Oh please do as I have an 84 Maxim that I will rebuild the engine on this fall/winter.
Very useful thread
I second that! Looking to do a rebuild come fall.
A1 buddy im rocking the 84 as well
Ha the threat of not finishing the post and all the silent watchers come out of the woodwork.
So I left off with the head needing to be assembled. I used a deep socket (I forget size, just be sure whatever you use only contacts outside of valve stem seal) and extension to push the valve seals on:
I was expecting a reassuring 'thump' when the seals seated but I didn't get that. I even smacked the extension with a hammer. Finally I took out my caliper and measured the distance from the valve stem top to the top of the seals on all 4 to see if they were equal (at least for exhaust to exhaust, intake to intake). Doing that I found one had a little more to go so I smacked it a time or two. I would've preffered to get some feedback installing these in the form of a positive slip fit but that just didn't happen.
Installing the springs and retainers with the keepers was a giant pain in the butt:
I had the tool shown at my disposal and I even splurged on the Lisle 36200 Valve spring installer/remover:
https://www.amazon.com/Lisle-36200-Keeper-Remover-Installer/dp/B000P0ZJIS .
The Lisle tool was useless here as it just barely fits in the bore that the valve tappet fits into, and even then the head doesn't sit flat on the surface you're working on because there are 6 studs facing the cylinder for tightening down the head to the cylinder. So if you wanted to get leverage pressing on the Lisle tool you can't. If you're ambitious you could find some thick plywood and drill out holes where the studs are so the head can sit flat letting you press down on the Lisle. I had some 3/4" or 1/2" and it wasn't thick enough. I wouldn't recommend removing the studs.
Using the valve spring compressor shown (
https://www.amazon.com/Amzdeal-Comp...12616&sr=1-1&keywords=valve+spring+compressor), I could get one keeper in but the second keeper always fought me. It was a struggle trying to keep the spring straight to the bore and getting the second keeper in. I don't really have any advice here other than to set aside some time and some cuss words. I watched plenty of Youtube videos but none of the 'tricks' out there worked for me. Also having a helper would have been useful so they could wiggle the compressor around to move the spring while you try to get the second keeper in.
For point of reference, this is what the keepers look like in the retainer before being installed:
And after install:
The gap means they're designed to clamp the valve stem keeping it from rotating. If there were no gap it would mean they're designed to let the valve rotate.
After lots of frustration:
Put the head gasket in place:
The other dowel was stuck to the head so I left it there. Just make sure both are in place:
Head on and torqued:
There are a total of 6 thick washers and 2 thinner copper washers for the head nuts. Oil the threads of the nuts before install and torque all the nuts in two stages following the manual. Basically you're clamping the head to the cylinder first by doing the bottom nuts, then tightening the whole assembly to the cases with the top nuts.
Next you're supposed to install the other side chain guide which I forgot to do until after the cams were in. Just go ahead and slide it into place.