Cylinder Head & Gasket: Removal
- Remove fuel pump fuse. Start engine. After it stalls, crank engine for 10 seconds to rid fuel system of fuel pressure. Disconnect negative battery cable. Disconnect engine control module (ECM) ground terminal. See Fig 1. Drain engine coolant.
- Disconnect intake air temperature (IAT) sensor connector. See Fig 2. Disconnect breather tube from valve cover. Remove resonator retaining bolts and resonator. Remove air intake tube. Remove evaporative (EVAP) emission canister purge solenoid bracket bolt and reposition canister purge solenoid clear of repair area.
- Disconnect electronic ignition (EI) system ignition coil connector. See Fig 3. Disconnect oxygen sensor connector. Disconnect idle air control (IAC) valve connector. Disconnect throttle position sensor (TPS) connector. Disconnect engine coolant temperature (ECT) sensor connector.
- Disconnect coolant temperature sensor (CTS) connector. Disconnect camshaft position (CMP) sensor connector. Remove air filter housing bolts. See Fig 4. Remove air filter housing. Remove right front wheel. Remove right front wheel well splash shield.
- Install engine support fixture. Remove right engine mount bracket and bolts. Disconnect upper radiator hose at thermostat housing. Remove serpentine accessory drive belt. Remove crankshaft pulley bolts. See Fig 5. Remove crankshaft pulley. Remove front timing belt cover bolts. See Fig 6.
- Remove front timing belt cover. Remove timing belt. Disconnect breather tube at valve cover. Remove spark plug cover bolts. Remove spark plug cover. Disconnect ignition wires from spark plugs. Remove valve cover bolts.
- Remove valve cover washers. Remove valve cover and valve cover gasket. While holding intake camshaft firmly in place, remove intake camshaft gear bolt. Remove intake camshaft gear. While holding exhaust camshaft firmly in place, remove exhaust camshaft gear bolt. Remove exhaust camshaft gear.
- Remove timing belt automatic tensioner bolts. See Fig 7. Remove timing belt automatic tensioner. Remove timing belt idler pulley nuts. Remove timing belt idler pulleys. See Fig 8. Remove engine mount bolts. Remove engine mount. Remove rear timing belt cover bolts. See Fig 9. Remove rear timing belt cover.
- Remove exhaust manifold heat shield nuts and heat shield. See Fig 10. Remove auxiliary catalytic converter upper flange nuts. See Fig 11. Disconnect vacuum hoses, as needed. Disconnect fuel return line at fuel pressure regulator. Disconnect fuel feed line at fuel rail. See Fig 12. Disconnect coolant hose at rear cylinder head and ignition coil exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) bracket.
- Disconnect surge tank coolant hose at throttle body. Remove fuel rail assembly. Remove generator-to-intake manifold support bracket bolts at cylinder head coolant bypass and intake manifold. See Fig 13. Remove generator support bracket. Remove intake manifold-to-generator strap bracket bolt and loosen bolt on generator.
- Move strap clear of intake manifold. Disconnect throttle cable at throttle body and intake manifold. Loosen all of cylinder head bolts gradually and in sequence shown. See Fig 14. Remove cylinder head bolts. Remove cylinder head with intake manifold and exhaust manifold attached. Remove cylinder head gasket.NOTE: To avoid damaging vehicle, prevent any engine oil or coolant from entering cylinders when removing cylinder head.