cylinder head removal

NeillB

NeillB

Junior Member
i have been trying to remove my cylinder head from my model A not having much luck it being very stubborn do not want to damage the head or block are there any tricks or good way of removing the head.
 
Remove the spark plugs. Work a short piece of 1/4" rope into one of the cylinders. Crank it over. The rope will break the seal and raise the head. Then you can lift it off.
 
Mine had badly rusted & seized studs. Bought a thin meat cleaver, sliced it into 4 wedges with a cut off tool. Drove them carefully into the head gasket filler at each corner of the head, being careful NOT to hit a valve on the R/H side.
After it raised some, doubled up the wedges at 2 diagonal corners and drove them in again. Then stacked wood shims, tapped them in, and VOILLE' it was off! Didn't EVEN scratch the head or block.
BE VERY CAREFUL with pry bars, etc & DON'T try the gorilla approach! A friend ruined a low mileage Ron Kelly engine with pry bars, took a big chunk out of the side of the block!!!!! Bill Williamson I posted some of this previously, try search.
 
Use one of these:
 

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thanks for the info I have soaked the stud with oil last night going to let them soak in and clean up around stud mateing surface and hopefully comes off. If not I think I will buy a head remover tool If anyone lives in Ct and has cylinder head pulley that I could use please sent me a PM Thanks.
 
even when using a head puller, some heads can be very stubborn. They can lift unevenly, binding against the studs or galling on years of accumulated rust in the stud bores. In that case, lift the head a bit, then push or drive it back down, and lift again. Use lots of penetrating oil on the studs. Keep working it up and down and it will eventually move farther and more easily each time. If using wedges as an assist, drive them between the gasket to minimize risk of damage to the deck and head. Use caution around the valve area and along the edge of the block, as cast iron is brittle.
 
I have removed several heads by just loosening the nuts and turning the car over, not starting it. The compression ususally does the trick if not the rope trick also works well.
 
When going back on: Surface the head, cleanliness is next to Godliness!! Take your time & be picky, run a drill bit through stud holes in the head so's you don't scrape crap out to fall on your gasket, clean the studs WELL, hose out the head waterjackets so rust flakes don't fall out, re-torque several times.
Don't mean to be repeticious, but "repeticion" is the Mother of learnin' & the Father of boredom. Must be some "wisdom" in that statement, but I don't know for sure what it is! Bill W.
 
Back in the good old days of rude and crude i just took off the head stud nuts and used an old screw driver to gently tap into the gasket material between the head and the block. After working around the perimeter a time or two it began to separate to the point where I could work it up and off the studs.
Of course I might think twice about that method now that I'm older and wiser... definitely older anyway!
 
I know that every instance is different, but if a head has been on there for 20 - 30 years or more, maybe sitting with water or whatever, you practically have to destroy something to get the head off. There is no "gentle tapping" in situations like this.
 
I have used a long prybar inserted through an eyebolt in #3 cyl. spark plug hole. Place a head nut just flush with the head stud on driver side rear head stud. Place a rag over the head nut for further protection. Begin working the head upwards with the prybar or long crowbar inserted through the eyebolt and levereged atop the head nut and rag. If that does not break it loose, you can repeat the process using other head studs.
 
I like the idea of taking the nuts off and turning the engine over . Be the first thing I would try .
 
J franklin , is right, this method works PERFECTLY . I made this suggestion about 3 years ago here on the BBS but I was bashed with silly remarks . ( me working with Model A's over 40 years but always eager to learn something new.
 
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