If you loosen the motor mounts it may help in giving you clearance to the back bolts. Did you ever determine what caused the overheating to begin with?

 

What caused the gasket to go? There-in was my biggest problem. Car had 185,000+ miles. I needed to fix what was wrong. I'm the general back yard mechanic. No machines, no high tech equipment. I realized it would cost to much to replace the gasket without fixing the problem. Bought a new engine. Problem fixed. I now have a new used car. Thanks for all your advice. One last thing. On the old engine, I was getting intermittent P0135/6 engine codes. Now, they are constant. Would it be wise to just eliminate them?

 

Can the gasket be slipped out without removing the heads or loosing the timing chain on the 4.6?

 

Without removing the heads, no. Without losing the chains, yes. I do believe that the timing cover has to come off for this procedure, not 100% sure.

The reason the head has to come off, is, because there are two rather large dowel pins that hold the head in place without the bolts in; one in front, and one in back.

You should really invest in at least a haynes/chiltons repair manual from your local auto parts store. They inform you how to change a head gasket with the motor in the car.

(Also, don't know if you were directed to this thread by another member but, you shouldn't make a habit of bringing up year old threads.