i didn't take my bonnet off either. i just lifted the head off with bonnet on at normal height. is it easier to remove bonnet ??

Pugsley,
I can't see it being any easier, and they can be a pain to realign even when you've marked the hinges. I only tied it back to stop banging my head on the blasted thing.
Cheers,
Paul

I found it very easy to remove and replace the bonnet. It just made things easy in some parts if I wanted to jump into the engine bay.

Jebus... Backyard mechanics much.

I thought I was bad.

when you do it its the go to get a manual as it is not as easy as the old ford heads. one thing you need to be carful is there is a bolt on the front of the head that conects to the timing chain tensioner dont forget to remove it other wise you will snap it off. its really easy not to notice it. when relacing your head use plenty of blue sealant on the corners of the rubber seal that sits on your timing cover as its a pain when you have done the job and it has leak down the sides of the head. alo at the front on the timing cover near the stearing pump there are two bolts you need to put blue sealant on threads they dont tell you that one in the Haynes manual and you could end up with a leak. with your tensioner make sure you screw it back in with a pair of pointy nose pliers and plenty of blue sealant then get a realy sharp chissel and tension it right up as they can work ther way loose and make a terrible mess like two litres of oil loss in 15 mins and it goes everywhere. get your head checked out by a head recoers becacause it may be soft and be suer to ask them if they only use a mill on the face. because before my was done for the second time they use a linnisher and totally stuffed it. when buying your gaskets dont bother with repco supercheap etc. they want over 120 bucks just for the gasket set. the go is go to your head recoers they give you a top quality set with bolts or around 100 bucks. dont use a cheap set or you may find you end up with oil leaks. on the block just use a good quality scaper to remove the old gasket otherwise you may end up wearing away some of the block surface.
hope this is helpful its just a pain if you dont get it perfect the first time.
have fun

Also when you are finished if the process takes a long time, look at the water pump. it can dry out/seize and if unnoticed will cook your engine, unfortunately happened to me ( took 2 weekends to do the head gasket the 2nd time as was busy with work )

was driving temps on gauge were fine, noticed the Low coolant light coming on pulled over to check - Engine was boiling, and water dripping out of water pump = fried engine

Sorry to hear that. What model do you have. I've never heard of that happening before. Nasty mistake to learn the hard way.
Thanks for the heads up.

absaloutly for the sake of an extra 65-75 bucks you can get a water pump and steel pully. if your car has done a few Ks it easier to do it while you have all the other parts off around your pump. also definetly best to get your radiator rodded out. they have a tendency to block up. you may consider getting a new one i have seen them on Ebay for 140 including freight and its usually 120 for a rod out. use a really good coolant eg Nulon long life green it has one of the highest ratios of glycol. What my local radiator repairers use is Nulon at the rate of half Nulon and half demineralised water. Nulon coolant is often on special at super cheap or Autobarn. forget repco i find that most things are dearer there even when they do it at trade. but in saying that they can get hold of some parts that others dont sell. definitly change your thermostat their only 25 bucks and while you have drained your coolant its the go. Also with your water pump dont bash the pully on with a hammer otherwise you can damage the bearing or seal and it may start to weep. best to see if someone can press it on for you with a press. oh yeh i have seen cheap reco heads on ebay sometimes under 350 bucks. i was spewin as i paid 600 in canberra before i noticed one on Ebay.

The water pump on the EF is fairly new, and the radiator was done about a month ago.

I use that Tectalloy Gold, I think it's gold, it's expensive anyway.

apparently the tectaloy gold is good as well. if your radiator and pump have been done then it sounds like you dont have much else beside the head to do. did you do the thermostat and hoses or were they ok.

Hoses are good but might do them anyway. Thermostat probably due for a replacement. I'll get a new one and drill a 1/8 hole in it.

I'm tempted to ask the head reco guy to port and polish it while he's at it. Probably too much trouble for him though.

well if you have plenty of money to spend on an old car why not. although it may not be worth it unless you decide to put on extractors and change your injectors to a higher flow type and then you will still need to stick it on a dyno and have it tuned to get the most out of it.
regards

I have Pacemakers on there already, and I have the XR8 snorkel and K&N filter. With a mild 2.5" exhaust with a 2" section to tune the drone out of it at 80kmh.

I didn't think our cars could be dyno tuned with the stock ECU, not true?

I am getting mine dyno tuned and its is bulk stock they are also doing a exaust gas check. what you find with stock cars they are tuned on the rich side. i am getting mine tuned for max economy.
regards

i didnt think yo could tune the standard ecus unless you buy a chip from capa or similar