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Originally Posted by djphix
Also, you don't have to remove the rear exhaust manifold to remove the rear head. It is easier to loosen the middle set of exhaust manifold nuts and studs from underneath. Once you pull the rear exhaust manifold nuts and studs from the head, the head will lift straight off. Again, I'd recommend a lot of liquid wrench on the exhaust manifold nuts/studs. I broke 2 off on the fron head.
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Thanks for the advice on the rear manifold. It saved a lot of heartache that trying to get those 6 bolts would have caused.
I started last night for about an hour and a half. I got pretty much everything stripped down ready to remove the lower manifold and called it an evening. Tonight, I got down and removed the heads. For others that might tackle this job, here are a few things that worked for me:
-To remove the front engine mount, there is 1 bolt on the top and 3 on teh bottom. It will likely stick like there is a 5th bolt, but it is just stuck on the stud to the left of the top bolt. I put a large long screwdriver thought the top of the mount to get a good hold, then was able to rock it back and forth off.
-Twist off the 3 nuts/studs on the crossover pipe going to the front manifold. They will break off. Don't even bother soaking them in penetrating oil. Just drill em out later and replace the studs or use bolts.
-Depending on where the bolts twist off in the above step, you may or may not be able to remove the front head without taking off the manifold. I wasn't lucky and the cross over pipe couldn't move far enough to clear the broken studs, so I had to remove the front manifold. Cylinder 2 top bolt was barely there and twisted off immediately. The lower bolt had already broken off long ago as evident by the large black area around the exhaust port. Use a breaker bar to losen up the nuts initially. A ratchet wrench can then be used to remove them. Use short, firm strokes. Don't snap the wrench sharply, but don't gradually lean into it. One of 3 things will happen - the nut will just spin off, the nut will seize but still back out the stud from the head, or snap off. On the front I ended up with 2 snapped, 2 studs pulled out, and 2 studs left. On the rear 4 studs pulled out and 2 remained.
-As noted in the above quoted post, just remove the rear manifold with the rear head. I also left the crossover pipe bolted to the manifold. There are two bolts attaching the manifold to the tail pipe. An impact wrench, breaker bar, and 18 or 24 inches of extensions make fairly short order of these bolts from underneith the car.
-The head bolts were on tight. You really gotta try to get these off. A 1/2 breaker bar helps here. Crack the bolts in a counterclockwise pattern, starting in the lower right bolt, getting the outside bolts first, then the inside bolts. Then continue losening them up 1/4 turn in the same pattern until they are finger lose. Do this for both the front and rear.
-I got lucky and my heads literally fell off. They didn't stick at all. Quickly remove the heads and set them aside. Wipe up any excess coolant that leaks down into the cylinders.
-Keep everything in order. I used a large box bottom and punched holes in it for all push rods, rockers, and bolts. I also used snack sized zip-lock baggies to put all bolts in. As you remove a set of bolts (e.g. alternator brackets, upper manifold, lower, etc), toss them in a marked bag. It'll make it easier later.
Looking at my head gaskets, heads, and block, it appeared that they had been leaking for a while. The gasket was fairly soaked in coolant, and not just from removing the head. It appears that it actually absorbed some in areas where it would normally be clamped down.
Below are a few pictures (click for larger versions):
Just with the rear head removed. I removed the rear head first so that any crude that might have fallen off the rear wouldn't fall in the front cylinders or coolant openings. Or you could just put a cloth/paper towel/newspaper over it too.
Just a picture of the gasket. You can't tell real easily, but you can see some of the areas where coolant had been outside of the obvious areas that are around the coolant channels.
This is a side profile of the gasket. You can really see how much it has bilistered up. 7 years and 152,000 miles apparently do this to a head gasket. The blisters aren't just the brown sludge that appears in our systems, but actually hard corrosion of the gasket. It can be scraped off, but it obviously destroys that area of the gasket.
Just a pic of the block. Not a whole heck of a lot left. The coolant is green due to the leak dye I put in...3 coolant changes ago. A little last forever in the system and I just haven't had the desire to truely flush the system. It actually is orange when you look at a large accumulation, but individual drops appear green. The red areas are just coolant passageways that have a rust-like color. The digital picture just has some funky colors.
Hopefully the heads will go into to the machine shop tomorrow to get a hot bath, 2 studs removed, planed (if needed still) and possibly new valve seals since it will never be easier to do. Now I just have to find a shop open on Saturday morning.