head gasket swap question

[ss240]

hey all,I removed all the bolts to the intake and exhaust and i took out the fuel rail and removed the valve cover...

kinda got stuck here seeing as the cam sprocket has a bolt that is like 1inch in size... so i gotta go grab a big enough socket to remove it.

My question is. I already removed the distributor, and I did not set no.1 to TDC. Is this going to run me into problems.

Also, it seems like I can get the head off without taking out the fan and rad housing.... do I NEED to take this out like the fsm says?

Also... any suggestions with stabilizing the timing chain? What reprecussions am I in for if it happens to slip?

I used a plastic garbage bag to cover the injector and spark plug ports... will this suffice?

thanks as always,ss240

[Flybert]

Here is what I can help you with.

Don't worry about the distributor. You can always set it to TDC afterwards. Just crank the engine manually til you set it to TDC on the crankshaft pulley. If you put in your distributor in and it doesn't run right, you're probably off a tooth. Time it by ear first. The engine should run smooth when the distributor is in the middle.

As for covering the injector holes with bags, that's cool. Whatever falls in there is just going to go flying out your exhaust manifold anyways. You could always cover it with some duct tape.

Just take off the rad stuff. It's easy to do and shouldn't take you more than 30min-1 hr. to do.