Top overhaul (pt. I)

this is probably my most ambitious DIY by far... top overhaul done at home... i'll break it down part by part as it took me ridiculously 1-2 month time to complete... i could not progress much daily as i only able to work on the car at night after work and during the weekends... with limited appropriate tools and knowledge, i dived into it... well, u'll never learn until u get your hands dirty right??...

first stage... stripping... remove all cables, wires, belts, pulleys, cam cover, rocker arm, camshaft, distributor, intake manifold, exhaust manifold, etc... it may sound easy but true to say that it will never will when u get your hands on it... in fact there are some steps and procedure to follow, in which i didn't... among all, is u must remove the water pipe before loosening the head studs... if the water is not drained out from the water jacket, it will get into the combustion chamber when u loosen the cylinder head...



u will also need good quality tools to remove the head stud... u don't want your tools to flex and break apart when removing the head studs... i damaged most of the head studs because i was stupid enough to use the wrong box socket... great relief with the help of expert in hand, i manage to get all damaged head stud out safely... it is important to have all damaged head studs replaced with original ones... original studs are built in a way if it snaps during tightening, it snaps at the center of the rod... in this way u will still able to get the cylinder head out and the broken studs out...

after the cylinder head is removed, it is washed thoroughly with petrol and chemical... all carbon cake "baked" over the years were scrubbed off... i took my time to clean the external of the block and gearbox from oil stain and dirt with strong chemical... it is important that after cleaning the piston and combustion chamber, u coat it with a layer of WD40 to prevent the sleeve from rusting away... spray generously all around the combustion chamber when the piston is at bottom dead center... rotate the crank and do the same for the rest of the chambers...



to be continued...