Pulling motor and refresh suggestions

Ok cool - good stuff. Thanks everyone! We will document well.

i would run all your compression tests and even a leak down before you pull. just incase. but its pretty easy for us 16v guys. and i would call up Greg Brown down in Cali and order up the cam tower gaskets he has made. much better then the stockers. and i would FOR sure do them now. replace everything else..... and they will leak if you don't. just "carma" he he he

Thanks Ducman, I will check with Greg, I was going to do the cam towers but was not aware of hand made ones! I feel I am getting a good list now....

I think if I was pulling the engine, I would go beyond just the cam cover seals and replace the head gaskets as well. All but one 16 valve that I have seen apart had major disintegration of the head gaskets due to coolant left in an inactive engine.

My $.02

I wouldn't remove the heads unless there was good reason to do so. That is just me. If you do decide to do the head gaskets, make sure you follow the right torque procedure. 15ft/lbs, then two additional 90° degree turns IIRC. Remember that it is not uncommon to pull the threads for the head studs. Repairing the threads is a major pain in the neck.

Yea, pulling the heads would be a lot of extra work, but with the engine out it is not TO BAD I guess. Still, lots of room for things to go wrong when you pull the head. While most all probably could USE new head gaskets the question is are they really going to FAIL in the time that you own the car??? Who knows. Are you feeling lucky punk?! LOL!