ITA 240sx head gasket and motor mounts

[RussJones]

Im helping new racer with his nissan 240sx ITA car. The car needs a new head gasket and motor mounts. We plan on getting few guys together on a sunday and getting the job done. Can someone who is familiar with the car give any pointers to both of these jobs, and head bolt torque and seq. Are there any tricks to make the jobs go smoother would help too. Thanks in advance Russ J.

[Andy Bettencourt]

Contact the guys at BBRacing. They have done TONS of these... :)

bbracingusa.com

[Joe Harlan]

Im helping new racer with his nissan 240sx ITA car. The car needs a new head gasket and motor mounts. We plan on getting few guys together on a sunday and getting the job done. Can someone who is familiar with the car give any pointers to both of these jobs, and head bolt torque and seq. Are there any tricks to make the jobs go smoother would help too. Thanks in advance Russ J.
[/b]
Pointers before you start.

Factory Manual!!!!!!!!! you can even find a copy on line with a search.
Second is if it needs a headgasket it needs head bolts call the dealer and order them today. Have good straight edge and make sure all surfaces are flat. look for a lowspot between 2/3 combustion chambers. Also check the cam saddles for flat while you have it apart. These are really not that hard to do but require taking your time to do it right.

[its66]

Everything Joe said, plus:

Be careful with the bolts going through the cam saddles. It is easy to strip the threads in the head if you aren't careful.

If you are doing this in the car, and don't plan to disassemble the entire front of the engine, you will need to make some sort of wedge to keep the chain tensioner in place. This will save you countless hours of frustration. I cant remember if there is a diagram in the shop manual or not. It might just say special service tool.

recommendation...While it is apart, I would change the exhaust springs/locks/retainers. The exhaust side sees a lot of abuse under race conditions.

[RussJones]

ok he has the shop maunual, my concern was with the chain tensioner, is it fairly obvious how to lock it in place once the valve cover is off?

[its66]

Make the wedge out of some thin plywood or something similar. About 4inches long and 1 3/4 inch high. I drilled it and made a loop out of safety wire to help secure it in case it should pop out. This safety wire also serves as a handle to make removal easier.

You will just wedge this thing down between the two sides of the chain, directly under the cam gear. (before removing the cam gear) Be sure you are at TDC before starting this. The tensioner is on the passenger side of the car. When you wedge the chain back, it will push back the chain ramp, and push the plunger back into the tensioner.