I am anxiously waiting to hear what the machine shop has to say about the "valve job". Sorry you are going through this nightmare.

 

Well I had my father in law take it over to him, because I work 7am to 8pm this week til Friday, and wanted it there asap. My father in law (FIL from now on to keep it shorter... )took it to him, and the guy said "If I find one F'ing bent valve...I bet he bent these valves..." To give you a good idea of how the interaction went. He didn't own up to his mistake, didn't apologize, and didn't offer to refund the money for it not being done at all in the first place. My FIL is naturally more confrontational than I am, so I didn't have any problem letting him take the head to him. Long story short, the head was done in a half hour. haha! Not only did he lose me as a customer, he's going to lose the business of the dealership I work at because of it. Which, if every job he does is this shoddy, I'm glad we're not using him anymore anyways.


So now that it's done, I just need to find the time (probably be Friday) to put it back on. It makes me feel kinda good knowing that everything that I did was done right, and I'm not totally incompetent. I double checked the valves to make sure they are sealing now, and they are. So now I know that side is good too...whew!

 

Please buy the timing tool.....it's like 80$ on amazon...+/- 20$ it's worth it plus if you want to put a cam or different head on later it's awesome to have!! If you don't want to buy it PM me and I'll rent it to you.

 

Thanks Rusty, I appreciate it I'll let you know if I decide to do that. IIRC the timing tool is only good if you have the ability to pull off the crank pulley, isn't it? Or if you already know it's in time. And no one yet has said yea or nay as to whether the cam line being lined up with the back of the head is just as accurate as the special tool in getting the timing correct.

 

If you can get your hands on a puller I think orielys or autozone can rent them just find some m6 bolts that are a bit longer it will help big time! I know it's a lot of extra work but making sure the timing mark on the crank is correct will insure it's timed properly! I hope you decide to go that route cause then you can replace the tensioner(if needed) and possibly the damper(again if needed). Make sure you get a new timing cover gasket, front main seal and those two rubber gets that are in line with the oil pump. Those two grommets are crucial! When you do that take some pictures and post them pleas that way I might be able to help a bit more!

 

There is NO "timing tool" for the W11/R53--all the marks you need are on the crank gear/timing chain and cam gear ( unlike later n engines, where the cam and crank sprockets are not indexed to crank or cam---these cannot be done without special tools). The tool available is just to hold the cam in position while you tighten the cam bolt. If you have someone to help, you can torque the cam bolt if someone holds the cam sprocket in position with a long screw driver in one of the cam locating holes.

You need to remove the crank pulley and the oil pump/cover. Honestly it is faster and easier to pull the engine/trans to do this properly. Chain has 2 copper links that align with the 2 arrows on the crank sprocket. Chain has 1 copper link that lines up with the arrow on the cam sprocket....get that all correct and you are set to go. There is no other good way to set the timing..any other way and you are just guessing at the chain position on the crank!!!

If you put it back together and still having problems--check/replace/borrow someone else's 1--crank position sensor 2--cam position sensor (these two are impossible to check unless you have access to an oscilloscope) 3--replace the map sensor

 

1qwkmini: Thanks for the advice. I did the cam mark at the back of the head and #1 @ TDC, and it runs great. Did you hear that? It actually runs! Hehe...so yeah thanks to everyone for helping me sort through this mess. The moral of the story is...don't trust anyone else's work. Always double check, even if you are sure it was done. Because in my case, it wasn't. Now that the valves have been ground/cut and matched to the seats, everything is sealing fine and the motor started up the first try, and has never stalled yet...well except when I goof on the clutch (when was my last manual trans car? Oh yes, my WRX ) Love the way these exhausts bark when you are decelerating down a hill. Today was actually the first day I really got to drive the stinker with the top down. It was fun, went all over the area looking at houses, and making sure those new rings get a good seal, which is code for driving it very spiritedly at times:D Lotsa fun! Thanks again guys.

 

I hope now you can start to have fun with the car because it really is a fun car. It is not suppose to be such a pain.

 

Let the MADness begin...

Motor on!

 

Congrats!!
Time for some fun!! Enjoy!!