Jay M

I'm in the process of removing the heads on my 427. All the bolts are out, but it still seems very stuck to the block. What's the trick?

Thanks,
~Jay

cardo0

Iv'e two crow bars (one bigg'n and one not as big) in my tool box and use them all the time. :yesnod: Used one on my small block heads. Bet the big blocks could need'm too. :lol:

joeveto

You probably don't want to hear this, but when I tried to pull my heads, the passenger side never separated from the manifold. Ever. I actually cracked the manifold trying to separate it from the block. Up until this point, I was shooting for a mild rebuild. After this, I went full bore and replaced everything but the block.

To remove the heads from the block, I took a crow bar and placed it in the exhaust port. Then I pried like a mother until the head (and manifold) budged.

Good luck with it.

boredsoIstrokedit

Not sure what joeveto is saying. You didn't pull the manifold before you pulled the heads? Were you trying to pull them all together and the manifold stuck to the block???? Anyways. Try to avoid using anything with big kissing in the name. Rubber mallets or a block of wood between the head and a steel hammer sometimes will help pop them loose (remember there are dowel pins in there).


[Modified by boredsoIstrokedit, 11:58 PM 3/24/2003]

boredsoIstrokedit

A large screwdriver and the rubber mallet has worked good for me. Also you can try a cherry picker to pull up gradually and evenly on the head. Put a bolt in the accessory hole or the intake and exhaust holes. Make sure you use good bolts, and leave only enough of them out so they bend before they break giving you more problems.

Desertdawg

You need to hit them with a dead blow hammer.....(Dont use a steal one).

no_radio

Did you get all the bolts? I almost forgot the ones between the rockers on my SB over the weekend...glad I noticed before I started hitting it with a hammer or something.
I used a pry bar in the water opening, didn't want to damage the intake or exhaust port. Head came right off.
Jeff

Jay M

I removed 16 bolts. Are there some more that I may have missed?

~Jay

burners

There are only 16 bolts so you removed all of them. Like others, I place a crow bar in the water port and give it a few jerks. I wouldn't wedge anything between the head and the block. That will damage the sealing surfaces of the head and the block.

randy72

On my GTO, I always had to use a cherry picker to remove the heads

joe73vette

Yeah, those Pontiac heads are heavy :jester Joe

RCB69L36

:withstupid:

Sledge and a block of wood should do the trick

Jay M

Thanks for the advice. I went to Sears and bought the biggest crow bar they had. One head came off with out too much effort, but the other was a lot harder. I ended up laying a 2x4 in the valley and pried the head loose.

The pistons sure look ugly! I may end up pulling the block out and doing the rebuild the right way $$$. Thank God for credit cards ;)

I'd post some pictures, but I forgot my websight password :rolleyes:

74_LS-4

I was gonna say that you could always start up the engine without the head bolts.

;)

That would loosen the head!

-Jim

joeveto

What I was saying, is that after I pulled my engine, I couldn't remove my manifold. The bolts were seized within the head. I was able to separate one head from the manifold, or vice versa. But the other head remained frozen to the manifold, and I had to pull them off the engine as a unit, where they remain, to this day, in the corner of my garage.

I'm glad this did not happen to you.

:cheers: