Timing a 2.3L engine

Hey,

I am by no means a mechanic but because of an unfortunate set of warranty circumstances have been forced to inherit that title. A failed thermostat caused the engine to overheat without warning and seems to have caused the head gasket to blow out at least on the number one cylinder. (Based on the appearance of the plugs.). Anyhow, I am in the process of taking off and inspecting the head and then hopefully only replacing the head gasket and saving the 2000+ dollars for a new head if it is within tollerance. I have the timing cover, intake manifold, and cam cover off and am about to take off the timing chain tensioner. Oh yeah I took off the crankshaft pulley with the engine at top dead center. I did not use the recommended thread in plug to confirm this but the number one cylinder is indeed at top dead center, and the notches in the cam shafts at the rear of the engine are lined up with the top of the head. I'm about to make a shim (basically a straight edge to put into those slots in order to keep the cams clocked correctly. then I was going to take off the tensioner and get down to business. I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations or a more thorough guide for this process before I take the plunge.

well, unless wherever you took the head to can meet a .005 micron finish on the head which i have not found a good ship yet, and get the assembled height correct for the valves, you need a new engine my friend.

you will need specialty tools, there is no key way on the crank pully therefore you need to use a crank pin to line up TDC on cylinder 1. you can try it your way but it will move. i've tried to go without it to save a bit of time and its not worth it, as it will move.

Does mazda speed make a thicker head gasket for that engine.

Is that what you were talking about with regards to getting the assembled height correct for the valves