As far as recommendation from the video to install them partially deflated, I was trying to figure out the reasoning for that. The only one I could remotely come up with is the possible easing of assembly.

I would personally install lifters fully inflated (stiff). That is how I read FSM instructions.
As far as how do the lifters know how much pressure to hold. It's all in how they are designed. Oil constantly flows through them. That is how optimal pressure in them is maintained. If lifter is bad, it can't keep pressure. That you can detect by hand. But you can't provide enogh force of frequency of compresdion by hand to make them compress if lifter is good. I bet you CAN take a good lifter, stick it in the vise and compress it. Oil will leak out of it at that point

 

Some more pics to help in the discussion:

Surely engines can talk......I could have sworn I kept hearing a Homer Simpson going "DOH!!!" over and over as I was working:







Back to the distributor: I pulled the distrib. out so I could replace the oil seal at the end of the camshaft. There are no "marks" anywhere at the base to show where it lines-up, so I will take Hunter's advice and just install it after the heads are put back in, and I have all the timing marks at the front sprockets on Top Dead Center Cylinder No. 1......and then the distrib should slide down on the adjuster base and be in the right position (I hope).




The distrib. will slide down into the hole at the front of the engine:



Here is a pic. of one of the cylinder walls.....still has the original factory "cross-hatching" marks, which I believe is pretty good for a 180,000 mile Montero.



Got the driver's side Head installed, and hopefully its all "downhill" from here:

 

Here is a pic of the crankshaft with the timing belt pulley still attached. I have sprayed PB Blaster on it several times, as I need to remove it so I can replace the crank seal behind it. I cant get a steering wheel puller around the back of it, so what is the trick on removing it? I hate to put a chisel behind it and tap, as it could crack the engine case behind it.

 

Im sure everyone is busy with getting preps finished before food/gas prices skyrocket to insane levels......thanks to the good ole US overthrowing the Ukraine president in 2014 and setting up their **** govt.

But just an update on how to remove the lower crankshaft timing belt gear:

First, I tried wiggling the Woodruff Key out, while lightly tapping on the sprocket end.....and it did come out about 1/3, but could not come out any further, so I tapped it back in so it was flat with the groove. Then I used a putty knife to help reduce the chance of cracking the rear casing, and lightly tapped on a chisel while prying with a screwdriver on the other side:



Doing this, it slowly came off.
Here you can see the old seal slightly damaged/worn out on the top. So, glad I yanked it out and put a new seal in:




I used one of the Seal Puller "pain can opener" pieces, and a large weapon to pry it with, and it pulled right out:






New seal greased-up and tapped into place:




Now for the waterpump rebuild.

Hunter......Regarding those Lifters: I watched a youtube video of another guy replacing all the Lifters in his Montero, and he was not detailed about what he did. However, when he put everything back together, he had to crank and crank and crank the engine before it finally started. I think all the lifters were "deflated", and it took alot of cranking to get the oil pumped up to the lifters so the valves would begin to open properly. So, now I am thinking that you are right about having the lifters in the "pumped up" condition when assemblying them. Wish there was definitive information on this......seems to be alot of different opinions. Will let you know if I also had to "crank and crank and crank" when I try to start this Montero.

 

When I replaced all the lifters in my 6G72, all I did was soak them in oil for three days while I did other stuff to the car. Maybe I got lucky but I haven't had any issues in the last 30K so far. When I dropped them in, tiny bubbles came rushing out and continued to bleed out through the next day, I periodically shifted them all during my other work. I do know the design is slightly different between your engine and mine though, mine was in a 98 sport.

 

1960StudebakerHawk, I'm glad you were able to get the timing gear off. They can be difficult to remove on older engines. Looks like your seal was definitelyvdue for replacement.

I have to ask you again - please stop talking sh*t about Ukraine. You know less than didly squat about situation there. In 2014 Ukrainians had overthrown a Russian (Putin's) puppet Yanikovich. He ordered his security services to fire live rounds at protesters in the city. More than 100 protesters were killed, over 2000 were injured, and 300 are still missing (abducted by security services). Now Putin is trying for round 2 takeover of Ukraine, since his plans for quiet subversion did not work. He lives in an alternate reality where he is a General Secretary of the reconstituted USSR. If you cant handle a slight inconvenience of higher cost of goods while thousands innocent civilians are being carpet bombed in the f*ing middle of Europe, i feel sorry for you.
Slava Ukraine!!!

 

Naeos......Regarding the lifters: Since you had yours completely soaked with oil before installing them, do you think the Youtube video is wrong that I posted above? In it, the guy seems pretty mechanically-smart, and he showed how to clean, then fill, then "deflate" before installing them. Do you think I should loosen the camshaft on mine, pull out the lifters, and then soak them in oil again and install them without poking the tool into the hole and "deflating"?
Thanks.

 

Hunter.....Thanks, that lower crank sprocket came off with a bit of struggling.....but glad that part is over.

Regarding your Ukraine comment, I do not believe I was talking "sh*t" as you said, but the truth based on all the many sources I have followed over the years. What I said was:

"Im sure everyone is busy with getting preps finished before food/gas prices skyrocket to insane levels......thanks to the good ole US overthrowing the Ukraine president in 2014 and setting up their **** govt."

We are definitely on opposite ends of the opinion on this matter, and with time I am sure that one of us (or both of us) will modify our opinions as the truth is revealed. Whatever the case, the loss of life has been totally unnecessary, and I sure hope that Lavrov's negotiations prove fruitful in bringing an end to this situation. In the meantime, I will avoid mentioning anything regarding this matter on this website.

 

Thought I would include some updates which might help others in the future who are attempting this head-gasket repair:

First, I finally discovered how to align the Distributor when installing it back into the "hole" provided on the driver's side head. There is an extremely small "detent" on the non-moving portion of the distributor base which was covered with a small dark ring of dirty oil, and thus I could not see it until cleaning that edge.....Here is a pic:








Here you can see the "detent" mark at the end of the pointer. When you look straight up above the gear, you will see a larger "detent" beside the roll pin. When installing, these two "detents" must be alligned when dropping the distributor into the "hole".
In addition, you must be sure that Cylinder No. 1 is in Top Dead Center of the "combustion" stroke. It is worth noting that Cylinder No. 4 will also be in Top Dead Center, but No. 4 should be in the "exhaust" stroke.

In the picture below, you will see pink paint marking the correct allignment points for the left cam, right cam, and the lower crankshaft. At this configuration, both Cylinder No. 1 and Cylinder No. 4 are at TDC......but No. 1 is the only one at TDC on the Compression cycle. On these motors, it appears that the Camshaft gear set pins are both at the "11:00" position (see pink marks on both camshaft gears). I suppose the only other way to verify that No. 1 is in TDC Compression is to try to wiggle the rocker arms on No. 1.....if they do not wiggle, but have sprint tension on the valves, it should be in the compression cycle. Likewise, if you check the rockers on No. 4, one should be a bit loose. (Let the experts chime in here to correct me it this is wrong).



Better view of the "set pin" in the "11:00" position on the passenger side camshaft:



I also discovered that there is an almost invisible "access cover" on the timing gear main cover.....I put pink paint on this small round cover in the pic below: After all the belts and, fan clutch, fan, etc. is installed, in theory a mechanic can reach down and remove this pink cover, insert a 12mm wrench/socket, and then losen the timing belt tensioner bolt, then spin the crankshaft at least 2 times, and then tighten the tensioner bolt. And somehow manage to re-install the small access cover. Is it really necessary to ever come back and check the timing belt and re-adjust the tension?

 

After pulling the top off the Distributor, and the engine is still in the same position as the above pics (No. 1 at TDC Compression Stroke), the Rotor should be pointing at the No. 1 Spark Plug lead, as the flux capacitor is about ready to send a good shock to the No. 1 spark plug. If the Rotor is pointing to No. 4, then I guess we are up the creek without a paddle.






I did not take off the Rotor and inspect under that metal cover......is there anything under there that should be inspected, or lubed as was the case on the old points/condensor systems?