might sound like a dumb question but im paranoid and want to double check.

Do I have the headgasket on correctly?

 

it should say up on it if its oem

 

it usually only lines up one way with the dowels. i would also clean that #4 cylinder up with some seafoam or somethin

 

your good to go...pic didnt load before...and eyah do some cleaning

 

I did all the cleaning I could...the rest simply does not want to come off.....I am at wits end with cleaning and somewhat gave up and just want to get the damn thing back together. I'll give it another shot to clean it tomorrow since I stopped working on the car.

I got another problem now.

The dowl pins that are suposed to go on the block to hold the headgasket aligned and in spot, are they supposed to be universal? like both ends can go in the block or the head? because it seems like my dowls are fubar or something cause on both dowls one end does not want to go in either the block or the head. They were on the head I believe and the machine shop removed them for me so im starting to think maybe they did something? any input on this please.

pic.

 

dowel pins supposed the be the same size both head and block side

 

Thats ? part is a valve seal. Why did you take your head apart?

 

I had a bent valve which cause a misfire in cylinders 1 and 3. My gas mileage was horrible (about 9 mpg) and I was tired of visiting the gas station every 3 days.

 

my honest opinion, if you dont know even name of the parts, why are you attempting to put this motor together bby yourself?

 

Just because I wanted to confirm the name of a tiny part just to make sure it's what it is, doesn't mean im not competent to put the engine together myself. I am just putting my cylinder head back on the block. Not like im rebuilding the whole engine myself. Also, im not trying to make anything fancy here, I just want my engine back together correctly so I can go to school and back and have something reliable.

I have the helms manual which I have gone over many many times and it's not that difficult of task. The biggest part that I am concerned about is getting the timing belt back on correctly which probably with some patience I can accomplish. I also can call my friends who have done things like this before to get guidance from.

Each step that I am not sure of what I am doing, I make sure I get information about it before going forward on it. I understand that mistakes are costly but so is paying a mechanic to do this job. I was quoted outrageous prices to have this fixed by a mechanic so it was either just let the car sit or get my hands dirty.

I like cars, I like working on cars and at some point if I don't attempt a project and just pay someone to do it I won't learn it myself. If I get to a point where I feel like I am not capable of finishing it then I will stop what I am doing and find someone who can help me out.

BTW I had a 300ZX before a Prelude. I worked on that car before and even pulled the engine and transmission out of it so it's not like this is the first time I am doing anything on a car.

Thanks for your concern tho, I appriciate all the help.