Bill, you've had so many suggestions I can't remember them all. What I am going
to propose is usually the last thing I'd try. Has anyone suggested you "wedge"
it off?
First I would "soak" the head in bolt loosener. I prefer PB Blaster (NAPA
stores), you choose what you like. Put it all around the head and down the stud
holes. Let this sit at least overnight, then use a worn out "sharp" screwdriver
or a chisel and pound it into the seam between the block and the head. Try not
to distort or "bend" any steel. If any bending occurs it will be on the edge
and shouldn't effect anything in the long run.
Good luck
Larry Hoy, Denver, CO. USA
1967 MGB Roadster, Vintage Racer
1969 MGB Roadster, Driver
1970 MGB Roadster, Fixer upper
http://home.cwix.com/~larryhoy@cwix.com
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-mgs@autox.team.net [mailto:owner-mgs@autox.team.net]On
> Behalf Of William M. Gilroy
> Sent: Monday, November 23, 1998 9:43 PM
> To: mgs@autox.team.net; spridgets@autox.team.net
> Subject: Stuck head, 77 Midget, the saga continues
>
>
> Car: 77 Midget that refuse to come apart easily.
>
> I finally got all of the studs out of my head. The last
> three were removed with a Sears stud extractor. Worked
> like a champ. Thanks for all of the advice from the
> list.
>
> So now I give the head a couple of tugs and it won't budge.
> I beat it with a rubber mallet and still no go. So now
> I crank the engine. Still no go. Several lister pointed
> out that this would work better with the valve rockers in
> place. This would allow the cylinders to get some air.
> I decide to give cranking the engine another try. It
> crank about 1/2 of a turn and stopped dead. I let go off
> the key as fast as I could. This can't be good. As I
> tried to figure out what had happened I hear a noise sort of
> like soda being forced out of a leaky bottle. A light bulb
> comes on and I look at the front of the engine where I removed
> the water pump. There used to be water in the cylinder head
> and now I could not see any. My guess is the water that was
> still in the cylinder head leaked into the cylinder. Then
> "boy genius" (that's me) cranked the engine. Of course we
> all remember from high school that fluids don't compress.
>
> My first question is did I do any damage, such as bend a rod?
> How can I tell if I did break or bend something?
>
> The second thing is that damn head is still stuck tight. I tried
> to get it off by cranking the engine and that failed. My next
> attempt was to put back in the two bolts that held the water pump.
> I then put a 2x4 under both bolts and then used a floor jack to
> try to lift the head off. The only thing that happened was the
> front wheels came off the ground. While the car was suspended by
> the cylinder head I tried applying some directed force with a
> rubber mallet, but still no luck. Any ideas on what to try next?
>
> I have not tried filling the cylinder with rope and turning the engine
> by hand. Might give that a try tomorrow. A shaped charge might
> do the trick :-)
>
> This gives me a whole new respect for the rally teams that fix
> their cars in the middle of nowhere with only pliers, a screw driver,
> a couple of sticks, one hammer and sap from a local tree. Then
> the limp that repair a couple of hundred miles to the nearest 1/2
> horse town. Then they fix their problem with some parts from another
> car, another manufacturer, a rusty file, and duct tape. Those guys
> are amazing. And I fighting just to get the head off. Sorry for
> being so long winded, but I am running out if ideas fast, not that
> I had that many of my own to start with :-)
>
> -----
> Bill Gilroy
> wmgilroy@lucent.com
>
> 77 Midget - Held together with a new type of super glue.
> 90/89 Shar Pei
> No cats
>
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