Cylinder head bolts....
- Thread starter Morpheus
- Start date
grab a can of spinach...
nah...take a jack handle (floor jack style )and put it on the end of your ratchet/breaker bar for leverage.
nah...take a jack handle (floor jack style )and put it on the end of your ratchet/breaker bar for leverage.
the very reason i use only 1/2 inch sockets when breaking head bolts free.
put an extension on the socket...if you are right handed use your left hand to hold the socket down on the bolt and your right hand to push/pull the breaker bar...those things can seize up tight man...just take your time.
put an extension on the socket...if you are right handed use your left hand to hold the socket down on the bolt and your right hand to push/pull the breaker bar...those things can seize up tight man...just take your time.
Definately 1/2 sockets and long ass breaker bar. It works best if you have someone put pressure directly on the socket from above to help keep it on straight while someone pulls on a big azz breaker bar so the socket doesn't slip off and round the bolt head. Otherwise, since you gotta buy new head bolts anyways (and BTW Will is an excellent source for those - thanks again Will!) you might as well consider using the extractor sockets (I used the set that Irwin makes in the handy little blue case). They dug right in and yanked out the bolts that my socket slipped on and rounded.
When I did mine I used a 4ft long extention on my socket, like Tim the Tool Man GRRRRR, more muscle grunt grunt grunt, GGRRRRMorpheus said:
yeah the Leverage and long breaker bas worked on the other 8 head bolts,but the ones in the back are a bitch!!! yough to find the right 1/2 extension to allow you to use the breaker bar ABOVE the eneing bay....but not to long as to make it wobble....I have been using a 16mm socket,im assuming thats correct?WILL.TILLERY said:
I actually end up using a 16mm shallow 1/2" drive socket abd breaker bar and position it so I can push straight down on it once I am sure the socket is fully engaged with the bolt head. Also, for future reference, you should be removing the head bolts in the reverse order that you tighten them, so you should be left with the middle ones to remove last, not the end ones. That will reduce the possibility of warping or cracking a head during removal. It's not as critical as following the sequence when tightening, but still important with aluminum heads.
I try to get everything arranged so that I can put the breaker bar parallel to the head and then push down on it on the drivers side, or lift up if I'm undoing the passenger side. It's just how I've learned to get those bolts, everybody has their own tricks. I've also found that a shallow 3/8 drive 16mm socket with a 1/2" drive adapter is the perfect height to clear the top of the head and allow you to put lots of torque on that bolt. I find the fewer extensions I use, the better it works.
Morpheus said:
If you get the hood back far enough you should. Not sure on a Disco, but on my P38 there is a little lever on the hood hinge that will release it to go ALL the back. Then I stood on a bucket to be able to bear my weight down on 'em.