24-03-2019, 08:19 PM
Hi James,
I have had this problem a couple of times with two different engines. The first time was in 2009 (with guidance from this Forum) when I finally resorted to wedges and was probably fortunate to get away without damage other than the gasket. The second time I used a puller that was eventually coaxed into moving the head. Both took days and whilst the head remains stuck on there was significant frustration - so I sympathise. One method suggested on the forum previously that I have not seen this time was the 'rope trick' - a length of soft rope (like old wahsing line) being lowered into one or more cylinders with the piston set low followed by winding on the handle to compress the rope and drive off the head. The amount of rope is adjusted to allow the force to be optimised without the engine rotating uselessly or jamming. Perhaps someone here has used this successfully? Could provide some additional force without damaging anything? Meanwhile, it is worth going easy to give the combination of load, penetrating oil, and side blows from a rubber mallet, or similar, a chance to work? As you are probably aware, it is worth keeping a close eye on to see if there is any progress - the first signs of movement can be hard to see, but provide considerable encouragement, not to say relief. (I doubt that the puller I used could apply much more force than the weight of the front of the car, despite this being a bespoke designed item, and it did not do the job on its own. However, it works well to remove the head in more ordinary circumstances i.e. when it has been previously removed in the last decade or so.)
Regards,
Colin
I have had this problem a couple of times with two different engines. The first time was in 2009 (with guidance from this Forum) when I finally resorted to wedges and was probably fortunate to get away without damage other than the gasket. The second time I used a puller that was eventually coaxed into moving the head. Both took days and whilst the head remains stuck on there was significant frustration - so I sympathise. One method suggested on the forum previously that I have not seen this time was the 'rope trick' - a length of soft rope (like old wahsing line) being lowered into one or more cylinders with the piston set low followed by winding on the handle to compress the rope and drive off the head. The amount of rope is adjusted to allow the force to be optimised without the engine rotating uselessly or jamming. Perhaps someone here has used this successfully? Could provide some additional force without damaging anything? Meanwhile, it is worth going easy to give the combination of load, penetrating oil, and side blows from a rubber mallet, or similar, a chance to work? As you are probably aware, it is worth keeping a close eye on to see if there is any progress - the first signs of movement can be hard to see, but provide considerable encouragement, not to say relief. (I doubt that the puller I used could apply much more force than the weight of the front of the car, despite this being a bespoke designed item, and it did not do the job on its own. However, it works well to remove the head in more ordinary circumstances i.e. when it has been previously removed in the last decade or so.)
Regards,
Colin