"cylinder head removal kit"

[James Anderson]

It's a fine looking day contrasted by a bitter wind that has given me time to reflect on some of the entries, one in particular, Colin's appeals to me but maybe could be considered in a different way. Basically the idea of lowering rope onto the piston and using it to lift the head makes a lot of sense but obviously calculating the amount is tricky. On a variation on that theme, if you opened up the tappets gaps so that all the were valves closed and use a calculated amount (?) of hydraulic/automatic gearbox fluid and turn over the engine with the starting handle, would that appear to be a suitable proposition? Appreciate that it is using a generally disapproved hammer action that could impact on the crankshaft but I'm getting a bit desperate and don't relish the prospect of trying to drill out the full length of the 6 remaining studs or stripping the engine. Thanks once again for all those who have contributed to this thread.