Cylinder Head Assembly: Service and Repair

1. Disconnect battery ground cable, then isolate cable end with electrical tape or equivalent.
2. Mark position of hood to hood hinges for alignment during installation, then remove hood.
3. Drain engine coolant from radiator, then remove accelerator cable from throttle valve and common chamber.
4. Mark position of all vacuum lines for installation, then disconnect vacuum lines from throttle valve, evaporation canister, MAP sensor and vacuum booster.
5. Disconnect oxygen sensor connector, then ignition coil high tension wire from ignition coil.
6. Disconnect ground cable connector from thermostat housing flange.
7. Disconnect coolant temperature sensor electrical connector, then two engine harness connectors near the lefthand strut tower.
8. Disconnect heater hoses, then upper radiator hose from radiator.
9. Disconnect throttle valve heating hose from coolant bypass pipe.
10. Disconnect fuel rail supply and return hoses from fuel rail. Relieve fuel system pressure. When removing fuel lines, cover line to be removed with a shop towel to prevent personal injury due to high fuel system pressures that may still be present.
11. Raise and support vehicle, then remove right side undercover.
12. Disconnect exhaust pipe from exhaust manifold.
13. Using an engine support bar or equivalent, support engine assembly.
14. Remove right side engine mount, then lower vehicle.
15. Remove coolant recovery tank with bracket.
16. Remove power steering pump drive belt, then serpentine drive belt.
17. Remove engine mounting bridge bracket from engine assembly. The mounting bridge bracket is mounted to the engine above crankshaft pulley.
18. Remove cylinder head center cover, then disconnect spark plug wires from spark plugs and ignition coil.
19. Remove upper timing belt cover, then power steering pump bracket.
20. Remove cylinder head main cover, then round plastic belt tension adjusting hole cover.

Fig. 24 Engine mounting bridge bracket location:

Fig. 25 Cylinder head bolt removal sequence:

21. Align camshaft pulley timing marks as shown in Fig. 24.
22. Loosen timing belt tension pulley lock bolt.
23. Using a hex wrench, loosen timing belt by turning tension pulley clockwise.
24. Remove timing belt from camshaft pulleys.
25. Remove cylinder head bolts in the sequence shown in Fig. 25.
26. Lift cylinder head assembly, then remove coolant hose from oil cooler.
27. Remove cylinder head.

Fig. 26 Cylinder head bolt tightening sequence:

Fig. 27 Cylinder head cover sealant application:

28. Reverse procedure to install, noting the following:
a. Apply a thin coat of engine oil to the cylinder head bolt thread area and seating face of the bolt head.
b. Tighten the cylinder head bolts in two steps; torque head bolts to 29 ft. lbs. in sequence shown in Fig. 26, then torque to 58 ft. lbs.
c. Apply a 0.08-0.12 inch width bead of RTV sealant or equivalent to the arched area of the No. 1 and No. 5 camshaft bearing caps as shown in Fig. 27.
d. Torque the cylinder head cover retaining bolts in the sequence shown in Fig. 28 to 53 inch lbs.