Cylinder Head Assembly: Service and Repair

1. Disconnect battery ground cable.
2. Remove engine under cover, then drain coolant into suitable container.
3. Remove air cleaner assembly, then disconnect cruise control cable (if equipped) and accelerator cable and link.
4. Disconnect heater hose from rear cylinder head cover.
5. Identify, then disconnect vacuum hoses from throttle body.
6. Remove cruise control actuator (if equipped), ignition coil and coolant outlet hose.
7. Remove brake booster vacuum hose, then the PCV hose.
8. Remove EGR valve and tubes, then the cold start injector pressure hose.
9. Remove fuel system pulsation damper and pressure regulator.
10. Disconnect heater bypass hoses from auxiliary air valve.
11. Disconnect water temperature sensor connector and water temperature switch connector (if equipped), then identify and remove vacuum hoses from vacuum tubes. Remove vacuum tubes attaching bolts, then the vacuum tubes, cylinder head rear cover and wire clamp.
12. Disconnect all wires necessary for cylinder head removal, then lay wire harness aside.
13. Remove distributor, then the front exhaust pipe.
14. Remove exhaust manifold insulator, oxygen sensor and the manifold support bracket.
15. Remove exhaust manifold, then the oxygen sensor gasket.
16. Remove fuel delivery pipe and fuel injectors.
17. Remove intake manifold and intake air control valve.
18. Remove power steering drive belt and alternator drive belt.
19. Remove cylinder head center cover, then the valve covers.
20. Remove coolant outlet, coolant bypass pipe and drive belt adjusting bar and gasket.
21. Remove spark plugs, then set crankshaft pulley at TDC compression stroke. Ensure valve lifters for No. 1 cylinder are loose. If not, rotate crankshaft pulley an additional 360° to set engine at TDC compression.
22. Position suitable jack and wooden block under engine and raise slightly, then remove right side engine mount through bolt and mount.
23. Remove water pump pulley, then on models equipped with A/C, the A/C compressor idler pulley. On all models, remove No. 2 and 3 timing belt covers.
24. If timing belt is to be replaced, refer to ``Timing Belt, Replace'' for procedure. If timing belt is to be reused, proceed as follows:
a. Place alignment marks on the camshaft timing pulleys and belt.
b. Loosen idler pulley bolt, then push idler pulley as far left as possible and temporarily tighten it.
c. Remove timing belt from camshaft timing pulleys. Support timing belt so meshing of crankshaft timing pulley and timing belt does not shift.
d. Remove camshaft timing pulleys, right mounting bracket attaching bolts and mount and No. 4 timing belt cover.

Fig. 3 Measuring camshaft thrust clearance on overhead cam engine. Typical:

25. Measure camshaft thrust clearance, Fig. 3. If clearance is greater than .0118 inch, replace camshaft and/or cylinder head.

Fig. 33 Camshaft bearing cap bolt removal sequence. 4A-GE, 4A-GEC, 4A-GEL & 4A-GELC engines:

26. Loosen and remove camshaft bearing cap attaching bolts gradually in sequence shown in Fig. 33.
27. Remove camshaft bearing caps, oil seal and camshaft.

Fig. 34 Cylinder head bolt removal sequence. 4A-GE, 4A-GEC, 4A-GEL & 4A-GELC engines:

28. Loosen and remove cylinder head attaching bolts gradually in sequence shown in Fig. 34. Head warpage or cracking could result from removing cylinder head in incorrect order.
29. Reverse procedure to install. Torque cylinder head attaching bolts gradually in three steps in reverse sequence as disassembly, Fig. 33, to 44 ft. lbs. Torque bearing cap attaching bolts gradually in three steps in reverse sequence as disassembly, Fig. 34, to 9 ft. lbs.