Cylinder head removal

[malcolm]

Hi all. The Haynes manual says you should remove the bonnet if you want to remove the cylinder head. I can see this would give more access, but is it really necessary?

[christopher storey]

No, but it does make life slightly easier in getting to the front of the engine, and in actually carting the head away because with two people you can lift it off and just carry it away forwards without having to transfer it across the width of the car

A major constraint in manouevring the head is that you cannot put it down on a flat surface ( if the camshafts are still in place ) because of the protruding valves , so you cannot just transfer it to a board at one side and slide it away. I suppose the answer is to remove the camshafts first !

[Gfhug]

Malcolm, here's is Andrew Bowie's advice on removing the bonnet. It is so easy to do and single handed if needed:
http://forum.etypeuk.com/viewtopic.php? ... lit=Bonnet

Christopher is right about the ease of then moving the head and you'll need a couple of blocks of wood to support the head once off because of the valves and protruding bolts at the front as he says.

Geoff

[Mark Gordon]

+1 on removing the bonnet. I can remove it by myself in about 15 minutes. Once it's off, the improved access will make it SO much easier to do the headwork that the time will probably be recouped, plus you don't run the risk of damaging the inside of the bonnet.

[malcolm]

Great advice all. Good link for bonnet removal - but isn't enough room in my garage. Could maybe get it in the shed for a while - how heavy is it? Old geezer like me and his wife lift it ok?

[AshM]

It's very heavy Malcolm!

Writing as a fit strong regular gym attendee I would never consider it without three others. It is definitely a job to 'overkill' the help.

Another tip - I spent an afternoon building a bonnet stand using the drawings in a post from 'Jeremy'. Really useful as when you have the bonnet in place then it is easily moveable by yourself.

cheers
Ash

[malcolm]

OK, thanks. Might need to re-think the process!

[christopher storey]

Malcolm : the overall weight is between 200 and 250 lbs. It can easily be lifted by 3 reasonably strong men in my experience , 1 at each wheelarch and 1 at the nose. Note that the centre of gravity is much further forward than one would imagine, near the front of each wheelarch , and thus it is nose heavy , so the strongest man needs to be at the front

PS Even if you don't have the height to adopt Andrew's splendid method, you can use a variant of it to make the job easier : leave the bonnet in its normal open position, and tie off the top to a rafter so as to support the rear . Have cushions to hand , undo the bolts , get helpers to support the nose whilst you remove the top hat bushes and then once freed back the car away and lower the nose onto the cushions. You can then take it away and store it at leisure

[malcolm]

Thanks Christopher. If I go ahead, I'll probably be tackling it next year after my touring season (Obvious time might be now, but my main helper-to-be has just gone to the far East for 4 months!) The job I'm thinking of isn't critical; I've got plenty of time therefore to fine hone plans in readiness! Garage being small is the main problem. Think I'll have to drive in forwards, hang the bonnet from the fairly low ceiling height, back out onto the drive, then move bonnet away into somewhere to store. In the lounge on the carpet sounds good: I'm sure my wife won't mind Then I'd be able to sit in my armchair and look at it while my wife watches the TV.

[44DHR]

Malcolm,
Another thing when you do get to start to remove the head - and another plus of having unrestricted access and visibility - is that it is imperative that the head is lifted slowly and parallel to the block to avoid it getting “hung” on the studs.
This can happen very easily if the lift is not central and once hung up, it can potentially bend the studs and make head removal even more difficult. Easy does it !
Regards,
Dave

[Gfhug]

Malcolm, having done this a few times I could drop round to help, let's chat next Monday JDC meeting?
Regarding Dave's point, I used a pulley attached to a strong point in the garage roof to lift the head evenly. It takes the weight while you steady the head to the correct angle.

Geoff

[malcolm]

Thanks Geoff, that would be great. Garage is a bit old-fashioned for hanging pulleys, but could be a beam I could use - it's an old pitched-roof garage with tiled roof. The ceiling is boarded up, but if i removed a few boards there must be beams. We'll talk at the JDC meet (I'll be there December) and I'll explain my thoughts.

[zigzagsky]

Hi Malcolm,

Having taken mine off and being quite close to you, I'm happy to lend a hand when the time comes.

It took 3 to do mine without any lifting or support tackle - 2 to support it and one to remove the 'Top Hats'.

And yes, it is very heavy!

[malcolm]

Thanks Brian, the team is coming together! Are you at the JDC meet in December? Oh, and Err, what's a "Top Hat"?

[AshM]

Malcolm

When you remove the bolts that hold the bonnet onto the frame there are two ‘top hat’ shaped bushes that need to be removed too.

They just slide out (hopefully).

Cheers
Ash

[malcolm]

Ah, right, thanks. Experience suggests that when something is supposed to slide out, a large hammer will be required

[zigzagsky]

Thanks Brian, the team is coming together! Are you at the JDC meet in December? Oh, and Err, what's a "Top Hat"?

Yes I will be at the meeting - I'm running a short quiz. Top Hats are the bushes that are pressed into the brackets supporting the bonnet. They can be a right pain to remove as they get really rusted in. I ended up using copious quantities of PlusGas, a set of Stilsons, much swearing and a bit of heat. Budget on having to replace them - not expensive.

See you at the JDC meeting and we can catch up.

[malcolm]

Yep, see you there Brian