The first step should be obtaining the factory manual and reviewing it to save time and know what you are doing. This is some additional info and is not meant to replace the manual.
Power wash as much of the engine area as possible.
Don't pull the hood or the intake.
Do pull the battery,air intake tube, brake calipers(hang to the inner fenders),radiator(A/C condenser comes out with it),exhaust at rear of engine.wiring harness that goes to the computer(underdash) and end that goes to elect section on drivers side fender,struts at the top,steering shaft to rack coupler(it will seperate when you raise the body),disconnect A/C hoses .
The wheels/tires stay on but with the struts not connected at the top it drops to the ground so block it up near the corners.
Tools) You'll need fuel line disconnect tool, 2 floor jacks, engine hoist to raise body to clear cradle or tall jackstands+wood or something(don't use hollow cement blocks...I had one disintegrate and it didn't get impacted, just shattered!) to give you enough lift to get body to clear cradle,Timesert kit, Metric Allen head sockets(male), special gauge to torque headbolts(Checker/Shucks/Kragen or Azone loan a tool?),1/2in drill, and a factory manual!
Go over the engine replacement section in the manual. It keeps going past the point you stop at because it's replacing the engine, you stop that section and go to pulling the heads.
1) Following the manual disconnect what is necessary to seperate the cradle, keep jackstands under the body. Block the cradle up from the floor (jackstands or wooden blocks to keep it from going to the floor), remove the 6 attaching bolts, raise the body.
Using a jack in front and a jack in the rear manuver the cradle out from under the body. We used a 4X4 under the radiator support with a tow strap wrapped around them. eehoepp made a metal bar with chains on the end and lfted from the strut towers but that means pulling off and realigning the hood
2) you now block up the cradle to work on. Remove the wiring harness as necessary, various brackets, intake manifold etc. I use cheap plastic dishpans to store the parts. That way you can keep the parts for each side/section seperate. They are easy to see and the dishpans keep the dirt and grease contained. Get about 6 (maybe at a dollar store,I got mine on sale for $1 each).
3) The timesert kit comes with simple instructions and is easy to use. There is a locating pin for the hole you are inserting, bolt down the plate and remove the locator pin. Drill out the old threads, tap the new threads(we used ATF as a cutting oil,just need a little), clean out the threads with brake clean or carb cleaner. Make sure you have ALL the oil out. Turn in the insert with just a small amount of loctite on the bottom threads. We used 3 small drops.
We used strips of rags rolled up and pushed into the coolant passages to keep chips out. We taped the timing chain openings.
We got a technique using a good shop vac to virtually eliminate chips flying. One person does the drilling, the other keeps the vacuum nozzle next to the drill and tap. This worked really well but you have to carefully work together. We also rigged a tip with a piece of plastic tubing to get to the bottom of the hole.
Here's an article with some pics. He says it was a waste...Wrong...we had 6 stripped and those were obvious,more may have been damaged. He is also doing a very new engine.
http://caddyinfo.netgetgoing.com/howto/nsrepair.htm
Power wash as much of the engine area as possible.
Don't pull the hood or the intake.
Do pull the battery,air intake tube, brake calipers(hang to the inner fenders),radiator(A/C condenser comes out with it),exhaust at rear of engine.wiring harness that goes to the computer(underdash) and end that goes to elect section on drivers side fender,struts at the top,steering shaft to rack coupler(it will seperate when you raise the body),disconnect A/C hoses .
The wheels/tires stay on but with the struts not connected at the top it drops to the ground so block it up near the corners.
Tools) You'll need fuel line disconnect tool, 2 floor jacks, engine hoist to raise body to clear cradle or tall jackstands+wood or something(don't use hollow cement blocks...I had one disintegrate and it didn't get impacted, just shattered!) to give you enough lift to get body to clear cradle,Timesert kit, Metric Allen head sockets(male), special gauge to torque headbolts(Checker/Shucks/Kragen or Azone loan a tool?),1/2in drill, and a factory manual!
Go over the engine replacement section in the manual. It keeps going past the point you stop at because it's replacing the engine, you stop that section and go to pulling the heads.
1) Following the manual disconnect what is necessary to seperate the cradle, keep jackstands under the body. Block the cradle up from the floor (jackstands or wooden blocks to keep it from going to the floor), remove the 6 attaching bolts, raise the body.
Using a jack in front and a jack in the rear manuver the cradle out from under the body. We used a 4X4 under the radiator support with a tow strap wrapped around them. eehoepp made a metal bar with chains on the end and lfted from the strut towers but that means pulling off and realigning the hood
2) you now block up the cradle to work on. Remove the wiring harness as necessary, various brackets, intake manifold etc. I use cheap plastic dishpans to store the parts. That way you can keep the parts for each side/section seperate. They are easy to see and the dishpans keep the dirt and grease contained. Get about 6 (maybe at a dollar store,I got mine on sale for $1 each).
3) The timesert kit comes with simple instructions and is easy to use. There is a locating pin for the hole you are inserting, bolt down the plate and remove the locator pin. Drill out the old threads, tap the new threads(we used ATF as a cutting oil,just need a little), clean out the threads with brake clean or carb cleaner. Make sure you have ALL the oil out. Turn in the insert with just a small amount of loctite on the bottom threads. We used 3 small drops.
We used strips of rags rolled up and pushed into the coolant passages to keep chips out. We taped the timing chain openings.
We got a technique using a good shop vac to virtually eliminate chips flying. One person does the drilling, the other keeps the vacuum nozzle next to the drill and tap. This worked really well but you have to carefully work together. We also rigged a tip with a piece of plastic tubing to get to the bottom of the hole.
Here's an article with some pics. He says it was a waste...Wrong...we had 6 stripped and those were obvious,more may have been damaged. He is also doing a very new engine.
http://caddyinfo.netgetgoing.com/howto/nsrepair.htm