Cylinder Head Removal Problems

Ok, this old '63 beetle engine is going to meet the business end of a baseball bat very soon! I wrote awhile ago about having trouble seperating the engine from the tranny (think the clutch is fused the the flywheel or something, either way, it's not coming off) and so I thought I'd move on to another part of the engine. I removed the gasket heads and the rocker arms. Then I removed the 8 bolts holding the cylinder head on. The Haynes manual said after that I should just be able to pull it off...LIAR!:) It's still on there tight. Someone told me that maybe I had to break the seal so to take a hammer and a 2x4 and wack it a bit, which caused me to break a few cooling fins. To make a long story short (to late) am I missing something here? Is there some mystical hidden bolt that I'm just not seeing? I don't want to go back to whacking cuz it didn't work so well.

Thanks, Neil

Reply to
Neil Winchell
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just checking, did you remove the shifter coupler bolt COMPLETELY? Loose won't cut it, take it out altogether.

I'm only aware of 8... I'll let someone else respond to this problem since I've never experienced it.

Reply to
Vic20Owner

No, the 8 cyl head/stud boats are all that holds the heads and the P/C's on. Oh, and the 4 pushrod tube covers too, but those are not bolted on, they are held in maybe with some gasket sealant and age.

Yeah, I've had heads stick before, and whacked them with a hammer or pried them with a screwdriver and thus broken cooling fins off! Sucks! Don't do it anymore, unless you're just gonna get new heads and P/Cs and don't care about the core values.

John Kuthe...

Reply to
John Kuthe

Been there... broke fins...

Heres how you do it: get a Rubber mallet, like the one in this picture

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and bang the exhauststuds with it until it comes out.... It took me almost 10 minutes of banging until everything came out, but finally did and did not break another fin....

Reply to
Eduardo Kaftanski

Niel, Since you've already done the damage, go ahead and do some more ,..............on the heads only, be careful not to do any damage to the engine case.................harder to go buy and will require more attention once replaced. I have had to heat up an entire head before to remove it,.................and did that with a propane torch,...........................about an hour of teasing the heat all around ...................and of course whacking it a couple of strong times.................Sounds to me like your engine is one of those that's been sitting around for a while and is rusted all together.

good luck, and have some patience.

Remove "YOURPANTIES" to reply MUADIB®

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It's is not, it isn't ain't, and it's it's, not its, if you mean it is. If you don't, it's its. Then too, it's hers. It isn't her's. It isn't our's either. It's ours, and likewise yours and theirs. -- Oxford University Press, Edpress News

Reply to
MUADIB®

Remember what Muir said. You must do this work with love or you will never succeed. A baseball bat may make you feel better, but think how your poor engine will feel?!

~Anthony

Reply to
Anthony

Assuming you have removed the exausts, inlet manifold and the 8 nuts per head that hold it in place, then the head is free.

Does the engine still turns? If it turns, rotate it to an angle between TDC and BDC. Then remove the spark plugs and fill the cylinders with kerosene. Reinstall the plugs, and rotate the engine slowly, using a socket on the pulley and a large lever. The hydrawlic pressure will push the heads off.

If the engine won't turn, you can attach the hose of an air compressor on the spark plug holes. The pressure should unstick the heads.

If you plan to reuse the heads, don't use a hammer on them, unless you are very gentle. heating them with a propane torch will help too.

Bill, '67 bug.

Reply to
Bill Spiliotopoulos

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