un-sticking head from block---

[jethro]

Made the little injector tool and removed the injectors. Removed all the head bolts and the rocker
arm pedestals. ready to break the head loose from the block. it has been on there for 23 years now-
I am thinking it could be stuck pretty tight......

I was thinking I might bring the engine lift over and hook to the lifting eyes (which are attached to the head)
and try letting that put some upward pressure on the interface. The opposing force is the weight of the block and the engine stand. Would I want to go about half the weight of the engine- and then drive a thin putty knife in from the outside edge ?
Would the full weight be risky ? Safe to work the putty knife in several inches all the way around ? (except at the two
guide pins)

All the factory head bolts were in nice shape with no rust at all (except 1 which had just a trace) - no funky threads-
they looked pretty nice for 23 years old ! (didn't feel like the torques were the same- but hard to tell exactly )

What are your common strategies for separation ?

Tim

[CumminsPower59]

It'll pop right off, no need to try wedging a putty knife in there. Like you said, use the lifting eyes.

[ellis93]

I screw a head bolt (1) in for about 5 or 6 threads to make double sure there's no chance for it to slip off the deck. I insert a pry bar into an exhuast port far enough for a firm bind,but not far enough to touch the valve or its guide. I pull up on the pry bar to bind things up with my left hand,and smack the handle of the bar in an upward motion. Works every time.....sometimes a couple of times lol. No chance of scoring a surface with a tool.

[jethro]

I guess I was worried about nothing. Pulled up with engine hoist by eyes-
about half the engine weight- up it came with no drama....
Old gasket looks pretty good. No obvious issues I can see right now. Just a little black
residue above the ridge and on piston tops. ( I was running it on stand without turbo- so there may have been excess fuel)
I will certainly have an easier time bottom tapping now ......
T

[jethro]

Top of deck looks ok- no signs of a leak anywhere. no signs on tops of pistons that valves touched anytime in the past.
tried bottom tapping. Not as hard as I thought. Doesn't seem to take many rotations to get the tip of the stud to touch
bottom. Probably use a little copper spray-a-gasket when I put new gasket in.

I see on the tops of the valve stems - a directional polish pattern made by the rocker arm tips sliding across them.
As I am putting in the new 60# springs- should I try to align (rotationaly) the stems so that the wear patterns line up
about the same way as it was ?

Tim