Story time, so I get to pick n pull (later than I wanted of course) and get to work taking everything off the car. Car was banged up pretty bad so I was also navigating around bent metal in order to not cut myself. Eventually I just stood on top of the crash bar and bumper supports and s*** to get them out of the way. It's crazy how much room is there to work with when there*s no radiator or condenser lol I'm surprised the poor car ran tbh. Only a few bolts/nuts holding the intake on, the oil pan was leaking like it had no rtv around it, exhaust manifold and valve cover had a few bolts barely finger tight.
I started by taking off the fuel rail, got one line off and got fuel everywhere, chopped off a line coming from the firewall, turns out it was still under pressure and fuel squirted everywhere and even on me a little, and any connectors I could find and hoses eventually I hit it with a **** it and started cutting lines. I wanted to simulate it as if I was doing it to my car but eventually just wanted the head. Next went to the coolant rail, exhaust manifold, then the intake manifold. I went under the car to get the intake manifold brace off, as I couldn't feel them from the top. Took off the valve cover and chopped the timing belt off, and then went to work removing the cams. Most of the cam caps came off without a problem but a few needed some love taps from a mallet. Got the cams out and went to work with the head bolts. Sometimes I like to test out my DeWalt impact but that had nowhere near the amount of force needed to break them. Pulled out the half inch breaker bar and got all the head bolts out. Tried to fit the socket into the intake side and it wouldn*t fit. Luckily, a tool kit my fianc*s dad got me years ago that I never used cause it was all awkward bits had a 3/8 10mm hex head and fit perfectly! I wasn't gonna take it, but something said grab it at the last moment. After that I went to work on the power steering pump, chopped the line and power steering fluid went everywhere. I honestly thought these cars would be bone dry, I was wrong. After ******* around with a bunch of bolts, I got the PS pump off and the head wiggled free. Now it was hung up on the bracket cause I disconnected it at the bottom, after a few minutes of wiggling, I couldn*t get it off, so I just unbolted the top of the manifold from the bottom. Still a few lines I can*t see connected, so I (without thinking and after I told myself multiple times not to and pcb told me not to) flipped the head over to see what was loose and started hearing clacking...the HLAs fell out. Chopped the last few lines and then the head was free! The engine looked to be in good condition, despite the numerous oil leaks. So, I get the HLAs in and throw the cams back in and start packing up, although I wanted to come back to the car to grab some more stuff. I couldn't find the wheelbarrow, so I ended up with about 45 pounds of tools in my left hand (2 bags) and the head under my right arm. The looks I got were funny to say the least lol I weighed the head when I got home and it was around 70 pounds and a quarter of a mile walk, so I'm feeling it now. Paid, went back and 323 said get the cross bars from the roof rack, broke as soon as I touched them, so I grabbed a passenger motor mount cause the sedan is shot and the tail lights cause I want to tint a pair to see how they look. Got those and 323 wanted a set of mazda6 brakes for one of his cars, so I went exploring and found a MS6, a few 3s and the 6. Grabbed the brakes (in 10 minutes this time) and a wiper stalk cause the sedan currently has one with rear wiper controls, which bothers me. So, I pay again and leave, get home shower and start cleaning up (I saved every bolt I grabbed including the head bolts. You never know what you're gonna need) to realize I left some s*** there. Go back and grab my stuff and the cupholders cause the sedan has the shallow ones and if you take a turn not holding your drink it spills (ask me how I know). All in all, about 2 hours to pull the head and another 2 exploring the yard grabbing other s*** and talking to people. Not a bad day!
Another one down, sad day
Fuel rail out
Oil leaks fo days and exhaust manifold off
Trying to get a pic so I can reference where they are from on top of the car
Valve cover off, cams out, tb cut
Doing exactly what not to do
Before I put all the parts back on the car
Cracked motor mount that'll be filled
Crumbling roof rails