Question I am having trouble removing the heads I have tried pb blaster and several other things any suggestions on what to try.
sincerly,
John Houze
AnswerI'm not sure whether you are asking about getting the head nuts loose, or if you have them off and are trying to separate the head from the block at the head gasket line.
I'll tell you what I know about both of these things, in hopes some of what I say will be some help:
PB-Blaster is the best stuff I know of to soak in around the studs and nuts to dissolve the rust so you can get the nuts off it - if that doesn't work, it is time for some heat. I recommend that you avoid using an acetylene torch to heat the studs - that can easily cause serious damage from too much heat - but it is safe to use an MAPP gas canister to heat the nuts and studs enough that the rust gives up and lets the nuts turn. Stop short of seeing any color on the parts, though. When the nuts are really hot, try with your wrench to turn them - first try to tighten them a tiny bit - this often breaks the rust loose better than loosening them. Once you get the nut to move even a tiny bit, just keep working it back and forth multiple times, soaking it with PB-Blaster - it may slowly work it's way off the stud. If this doesn't work, the next step is to use a nut-cracker tool to break the nuts so you can take them off the studs, and then get a circular stud saw (this looks like a deep well socket, but instead of fitting on a nut, it has sawteeth that will slide down in the clearance space between the stud and the hole in the head, and cut the rust out of there so the head isn't held down by it.
If I've just answered the wrong question, I'll try the other one:
if you are trying to get the head to slide up off the studs, but it is stuck on there, this is the nightmare scene we all go through to get an engine apart that hasn't been apart for many years. I don't know of anything that isn't obvious to do like soaking around the gasket area, driving in very thin sharp things like knives or hacksaw blades into the cracks, and just keep on keeping on with this until you get it to move.
The next step, if you have no luck that way, is to go in from the bottom. Pull the pan, the crank, the pistons and rods, and then get a round wooden "peeler post" of the right diameter to slip up through the bottom of the engine where it can impact the bottom side of the head, and then whale away at it with an 8 pound hammer. It would help to have the engine upside down, with the spark plugs installed, so you can pour more solvent down the holes and let it soak for a few days. This ain't elegant, and you might do some damage to the heads if you pound too hard, but usually, this will work if you keep at it long enough. If the pistons won't come out that way, you may have to destroy the pistons to get it apart - I've been that way too!
Sorry I don't know any magic!
Dick.
