I'm trying to pull my heads off to port them, but when I had them off last time I used the brush on red gasket sealer on both sides of the head gaskets. It sealed em up good, but I think it's doing too good of a job. I can't get the heads off for anything.

I've tried prying the little flange in the valley againsed under the front coolant port, I tried lightly prying in the ports themselves, I tried putting a bolt in the upper waterpump bolt hole and one in the lower DS accy. bracket bolt hole and prying between them (Grade 8 bolts, one snapped in the head)

Being that they are cast iron, I really don't want to pry to hard or hammer on them. Do any of you guys have tricks that you've used in similar situations? Would concentrated heat get them to release?

Any tips would be welcome, I'm trying to have this car done within a couple more weekends.

 

Are you sure you have all 34 head bolts out? 17 each side.... 8 short, 7 long, 2 medium, each side....

Once you've counted them and made sure they're all laying beside the motor somewhere, try compression by bumping the starter.

 

Whack em hard with one of those 1 lb Rubber mallets.

 

RB's solution usually works very well, but you might want to at least start one of the head bolts just to keep the head from dropping off completely. Don't ask...

 

2 moderators and an experienced senior member, not bad

I already tried the rubber mallet and didn't get anywhere with that one, I'll try the compression trick tomorrow morning. If that doesn't work, do you think moderate force with a 2 lb brass mallet would be to much? I really don't want to mess these up...

I let you guys know how it turns out.

Thanks again

 

Just screw a couple of spark plugs in the heads and crank it over a few revs. Your seal will most likely break. If not, you may have to pry between the end wall of the lifter valley and the exposed underside of the head.

 

Well, I figured it out. It was a combination of my stupidity, and more of my stupidity. In my rush to get them off, I forgot to remove the bottom 8 bolts on each side. I took em out, cranked the motor, and the heads made a cool little "pop" noise as the seals broke. They pulled right off after that

That trick is a great one, I'm sure it will come in handy many more times. Beats the heck out of trying to pry them loose...

Thanks much fellas