Is it necessary to remove the head in order to get the exhaust cam out? There's a piece of structure that holds the seal in place near the upper sprocket of the timing belt. (See photo.) I don't see any way that it can be removed even after the cam caps are removed. Without removing that structure, the exhaust cam would have to be slid out sideways to be removed. It won't slide out sideways because there's not enough room in the engine area.

I had lifter problems at 81k, did an engine flush, but now the problem is back at 100k. When I first crank the engine there is a sound coming from the engine. It sounds like a quick high pressure escape of air from one of the cylinders. I'm attributing that to a stuck hla since I also have lifter noise again immediately after start up. Once the engine has been started the problem doesn't repeat until the engine is cool again.

Either way, these lifters are getting changed out. They're $240 and I'm tired of fooling with them and trying to revive them. The Accent gets its fair share of write ups for faulty lifters so I think mine are faulty as well.

By the way, engine sludge was only minimal when I did my first engine flush. It's still minimal. I drained some oil and added a cup and a half of Marvel M Oil this time around. That's helped slightly.

 

A picture paints a thousand words:



Looks like that's just the oil seal and not part of the head itself.

 

More info from HMAservice.com:

1.Disconnect the terminals(A) from battery and remove the battery.

2.Remove the engine cover.
3.Remove the under cover(A).

4.Drain the engine coolant.
Remove the radiator cap to speed draining.
5.Remove the intake air hose and air cleaner assembly.
(1)Disconnect the breather hose(B) from intake air hose(D).
(2)Remove the intake air hose(D) and air cleaner upper cover(C).

(3)Disconnect the ECM connector(A) and ECM connector(B) (A/T only).
(4)Remove the air cleaner element and air cleaner lower cover(C).

6.Remove the battery tray(A).

7.Remove the upper radiator hose(A) and lower radiator hose(B).

8.Remove the heater hoses(A).
9.Remove the fuel hose(B).

10.Remove the accelerator cable(A) by loosening the lock-nut, then slip the cable end out of the throttle linkage.
11.Disconnect the TPS (Throttle Position Sensor) connector(B) and the MAP sensor connector(C).

12.Remove the engine wire harness connectors and wire harness clamps from cylinder head and the intake manifold.
(1)Disconnect the rear oxygen sensor connector (A).
(2)Disconnect the air conditioner compressor switch connector (B).
(3)Disconnect the knock sensor connector (C).
(4)Disconnect the injector connectors(No.3,4) (D).
(5)Disconnect the injector connectors(No.1,2) (E)

(6)Remove the wire harness bracket(A).
(7)Disconnect the ISA (Idle Speed Actuator) connector (B).

(8)Disconnect the front oxygen sensor connector(A).
(9)Disconnect the CKP(Crankshaft Position Sensor) connector (B).
(10)Disconnect the OCV(Oil Control Valve) connector (C).

(11)Disconnect the ignition coil connector(A).
(12)Disconnect the ignition coil condenser connector(B).
(13)Disconnect the CMP(Camshaft Position Sensor) connector(C).
(14)Disconnect the ground cable(D).
(15)Remove the wire harness bracket(E).

13.Disconnect the hose(A) of the PCSV (Purge Control Solenoid Valve) side.
14.Remove the brake booster vacuum hose(B).

15.Remove the power steering pump and fix the pump to vehicle with a wire. (Refer to Power steering pump in ST Group).
16.Remove the ignition coil. (Refer to Ignition system in EE Group).
17.Remove the exhaust manifold.
18.Remove the intake manifold.
19.Remove the timing belt.
20.Remove the cylinder head cover.
21.Remove the camshaft sprocket.
22.Remove the timing chain auto tensioner(A).

23.Remove the camshaft bearing caps(A) and camshafts (B).

24.Remove the OCV(Oil Control Valve)(A).

25.Remove the OCV(Oil Control Valve) filter(A).

 

Here's how it sits as of last night. FedEx is delivering the new HLA's on Tuesday.

 

How did this work out? Im curious.

 

It worked out fine. Everything went back together real smooth and it fixed both problems I was having. The first was the weird compression sound that I would get while starting (see original post). That was the most obvious problem. But a second problem had developed where the engine would occasionally miss at highway speed, almost like it was a spark plug wire shorting out. It wasn't. It was that same valve seizing up from time to time causing an upset in the compression.

Needless to say from the photos, the head didn't have to come off. One of the end covers that holds down the exhaust cam was machined so well that even after cleaning it I couldn't see the seam between the two pieces of metal. I thought it was all one piece and part of the head. It was really deceiving. When I unbolted the cover it separated from the head as anyone would expect.

The car is back on the road and doing well for the moment.