Suspect blown HG: check a n00b's homework?

[M10Power]

Detective work has me thinking the HG is blown on my M10 motor following a cooling system failure - I posted about this in the chit chat thread 2 wks ago. Since then I dove deep into these forums and elsewhere to educate myself. My plan of attack for tomorrow is to pull the cylinder head and have it inspected. The injectors also need to be serviced, so I will remove those as well. Plenty of great reviews in support of MEPEH's work in California; I'll go that route.

Any words of wisdom before I remove the head to verify that the gasket is blown and verify the block isn't cracked? [No, I am not doing an M20 swap at this time - love to do it but I can't right now.] I'll also be pulling the water pump to check its function, and I plan to replace hoses and belts as necessary, including the timing belt. I've watched plenty of YouTube vids on these various processes. Taking things apart I can handle alone. I think I have a fellow R3V'r available for next weekend when everything needs to back together. (Want to join? Pizza and beer on me.)

Provided the damage is limited to the HG, pump, and hoses, I'm figuring on this shopping list:
-Head bolts - with the torx heads
-H20 pump and Goetz gasket and Permatex
-coolant
-oil and oil filter
-thermostat
-hoses
-timing belt & tensioner
Should i replace the dist housing gasket too? Check oil pressure sensor for leak? Any bright ideas on how to limit the mess that the coolant's gonna make on my garage floor? Kitty litter?
I feel like i have all tools necessary save for an oil filter wrench, torque wrench and penetrating fluid, which I will pick up Monday.
Other: PO receipts indicate the radiator 2 yrs old, several fuel lines are newish and the fuel system was pressure tested in November (this ID'd the injectors as the source of that pressure leak). Water pump is 3 yrs old but I feel it must have failed. I'll newspaper-test the fan clutch but I don't think it's the culprit. Car is currently in the garage and I have fire suppression at the ready.

The fun part is disassembling. After that's done I will take the head to a shop for inspection and proper machine work. Can you recommend one in Bellingham?

[thebutterson]

-There's no timing belt on the M10, its chain driven
-Distributor housing gasket is pretty easy to replace later if you don't want to do it now
-Stock head bolts will work fine, some people reuse them on the M10 without consequence, but I've used stock replacements on mine

[M10Power]

Thanks!

Thanks on all fronts.
I've read conflicting posts on the re-use of head bolts (and clearly, chain vs belt). For the sake of my own sanity, I'll order some new bolts.

[Matt-B]

never re use head bolts, or the front main crank bolt, there are torque to yeild, and can twist a bit when you install, i had a friend re use some, and snap them off in head...

[M10Power]

Roger that

Thanks, Matt-B.

[Matt-B]

pm replied

[thebutterson]

Someone in the Puget Sound area was selling a rebuilt M10 head. If you've got the spare time/cash it might be cheaper to just pick that up if your head is damaged.

[AndrewBird]

What makes you think the head gasket is bad? What have you done to check it?

[M10Power]

Gasket is blown

Leakage at front and back of block/head were clues, as well as temp gauge irregularities, but tonight I pulled all of the spark plugs. #2 was fouled and #3 is *definitely* polluted. Began to disassemble the top of the motor but I need the tool to remove the fan. Crazy how loose the bolts were on the exhaust header. One of the studs on cyl #4 backed out entirely. What a mess.

[M10Power]

Cyl head from 5Toes?

5Toes offered me an M10 head but he doesn't have receipts for it so I'm not going to pursue that. I'd rather take the head I have to Dunn's in Bellingham and see what can be done to make it work. It's in rough shape but at least it's a known unknown, if you can call it that.

Someone in the Puget Sound area was selling a rebuilt M10 head. If you've got the spare time/cash it might be cheaper to just pick that up if your head is damaged.

[Preyupy]

The head bolts on an M10 are not torque to yield and can be reused many times, The front crank pulley is held on with a NUT not a bolt. While the head is on the work bench you might as well replace the Distributor housing gasket. Remember the fan clutch is held onto the water pump with a LEFT hand thread! It is much easier to remove the head with the intake and exhaust manifolds still attached to the head so you don't have to stand on your head to get to the lower nuts. While you have it apart have a look and see how much carbon there is on the back sides of the intake valves.