Cylinder Head Assembly: Service and Repair

Removal

1. Drain engine cooling system.

2. Disconnect battery ground cable.

3. Remove engine air cleaner (ACL) including air cleaner outlet tube.

4. Loosen drive belt tensioner. Remove drive belts.

5. If LH cylinder head is being removed perform the following:
a. Remove supercharger and charge air cooler (CAC) inlet and outlet tubes.
b. Remove oil filler cap.
c. Remove power steering pump front mounting bracket retaining bolts.
d. Remove generator (GEN) and belt idler pulley.
e. Remove power steering pump/generator bracket retaining bolts.
Leaving hoses connected, place pump/bracket assembly aside in a position to prevent fluid from leaking out.

6. If RH cylinder head is being removed perform the following:
a. Remove drive belts.
a. If equipped with A/C, remove mounting bracket retaining bolts. Leave hoses connected and position A/C compressor aside.
a. Remove positive crankcase ventilation valve (PCV valve).

7. Remove upper intake manifold.

8. Remove valve cover retaining bolts.

9. Remove fuel injection supply manifold.

10. Remove lower intake manifold as outlined.

11. Remove exhaust manifolds as outlined.

12. Loosen rocker arm seat retaining bolts enough to allow rocker arm to be lifted off the push rod and rotate to one side.

13. Remove push rods. Identify position of each push rod. Push rods should be installed in their original position during assembly.

14. Remove cylinder head retaining bolts and discard.

15. Remove cylinder heads.

16. Remove and discard old head gaskets.

Installation

NOTE: Lightly oil all bolts and stud bolt threads before installation except those specifying special sealant.

1. Clean cylinder head, intake manifold, valve cover and head gasket surfaces. If cylinder head head was removed for head gasket replacement, check flatness and sealing areas for scratches of cylinder head and cylinder block gasket surfaces.

2. Position new head gaskets onto cylinder block using cylinder head to block dowels for alignment.

3. Position cylinder heads onto cylinder block.

CAUTION: Always use new cylinder head bolts to ensure a leak-tight assembly. Torque retention with used bolts can vary, which may result in coolant or compression leakage at the cylinder head mating surface area.

NOTE: 3.8L engines use standard head bolts.

Cylinder Head Bolt Tightening Sequence:

4. Tighten in numerical sequence as follows:

a. Tighten long and short bolts to 50 N.m (37 lb-ft).

CAUTION: Do not loosen all of the bolts at the same time, only work on one bolt at a time.

b. Back-off all bolts one at a time 2-3 revolutions.
c. Tighten in numerical sequence:
- Long bolts to 15-25 N.m (11-18 lb-ft).
- Short bolts to 10-20 N.m (7-15 lb-ft).
- Rotate an additional 85-95°.
- Go to next bolt in sequence.

5. Dip each push rod end in Engine Assembly Lubricant D9AZ-19579-D (ESR-M99C80-A) or equivalent heavy engine oil.

NOTE: If original valve train components are being installed, a valve clearance check is not required. If a component has been replaced, perform a valve clearance check.

Install push rods in their original position.

6. For each valve, rotate crankshaft until valve tappet rests on the heel (base circle) of the camshaft lobe, before tightening rocker arm seat retaining bolts to 7-15 Nm (5-11 lb-ft) maximum.

8. Lubricate all rocker arms with Engine Assembly Lubricant D9AZ-19579-D (ESR-M99C80-A) or equivalent heavy engine oil.

Final-tighten the rocker arm seat bolts to 25-35 Nm (19-25 lb-ft). For final tightening, camshaft may be in any position.

9. Install exhaust manifolds as outlined.

10. Install lower intake manifold as outlined.

11. Install fuel injection supply manifold.

12. Position valve cover and new valve cover gasket on cylinder head and install retaining bolts. Note location of ignition wire routing clip stud bolts. Tighten retaining bolts to 9-12 Nm (7-9 lb-ft).

13. Install upper intake manifold.

14. Install spark plugs, if removed.

15. Connect ignition wires to the spark plugs.

16. If LH cylinder head is being installed, perform the following:
a. Install oil filler cap.
b. Install generator/power steering pump mounting bracket.
c. Install generator.
d. Install main accessory drive belt tensioner.
e. Install power steering pump.
f. Install power steering pump support bracket.

17. If RH cylinder head is being installed, perform the following:
a. Install positive crankcase ventilation valve.
b. If equipped with A/C, install A/C compressor mounting brackets and A/C compressor.

18. Install drive belt and tighten to specification.

19. Connect battery ground cable.

20. Install air cleaner outlet tube.

CAUTION: This engine has aluminum cylinder heads and requires a special corrosion inhibited coolant formulation to avoid cooling system damage. Refer to coolant specifications.

21. Fill engine cooling system with specified coolant.

22. Start engine and check for coolant, fuel and oil leaks.