follow up to my earlier post regarding no compressions

[heinz]

Things are going from bad to worse. First I had the short in my control panel, then the compression issue in two cylinder and now I found water in the oil.
I drained the pan a couple of times and based on a lot of comments decided to work on removing the cylinder head to check and probably replace the gaskets.
I was fortunate that the nuts and in some case the studs came out quite easily but what is the best way to remove the head? I have tried to use a chisel but no luck. I don't want to hit it too hard to cause damage to the head.
Any comment is greatly appreciated.

heinz

[Peter]

Heinz,

I read somewhere that someone had used an "old mechanics trick" to loosen a head. Crank the engine with the plugs in and use the compression to loosen it.

I did not have the nerve to try this myself - i pried it off with screw drivers tapped in gently with a hammer.

unfortunately, i discovered a hole in the #3 cylinder wall in my engine...

wondering if others can comment on the advisabilty of the technique?

Peter

[sandiegomike]

I have done this several times and used a screw driver tapped in with a hammer from each end. Once it loosened, I wiggled it up to remove it; all those bolts with a tight fit, makes it take a bit of extra time to get it off.

[Marian Claire]

heinz: I have found a hive tool to be helpful. But the big thing is to go slow and work around as much of the head as you can a little at a time.

Dan S/V Marian Claire

[Dave Neptune]

I use a stiff putty knife and tap it into the gasket. I tap it in a bit and then remove and try another spot. After a few spots it will start to break loose and then wide flat larger wedges can easily be wedged in to lift the head off.

Dave Neptune

[edwardc]

When pulling my head for the first time, all the studs remained in place. This made it extremely difficult to raise the head, as all the studs tended to bind.

One technique I found useful was to spray each stud with Kroil or PBBlaster, then thread a nut loosely on the stud to protect the threads, and tap sideways (gently!) with a hammer all around the circumference of the nut. This helped get the kroil/PBBlaster penetrant to work down in. Then try wedging the edge again. Patience is necessary. It took a LOT of tapping to get the head off the first time.

[BunnyPlanet169]

What Ed said. Patience. Time. Breathe.

My first head removed was rusted stuck on several head bolts, but especially the two long bolts around the thermostat. I used a lot of PB, over a long period of time. Thread a nut onto the bolt, and tap, tap, tap....

For tools, you need to think wedge. In terms of simple machines, lever is OK, but wedge is much better. For the truly stuck, a stiff putty knife will find the gasket, but not move the head. Screw drivers are too long, too small, too fragile, not useful.

Go to a masonry supply / hardware store, and buy a couple short, 2" wide cold chisels. Grind (if necessary) the working surfaces so that you've got a working edge just thinner than the gasket thickness.

Go to town with a hammer and your two new chisels, making sure the business end of the chisel is firmly in the gasket crack. Once it moves, you can start being careful about machined surfaces inside, but until it moves (all the way around), it's like cracking an oyster.

On the alternator side, you can go pretty deep, and you won't damage the pistons as they are never more than just about flush. On the manifold side, be a little careful as you'll find valve heads if you go too deep.

[The Garbone]

I bought some butter knives at the dollar store and tapped them into the gasket/seem. Be careful around the valves as they are pretty much the only thing that you can screw up unless you go at it with a ripper gun.

[heinz]

I bought some butter knives at the dollar store and tapped them into the gasket/seem. Be careful around the valves as they are pretty much the only thing that you can screw up unless you go at it with a ripper gun.

Thanks Gary, but what is a ripper gun?

[romantic comedy]

wedges, and shims made of wood or plastic. Use the shims or wood shingles you can get in a bunch at HD.

I use a piece off wood (2X2) and hit up at an angle at the head/block joint.
I hooked wire to spark plugs and to anything above, or a lever to pry up on these wires.

you dont want to mark or score the mating surfaces. The head can hang up on the studs, so spray that hell out of everything with WD 40 or something slippery.

[ndutton]

wedges, and shims made of wood or plastic. Use the shims or wood shingles you can get in a bunch at HD

I was thinking the same, no metal tools.

The head can hang up on the studs, so spray that hell out of everything with WD 40 or something slippery.

Removing the head on my spare engine project a couple of years ago that's exactly what happened to me, the thermostat housing studs (late model). Fortunately the head was elevated off the block enough to bring out my go-to albeit violent tool, a Sawzall. Made quick work of the offending studs, left enough of a stump to extract with vice grips and a torch.

[BunnyPlanet169]

wedges, and shims made of wood or plastic. Use the shims or wood shingles you can get in a bunch at HD.

Each head is different, but with several rusted studs (meaning the stud is rusted and essentially bonded to the hole in the head) my first head laughed at softwood wedges.

Once it was cracked loose, I fully agree, better to move it upward with stacks of softer wedges and avoid scratching the machined surfaces.