This is a biggie. Should I change the timing belt and retime it to stock while I'm doing all of this? I have new Fel-Pro intake gaskets to install as well, so I figured I'd do them all at once, but will I have to remove all of this again once it's time to retime and put a new timing belt on? If I do, do I reuse the valve cover gaskets? This one's out of my league, but if the mileage is coming up to that point you might as well do the belt. don't forget the idler pulley too. I only reuse valve cover gaskets if they're relatively new, I wouldn't if they're the originals. again take all this with a grain of salt as i have no 3.4 experience Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 BTW-Where did you post from I can't tell WTF that icon is? It's a lightbulb, you can choose little pictures to add when you post a new topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1138 Posted March 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 Here's the timing belt: There was a decent amount of dust, so I might consider doing the belt soon. Chris D. (white93) has offered the usage of his timing belt tools, which I greatly appreciate, so I might take him up on that, and do the 6/6 like Slick suggested. I also plan on just doing the intake gaskets at the same time just to have them done. I'll probably daub RTV around the edges just to be safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5speedz34 Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 BTW-Where did you post from I can't tell WTF that icon is? It's a lightbulb, you can choose little pictures to add when you post a new topic. Are you sure? The thing for me about the fuel lines is. I pulled them last time because I wanted to clean the LIM, so I wanted it bare. I got the fuel disconnect tools but what happened since the tools suck, is I bent the tabs inside the fuel line. Since I had spare fuel line I pulled the tabs out, if they weren't removable I would've been fuxored. So from now on I just leave the fuel rail attached to the lines, just make sure you have room. Remember auto parts stores don't carry the oem stuff, and generally unless you crack the hard stuff will last forever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1138 Posted March 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 BTW-Where did you post from I can't tell WTF that icon is? It's a lightbulb, you can choose little pictures to add when you post a new topic. Are you sure? Yes, Chris is right. I chose it specifically. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5speedz34 Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 Nice vise grips in the sig! Well, heres the thing. My opinion on timing belt is dust is going to build up no matter what, the whole thing with people saying "OMG, the dust!" I wouldn't worry about. You do have cords out the end though. How many miles are on it. It seems to me there is no real way to see how much meet is left, unless the belt is really bad, I mean they all look the same to me. If you are going to mess with doing cam timing talk to ben. Upgrade to the 94-95 style cogs, they are alot easier to get off plus are alot easier to time with. If I where you, I would be real cautious about the timing belt. I mean I can never really tell if they look that bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 I'm with Tony, unless you see strands, theres always gonna be dust. And definate on the 94-95 cam cogs. Supposed to make timing sooooo much easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5speedz34 Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 Yeah, honestly I would replace that belt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GutlessSupreme Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 I got the fuel disconnect tools... shit, see that's what I forget. You post-'93ish guys have "quick" disconnect garbage lines. mine all have threaded fittings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5speedz34 Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 I got the fuel disconnect tools... shit, see that's what I forget. You post-'93ish guys have "quick" disconnect garbage lines. mine all have threaded fittings. Yeah they suck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White93z34 Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 well here is my insight for what it is worth. and this is just what i would do, and have done. the picture you showed of the timing belt dosen't look too bad, my old one was definatly worse. personally i would stay with the stock timing for daily driving use. i guess i am consevative in that regaurd. but for the miles i put on my cars, i just want proven performance. now the cam cogs. i would love to have the 94-95 ones myself, however to install them you have to pull the rear cam carrier to get that last cog off. and considering the belt only needs done every 60-70k i'll just put up with pulling the cogs off. i believe all the parts ran me a cool $337 after taxes, and the discount i get through my dealer. add in a set of intake gaskets (~$30) and valve cover gaskets (~$25) and it isan't a very cheep job. as for plugs, standard ACDs have never done me wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1138 Posted March 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 Nice vise grips in the sig! The hood struts are flaccid. They need some Viagra. More pics soon. I'm about to go out and take the plenum off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5speedz34 Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 You know you can replace those? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1138 Posted March 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 You know you can replace those? Yeah, I do. I just haven't picked any up yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 chris' parts were $337 or so he said, my buddy did Jessicas for like $550 out the door. You can also buy napa parts and save that way, i *think* chris used OEM stuff, am i correct? Later Jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digitaloutsider Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 Yeah. Chris used all OEM stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5speedz34 Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 chris' parts were $337 or so he said, my buddy did Jessicas for like $550 out the door. You can also buy napa parts and save that way, i *think* chris used OEM stuff, am i correct? Later Jay Yeah he does but he gets a shop discount. Did Jessica's dad get all the idlers and shit replaced? I think all the pulleys and tensioner and stuff are dealer only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1138 Posted March 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 Plenum removed, both valve covers removed, mating surfaces on the cam carriers cleaned... I don't know if that's the source of the leak or not, I noticed one area where there seemed to be oil on both sides of the gasket, but it wasn't a sure thing. I guess I'll look further down. Which side is the dist. O-ring on? Do I have to remove the rear head to get to it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99RegalGS Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 The Dist. O-ring is almost right under the throttle body. And yes, in order to completely remove the assembly from the engine you have to pull the rear head. But, many people have repaired the O-Ring leak just by lifting the assembly up and putting the new O-ring over it, and adding some RTV to assist it's sealing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5speedz34 Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 The o ring is under the LIM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 chris' parts were $337 or so he said, my buddy did Jessicas for like $550 out the door. You can also buy napa parts and save that way, i *think* chris used OEM stuff, am i correct? Later Jay Yeah he does but he gets a shop discount. Did Jessica's dad get all the idlers and shit replaced? I think all the pulleys and tensioner and stuff are dealer only. yes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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