# pulling the head on my 2.2 I5 87, advice, tips needed!



## tinworm (Oct 2, 2011)

I've got 5 broken off exhaust studs, and especially for the 2 on cylinder 5, I doubt ill be able to do this safely in the vehicle.

I've already dissassembled most of the fuel injection system to get the manifolds off, so I figure its not an endliess amount of extra work to get the whole head out of there.

Any tips on procedure, and what I should replace while I do this job?


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## jlw (Sep 18, 2010)

well the first hurdle is getting those studs out, which depending if they're broken off flush or not is going to be a challenge.. If you cant get a hold of them with anything (ie vise grips..) ideally you mount the whole head in a drill press or mill to drill them out and re tap them if necessary. The key is drilling (and staying) perfectly centered & inline on the broken stud. once you get a smaller pilot hole nicely centered, and some lefthand drill bits May be hlepfull.. it will be a challenge regardless..

Things to do while the head is off, assuming you've conquered the exhaust stud successfully, would be: obviously the head & exh manifold gaskets, injector o rings, timing belt water pump & idler if it hasnt been done recently, cam seals if necessary, rubber valve cover gasket so you dont have to replace it everytime that is off, and... im sure im forgetting other things hopefully others will mention..

Good luck,
Jason


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## tinworm (Oct 2, 2011)

jlw said:


> well the first hurdle is getting those studs out, which depending if they're broken off flush or not is going to be a challenge.. If you cant get a hold of them with anything (ie vise grips..) ideally you mount the whole head in a drill press or mill to drill them out and re tap them if necessary. The key is drilling (and staying) perfectly centered & inline on the broken stud. once you get a smaller pilot hole nicely centered, and some lefthand drill bits May be hlepfull.. it will be a challenge regardless..
> 
> Things to do while the head is off, assuming you've conquered the exhaust stud successfully, would be: obviously the head & exh manifold gaskets, injector o rings, timing belt water pump & idler if it hasnt been done recently, cam seals if necessary, rubber valve cover gasket so you dont have to replace it everytime that is off, and... im sure im forgetting other things hopefully others will mention..
> 
> ...


The reason I'm pulling the head out is to be able to get a square angle for drilling, hav e to deal with the studs after removal. The 5 studs are broken off about 1/8th into the head. The exhaust and intake manifolds are off, so will not interfere. Any secret to the distributor? I am concerned about how it is mounted through the head, is it cam driven? Can I pull it with the head?

Honestly, I'm potentially planning to have a machine shop deal with the studs for me, will be much safer on a mill where everything is the same angle

Thanks for your input! Pics later of this mess


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## jlw (Sep 18, 2010)

yeah the distributor is cam driven, there isnt much too it and should wiggle out after removing the the 13mm nut. But the head could be pulled with it still attached if you wanted


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## tinworm (Oct 2, 2011)

jlw said:


> yeah the distributor is cam driven, there isnt much too it and should wiggle out after removing the the 13mm nut. But the head could be pulled with it still attached if you wanted


Is it keyed in there a certain way where it can only go back right? or if I remove it, does it have to be properly timed with the cam?


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## tinworm (Oct 2, 2011)

some pics-

here are the broken off studs-



















couple questions- 

1- how do I remove the fuel lines from the injectors. The fittings are VERY corroded on mine, so I am considering removing from the constant injection assembly instead, and leaving the lines installed









2- how do I get to the distributor bolt, see how it is hidden by this steel piece above it?










3- MOST IMPORTANT- How do I lock the cam, so I can remove the cam pulley and get the backing plate off to remove the head-


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## jlw (Sep 18, 2010)

1) the injectors pull right out the head, there is no need to remove the lines from them. there is a special vw tool for pulling them thats only about $8, its just a bent piece of steel with a slot in it.. but im sure you can yank them out carefully with something else..

2) dont recognize that piece of metal covering the distrib nut, my engines dont have it.. looks like its riveted, drill it out if you have to i guess..

3) there is a special tool for that too which i never used, i typically use a strap wrench, or get creative otherwise

you should totally buy a Bentley manual for quantums, would be very helpful


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## tinworm (Oct 2, 2011)

I have a bentley manual coming, thanks! will be useful when putting this thing back together.

well, its out. taking it to a machine shop tomorrow before work, anything else I should have done while im there? maybe ported? 










To remove the cam pulley, I got creative as suggested, and chained the pulley to the opposite wall, then was able to undo the bolt. Once that was out, I removed the higher of the two timing belt cover studs (which also broke off ) so I could pull the backing shield forward just far enough to clear the head itself, the backing shield does not need to totally come out. 

2nd, I was having the worst time with the injector lines, and ultimately used a slide hammer with a seal puller to whack the underside of the line nut. Came out pretty easy after that. 

Finally, I left the distributor on, and did have to remove the vacuum pump from the head, and the vacuum pump cam driven piston to get to one of the head bolts. after that, it came right out. 

Cylinders look pretty good

here are some pics-

ready to remove-










short block-










valves- check out cyl # 5 on right side of pic, notice how the spark plug is way higher than the others, and is a different type? Apart from hard starts in the cold, the engine seemed to run just fine, I wonder if this had any effect on combustion in that chamber


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## tinworm (Oct 2, 2011)

took the head to the machine shop. Machinist figures that weird riveted steel cover on the distributor is a factory anti tamper feature to prevent timing alterations. 

Makes sense, im just going to leave it on there for now


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## gti_matt (Oct 9, 1999)

I'm a noobie to this sort of thing but I stumbled across this thread. I have a '93 Eurovan with the 2.5L 5-cyl (I assume a derivative of this engine) and a broken timing belt and believed to be some bent valves. How many hours did you spend to the point of getting the head out? Just looking to gauge the time involved.


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## tinworm (Oct 2, 2011)

gti_matt said:


> I'm a noobie to this sort of thing but I stumbled across this thread. I have a '93 Eurovan with the 2.5L 5-cyl (I assume a derivative of this engine) and a broken timing belt and believed to be some bent valves. How many hours did you spend to the point of getting the head out? Just looking to gauge the time involved.


maybe 3-4 solid hours to actually get the head out plus all the other bits EXCEPT the exhaust manifold. It was actually more complex to undo the constant injection system/airbox without destroying anything than to pull out the head, but constant injection dis-assembly and head removal together were fairly straightforward and in that 3-4 hour limit. Not sure how the eurovan is setup, id probably add a few hours to that estimate for a van. 

Undoing all the corroded hardware on the exhaust and struggling with that exhaust manifold took easily a day and a half. If all your hardware is corroded, that will add some serious time. This specific car, two days from running to head at the machine shop. I had to cut with a dremel numerous rusted hose clamps and fastners

Im looking forward to getting my manual in the mail so I can know what all I destroyed beyond repair.


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## gti_matt (Oct 9, 1999)

tinworm said:


> maybe 3-4 solid hours to actually get the head out plus all the other bits EXCEPT the exhaust manifold. It was actually more complex to undo the constant injection system/airbox without destroying anything than to pull out the head, but constant injection dis-assembly and head removal together were fairly straightforward and in that 3-4 hour limit. Not sure how the eurovan is setup, id probably add a few hours to that estimate for a van.
> 
> Undoing all the corroded hardware on the exhaust and struggling with that exhaust manifold took easily a day and a half. If all your hardware is corroded, that will add some serious time. This specific car, two days from running to head at the machine shop. I had to cut with a dremel numerous rusted hose clamps and fastners
> 
> Im looking forward to getting my manual in the mail so I can know what all I destroyed beyond repair.


OK thanks.

The Eurovan is Digifant with the injectors on a common rail so I am thinking of pulling the fuel pump fuse, running the motor until the fuel depressurizes as much as it can) and then just pulling the supply and return hoses off of the rail and leaving the rail on the head.

Space is tighter and the Eurovan is a transverse setup so I may need to remove the front end bits (radiator, headlamps, etc.). My exhaust manifold was replaced 2.5 years ago so I'm hoping the bits there are not re-corroded to the point of insane difficulty.


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## tinworm (Oct 2, 2011)

head is back! waiting on the manual still, expected on the 11th. He had to helicoil 2 of the 5 broken studs, and all the others he was able to extract and clean the threads. 

Tried to order a mountain of parts from Partsgeek for this, but im starting to regret that, like 200 bucks of gaskets and replacement parts, and put in the credit info, and no response or confirmation email. Now I have to see if it went through, or if I have to reorder. these people don't pick up the dam phone. 

They have EVERYTHING for this car listed, its amazing, and with accurate parts photos, so hopefully it turns out to be a good place to have ordered from

*EDIT- *Reached the Geek people, mistake was on my end, put in a bad email address. Most of the stuff has already shipped! Not bad, look forward to getting this stuff. Couple items were out of stock, injector O rings, and head bolts, so Ill go through another supplier.


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## tinworm (Oct 2, 2011)

do you think I can reuse these head bolts? it says in my up to 1986 shop manual (which does not cover the 5cyl in any depth) that the head bolts can be reused. Can I do it for an 87?


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