460 Head Removal????
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Senior User
Joined: Jan 2011
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From: Richmond, VA
460 Head Removal????
Well.....Yesterday I started my headers installation and ended up breaking 5 bolts with 4 of them below the surface!
So, now I need to remove the heads to drill them out! I'm about to leave to go buy a Haynes manual, but I want to hear some advice from you guys too. How big of a job getting the heads off?
Thanks,
Lamar
So, now I need to remove the heads to drill them out! I'm about to leave to go buy a Haynes manual, but I want to hear some advice from you guys too. How big of a job getting the heads off?
Thanks,
Lamar
Cargo Master
Joined: Oct 2010
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It's not a hard job. A shop crane is a definate bonus. The intake and heads weigh a ton. Removing them should only take about an hour. Do yourself a favor though and have a machine shop do the bolt holes. They will make sure they are straight and helicoiled if need be.
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I agree on the crane and having a machine shop remove the broken bolts; machine shops do this stuff all day long and have the proper tools for doing it easily & correctly, and the intake manifold itself weighs something between 75 & 100 lbs.
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I have to 100% agree with having a cherry picker there to lift off the heads and intake those SOB's are heavy. Make sure you have a long breaker bar or pipe to remove the head bolts too because a normal sized ratchet ain't gone get it. You can do the broken bolts yourself if you enjoy pain but if you like sanity pay the shop to do it.
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From: Richmond, VA
Thanks guys! I'm going to rent a cherry pickers tomorrow.
Just out of curiosity....if I removed the front clip and used a 90 degree drill, would it be easier than removing the heads? (I only ask because, just 2 weeks ago I had a brand new Edelbrock carb & intake installed.)
Just out of curiosity....if I removed the front clip and used a 90 degree drill, would it be easier than removing the heads? (I only ask because, just 2 weeks ago I had a brand new Edelbrock carb & intake installed.)
Cargo Master
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Pay the shop or you'll be paying them anyway. To drill straight holes those heads need to be bolted down to a flat surface. A machine shop uses a mill to do this job properly. I Garuntee a hand drill will mess this up bad.
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From: Richmond, VA
Ok, I'll get them off tomorow. Then take them to Napa's machine shop. Hopefully they're not too busy and I'll get them back quickly. Thanks again for the advice.
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I have drilled them out before, with varying degrees of success. Lately I've been mig welding a nut onto the broken part and working it back and forth gently to get them out. Years ago I laughed off this method, but as my skills with a mig have improved this method has become my "go to". If at first the newly welded nut wont budge, I'll just break it back off. I'll then heat the broken stud itself with an oxy-acetylene welding tip until its cherry. Not the cylinder head itself, the broken off stud. For some reason expanding the stud itself helps crush the rust in between the threads, or at least thats my guess. Then weld another nut on and work it back and forth some more using some penetrating lube. I haven't had one beat this method in a looong time. The trick is using the right size nut and getting enough heat into the broken off bolt/stud. Aim the mig wire a little off center of the the stud and let it fill up the nut, using a good amount of heat. Good luck.
-Jared
-Jared
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Senior User
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From: Richmond, VA
I have drilled them out before, with varying degrees of success. Lately I've been mig welding a nut onto the broken part and working it back and forth gently to get them out. Years ago I laughed off this method, but as my skills with a mig have improved this method has become my "go to". If at first the newly welded nut wont budge, I'll just break it back off. I'll then heat the broken stud itself with an oxy-acetylene welding tip until its cherry. Not the cylinder head itself, the broken off stud. For some reason expanding the stud itself helps crush the rust in between the threads, or at least thats my guess. Then weld another nut on and work it back and forth some more using some penetrating lube. I haven't had one beat this method in a looong time. The trick is using the right size nut and getting enough heat into the broken off bolt/stud. Aim the mig wire a little off center of the the stud and let it fill up the nut, using a good amount of heat. Good luck.
-Jared
-Jared
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