Wedge removing tr7 head

[philman]

OK, trying to remove head from my spare tr7 engine. I can see light between the head and block but cannot lift the head from the block. I tried the rope trick (using a 6 ft breaker bar to apply force to crank shaft), no good. tried lifting head with block attached and pounding on the cast iron block. Any other ideas? Do I have to remove the studs? The block is otherwise stripped down.

My spare engine is a FI engine. I thought that since there is no smog adapters on the head it would be a better head to modify for higher (?) performance for my '76 fhc (which currently has #1 sparkie wallowed out by previous owner and won't hold an insert).

 

[mailbox]

I don't believe you will get the studs out without breaking them off at the top of the head (been there, done that!) I would suggest (and this is just a suggestion, I have never tried it) cleaning the studs just above the head so WHEN it does come loose, it won't be so hard to get off. Then take some type of machine oil used to break loose frozen or rusty bolts(WD40,etc) and spray the studs on top of the head. Let it soak in as long as you can(a month or more /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif). Don't be stingy with it either. I would use a can or 2 on it. Well, thats all the ideas I have. GOOD LUCK!! Your gonna need it. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

P.S. I took a 5 pound sledehammer and a chisel and STILL couldn't break it loose. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cryin.gif

 

[vettedog72]

Oil the studs as you have been advised (use penetration oil) and work the head back down. Work it up and down like a rusted rusty nut and bolt and keep the penetrant flowing. Don't give up on the rope; it takes MORE ROPE THAN YOU MAY THINK. Get two pistons (timed the same) and put in the rope Feed it the rope! If you are sliding the tires, try 4th gear (or third) rather than reverse or first when you rock it. I used the starter motor to "bump it". Just stay after it and it will come loose. I don't advise the hammer use.

 

[philman]

the engine is on a stand, but i'll keep using the oil and keep trying. i hope the one on the car is easier to remove!

 

[vettedog72]

Most cars I have worked on have bolts instead of the fine racing engine used in my TR6; it uses studs. Studs may work well on racing engines but when you take an engine down once ever 10 years or so, they seem to be more bother than good. If it is on a stand you need a long lever to make the piston push the head along those rusty, cruded, binding studs. Be sure the valves are CLOSED in the cylinders with the rope in them! Bumping the 2 pistons with thier cylinders full of rope works best for me; not just trying to lever the head up.

 

[philman]

oh, i removed the overhead cam to ensure the valves were closed and am using two 4ft sections of antenna mast (military duty) as a breaker bar. i think i'll keep spraying wd40 on the studs and the rope trick. persistance usually pays off for me.

 

[vettedog72]

Did you "knock your head off" yet or not?

 

[philman]

nope, still soaking studs with penetrating oil. project may be delayed. out of town three weeks next month. wife burned a valve in her mustang. i suppose i need to rebuild her engine before mine?

 

[vettedog72]

By all means get the wife's car going FIRST; "if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy"!

 

[Adrio]

I had a sumilar problem with a TR3 head years ago. I devised an ingenious trick (since I was not keen on the rope trick). It is writen up some place else on the web But I can't remember where I sent it. So I will give you a short version here and if it does not make sense ask me for more details.

You say you can see light, so you are in a good place to start. The theory I used is that the "leverage" you can get from the head nuts on the studs is better then anything you could generate otherwise. So here goes the trick.

1)With the head as far up as you have it now, take a piece of paper and fold it as many times as needed to make a spacer the size of the gap between the head and the block (you will need two of these, one for each side of the head). This piece of folded paper needs to be small, about the area of a big postage stamp.
2)put these between the engine and head one on each side half way between the front and back of the engine.
3)now put the nuts back on the two studs on the front of the engine.
4)slowly and carefully tighten these nuts. BE CAREFUL you don't want to crack the head, but what should happen is the head will "rock" on the paper and the rear of the head will go up.
5)now you can make a thicker piece of folded paper and put it between the current paper and the back of the head.
6)remove the nuts from the front of the head
7)put the nuts on the back two studs and repeat the CAREFUL tightening. This will raise the front of the head farther then the back was raised in step 4.

You repeat this back and forth and you slowly get the head off. In my case when the paper started to get too thick I switched to wood blocks with paper to make up the fine spacing. The whole thing took several hours (I even took a break and finished it the next night).

Again the key here is to be very careful that the head is not stressed to the point of cracking.

I was long winded but it is my own fault I could not remember the other forum I posted this 10 years ago when I first did this.

Good luck.

 

[philman]

sounds good, i'll give it a try this weekend! thanks.

 

[Geo Hahn]

Good tip. I can see it would take time and patience but would be especially useful on a 4-cylinder TR engine where the rope trick can disturb the cylinder liners.