I have some bad news for everyone.........















THAT POS HEAD IS OFF!!!!!!!
More details and pics to follow, but I have to give it up to Rexman and his buddy for the extra hands. You guys ROCK!

 

All right! Glad to hear it. I await the details with bated breath...!

 

I can't say for sure that there was one thing that did it. It was basically a combination of things.

So it was around 11am when Rexman called and said he and his buddy would be in the area. So I said "cool, come on over". For the last 2 or 3 days it has been sitting in the garage with the "redneck" rig on it (plus PB Blaster down the bolt holes). Before they got here I used a jet steamer to clear off the joint between the head and block. Then I went around it several times with the old bolt and the BFH, hitting on the over-casting areas.

By the time Rexman, and his friend got here it still had not budged that I could see. We proceeded to remove the rig and pound on the ends and sides using the BFH with a piece of 2x4 in between. The friend (sorry I don't remember his name), started working on the back corner with a putty knife while we tried prying up on the front. All of a sudden it started to move just a little. After a few more min of working at it we broke out the torch . We got the area on the side of the head where the broken bolt is nice and hot. It started to give a bit more. We then hooked the hoist to the head and put upward tension on it while we pried and hammered. Next thing you know the block dropped a couple inches and......... THE HEAD WAS FREE!





Once the head was free, I took the torch to the bolt and area where it was stuck. A good pair of vise-grips and several turns later it was out.

Next is the trip to the machine shop to have the head checked out and cleaned up. Not to mention clearing the coolant passages. One of them was completely clogged up. New valve seals will be going in too. If the machine shop gives it a clean bill of health then I will be ordering A LOT of replacement parts as long as the engine is out. Perfect time to replace stuff. Stay tuned, I am sure it isn't over yet.

 

Yea...but I bet ya that the head has cracks!

 

We shall see when it goes to the machine shop. I don't think so, but I don't have microscope eyeballs.

 

I haven't really been keeping this thread updated since everything has been going in the original thread in the Ranger forum. All the updates with pics are there:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...d.php?t=443150

jamnjm - No cracks were found. The head was in good shape and only needed minimal milling. It did need new springs, seals, and a couple valves, but it should be good now.