With the valve keepers and springs removed, access to the valve stem seals is gained.

The valve was removed and I then used pliers to remove the valve stem seals by first rocking the seal left and right and then tugging hard. I proceeded to remove all seals.

 

I built a stand out of 2x6's to work on the cylinder head.

I used a pneumatic drill and a piece of 3/16 vacuum hose to spin the valves for lapping. With the head upright, the valve guide was flooded with 30W oil from above. Lapping compound was then applied to the cleaned valve face, 30W oil then applied to the stem, and the valve inserted from below while on the wooden stand. Do not get lapping compound on the valve stem or guide.

The rubber hose from the drill was then connected to the valve stem. I used four 5 second bursts in the forward direction (lifted valve off seat at end of each burst), four 5 second bursts in the reverse direction, applied more compound, then two 15 second bursts in the forward direction.

After lapping, valves and head were thoroughly cleaned.

 

With the cleaned head upright on the wooden stand, I flooded the valve guide with 30W oil and inserted the valve from below.

I used Fel-Pro valve stem seals which came in the head gasket set HS 26193 PT. There are different seals for the intake and the exhaust.

The seals come with an installation tool which is a small plastic straw with one end closed. There are ones with yellow and brown stripes and ones with green and red stripes, 2 of each. The yellow and brown fit my valve stems, the green and red would not fit.

The installation tool slips over the end of the valve stem covering the keeper groove in the stem and thereby preventing seal damage during installation.

I put the valve stem seal on the bench upside down, flooded it with 30W oil, then slipped it onto the valve stem with the straw tool already in position.

I used a 13 mm deep well socket to press the seal into position and you can feel it "snap" into place. I also lightly tapped the socket tool with a rubber mallet.

 

With the valve stem seal installed, I then installed the valve spring and keepers.

The springs have a painted end and this goes up by the keepers.

I found the best way to install the keepers was to use white lithium grease on the keeper seat, place the seat on the spring and over the stem end, then install the keepers in a side by side arrangement (left to right). Then I used the valve spring compressor to slowly compress the spring while using the straight pick to carefully work the keeper into the groove and then release the compressor.

I found the left and right positioning kept them in place and I was not fighting gravity. Also prepositioning them seemed to work much better than trying to fit them in one at a time after compressing the spring.

I did each valve one at a time - seal then keepers.

 

I next proceeded to install the front cam seals.

The manual shows a special installation tool with the seals being installed with the camshaft already in place (See Post 70). I did it with the camshafts not in place. The tool has a shoulder on it to drive the seal in somewhat recessed relative to the face of the head. Inspection of the bore in the head shows that there is a chamfer to the bore at the opening. I believe the purpose of the tool's shoulder is to drive the seal past the chamfer region. Note that there is not a seat in the bore to drive the seal against.

My seals were found to be approximately flush to slightly recessed upon disassembly. I do not know if they were the original seals as the engine had prior head work. As my original seals did not show evidence of leakage, I elected to slightly recess mine. I used a fender washer which happened to fit the bore perfectly and resulted in about 1/16" recess relative to the head which was enough to pass the chamfer.

I lubricating the bore in the head and the seal with 30W engine oil. The seal was then placed into position by hand and lightly snugged into the bore. I then used a block of wood, the fender washer, and a mallet to uniformly tap the seal into the head and recessed past the chamfer.

 

Next I cleaned the camshaft bores in the heads with a lint free rag and brake clean. Even after repeated cleaning in the Dynabrute parts washer, the rags still came out soiled. I cleaned until the rags remained clean.

Similarly, I cleaned the journals and lobes on the cam until the rags were unsoiled.

The camshaft bores are the actual head itself. No replaceable bearing that I can see.

I then applied Lubriplate Assembly lube to the camshaft bores and the journals. The front camshaft seal was lubed with 30W oil. The camshaft is inserted from the rear of the head with the thrust plates removed (they contain the 0-ring seal).

With the camshaft installed, I then installed the pulley and torqued to spec. I clamped the head to the work bench using a 2x6 bored to clear the spark plug tube. For the passenger cylinder head, I put a bolt into a threaded hole to prevent rotation while torquing the bolt. Caution it bent the bolt slightly so use a sacrificial bolt if using this method.

For the drivers side head, the bolt trick would not work as the camshaft position sensor wheel obscures the voids in the pulley spokes. I used a tow strap, my work bench, and a convenient vise to strap the pulley in direction of bolt fastening to tighten the bolt. Necessity is the mother of invention.

 

Next I installed the oil pump. I purchased a DNJOP130 from Rock Auto. The new oil pump had the exact same casting details as the pump on the engine; that said the engine had a prior timing belt changed and I do not recall if the prior pump was OEM or not.

The oil pump has bolt holes for the camshaft belt hydraulic tensioner as well as the oil filter extension piece. Accordingly, I installed all of these at the same time.

The camshaft belt tensioner is by NTN and was included in the AISIN TKM03 timing belt kit I got from Rock Auto. I do not know the brand of the prior tensioner. More Information for AISIN TKM003

On my engine, the tensioner bolts were different. The upper bolt was a "fitted bolt" in that it has a larger shank near the head. Not sure if this is OEM or the result of the prior hack garage I had hired for the timing belt and head gasket.

Cleaned surfaces with rag and brake clean till no residue remained. I then used Right Stuff for the oil pump. Don't forget the O-ring and the gasket between the oil pump and the filter extension piece.

 

Are the Sport and full sized XLS 3.5 liters the exact same motor to time and rebuild? I thought there were enough differences that made it not worthy to substitute, but maybe not? I have two 2001 Montero XLS with 3.5L.

How much has your rebuild cost you in parts and supplies so far?

And also how much time so far?

I bought the two 2001 XLS models for learning curve and also for swapping parts if in a jam. Each had about 165k miles and cost me just $2,500. I've owned 6 different full sized versions since 1999. I miss my first 1990 (or was it 91) 3.0 liter roomy blue one the most I think. Gutless 0-60 but great on gas for SUV and lots of interior room for camping/trips. Roomy under the hood also.

 

Not real sure on what motors/vehicles interchange. I searched and searched and finally decided to rebuild mine as I knew what I had.

Thus far I have about $1800 in parts, less shop supplies (rags, cleaners, etc).

Time wise, god I don't know. I work on it most every weekend, probably 4-6 hours per day.

 

Next I installed the water pump.

The pump is by AISIN and was included in the timing belt kit. The removed pump had GMB stamped on it which I presume is from the prior timing belt replacement. The pump casing for the AISIN appeared identical to the GMB.

All but one of the bolts can be installed at this time. Note that there is one larger bolt hole, but this is for the accessory drive which obviously comes later.