NMcKe97

Well after an afternoon and evening of smacking, prying, and wedging combined with pb blaster and sweat I am no closer to removing the head. I ended up running to home depot and got a handful of 2x4s, a stiff puddy knife, plastic tiling wedges (couldnt find the toilet levelers I'll need to check again), and a 4lb home depot sledge hammer. As of right now there is still little to no gap between the head and lower end and no movement in any direction. I have all the head bolt holes filed with pb blaster on the driver side and continuesly spray it into the pasenger side as it leaks out at the head gasket. Im praying that the combination of pb blaster seaping into the head gasket from the bolt holes and from the outside of the block will disolve it enough to be broken loose but so far no cigar. I've been smacking the living day light out of the 2x4 that's angled against the intake side of things but to no prevail. I manged to slide a tiny amount of plastic tile wedges partially in but they appear to have just compressed in size and aren't providing an adequet wedging force so I might need to try something else. When using my puddy knife I could only manage to slightly fit the corner of it under the head and couldnt really hammer or work it in. Unfortunately I will not be out to work on my car again tell this Friday so I won't be able to try anything else until then, but please keep the advice, input, and recommendations coming, any and every bit of info helps. Come Friday I'm going to go to town on this thing. I'll be getting some liquid wrench penetrating oil, try jacking the 2x4s up into the head, smacking a 2x4 against the side of the head with my sledge hammer some more, and prying up on the head with a crow bar and piece of wood (like grwi8 recommended) I'll be doing these all at the same time with my friends help. If that doesn't do it I guess I'll be looking at an engine hoist to add on top of all of that and a 50/50 ATF acetone mix to penetrate any and all corrosion and rust. I liked the wratchet strap and hoist ideas but im working on my car in the street in front of a friends house. Unfortunately there's nothing to attach a wratchet strap to and I dont know how long my hoist or engine for that matter would last out on the street so I wouldnt be able to leave it hoisted up over night. Maybe if I can convince my friend to put my car in his garage I can leave it on the hoist so I'll have to try and work that out. Thanks again guys for the reassurance in support, I'd be up a stream without a paddle if not for these forums and all your advice. Where/who would you guys recommend I take my engine to If I'm unable to free the head from the lower end? I took a handful of photos and I'll attach them down below for you all to check out and examine if you'd like. Once more I'd like to just thank everyone for all your input and advice. It really helps out and is much appreciated. -Noah M

Thank you very much for the advice siteunseen, I read a handful of your replies on other posts and found them to be very informational! It sounds like I might have to bite the bullet and get a hoist after all. I'll keep soaking it in PB blaster and wd-40 penetrating oil as well as beating the head with a rubber mallet like I'm a mad man playing whack a mole. Ill give the 2x4 a shot also, where do you position it? From what i read it's best placed on the back drivers side of cylinder 6, does this sound correct? Thank you again everyone, i cant express enough my appreciation for your time and knowledge! - Noah M

Thanks gwri8 for the link, your post and the 3 pages that followed had a lot of good advice and info. Looks like I've got a good chunk of work cut out for me. Thank you s30driver for the welcome and reassurance in my game plan, I guess if i can't pry it off I'll have to get some money together for a hoist. Haha I thought the same thing diseazd when i saw that but it's actually a real word, I had to look it up after i saw it lol. sorry zed head I'll work on my forum posts and try to make them a bit more edible for your eyes. As of right now there is no gap whatsoever and pretty much no movement between the block and head. The broken bolt is definitely rusted in there, every bolt I pulled out was corroded, rusted, and pitted. Im on my way to my friends house now to work on it so ill grab pictures and video then. Thanks a lot for the advice so far guys, I really appreciate it, please keep it coming! - Noah M

Hey everyone, this is my first time posting here on the forums. I've poked around and read on here and a few other sites for a couple of years now and have finally gotten around to making an account. Majority of my problems I've been able to solve either by reading on here or in one of the manuals but I've come across a bit of problem. I own a 1981 280zx 2+2gl N/A 5spd, over this last weekend I started tearing the top end of my engine apart to have head work done. I have the car torn down at a friends house and his dad is really wanting the car gone so I need to hurry up, figure it out, and wrap it up, please help me! I have no prior experience with cars or mechanical work so this is all new to me and I'm still learning a lot, please forgive me for any ignorance or lack of knowledge/understanding, I really appreciate any and all of the help you guys have to offer and look forward to your recommendations and responses! I've gotten everything torn down to just the head now, my problem is I can't remove the head. It is sealed tight to the block. I've removed all 14 of the head studs and the 2 small front cover bolts. There is nothing that could be holding it on, I've given it a once over a million times and a half to make sure I wasn't missing something and throwing the towel in for nothing. The last head stud to come out broke in the block on the driver side in the middle of the engine, about a cm or so was left sticking above the thread. From what I've read this shouldn't stop the head from coming up and out so I'm under the impression there must be something creating a really tight seal on the head gasket. I'm guessing it's either rust and corrosion, fusion from overheating, or the K-Seal copper head gasket leak stop I had sadly used, probably the latter. So far I've tried wailing on all sides of it with a rubber mallet, pulling, pushing, and yanking with all my might stopping just before I give myself a hernia lol, and soaking all the edges and head stud holes in PB Blaster and WD-40 Penetrating Oil. I've read a number of articles so far recommending a variation of ideas and would really appreciate any and all of your guys input, advice, feedback, and help. Please share this with anyone you might know who can help. So far I've seen the following recommendations; use a few wood wedges in between the block and head to slowly and evenly pry the head off (what type of wood? how wide, tall, long, and thick? what degree of angle?), use a screwdriver and slide it in between the block and head to pry it off (could lead to potential head damage), use a 2x4 on the sides and hit it with a big ol' hammer, use a propane torch to heat up the area the broken stud is and also areas suspected of corrosion/fusion (could lead to warping or other problems if i'm not mistaken), use a long pry bar or pole in one of the intake runners on the head (could bend/damage the head because it's aluminum), stuff a bunch of rope into piston 1 and 6 then turn the engine over and use the cylinder head and rope to push the head off (I don't know the first thing about timing so this option makes me really nervous, I don't want to move the pistons without the cam sprocket and timing chain connected because I wouldn't know how to re time it or where to begin), use a high pressure compressor on the spark plug hole (I don't have access to a compressor), or use a engine hoist/lift attached to the head and bounce it tell the head comes off of the bottom end (I don't have a hoist/lift and have jack all for money so renting one isn't an option). A number of those ideas leave me very weary about the damages or problems that could follow and the other ones I feel incapable of acquiring/doing or simply feel it wont cut it, I will probably be trying a number of the above ideas anyways throughout the week and following weekend none the less. If any of you have recommendations, comments, or ideas please feel free to drop a reply, PM me, or shoot me an email, any and everything helps, I would really appreciate it, thanks guys! Also if any of you are in the San Diego area and open to giving a fellow z enthusiast a hand please let me know, I can buy you some beers and food for your time or whatever's clever. Again I can't express enough how much I appreciate any and all of your guys help, thanks in advance for your time and help! - Noah M (Word block dissected by Zed Head)