Club 80-90 Forums

I agreed to do a top end refresh on a friends' engine.
But this has been a challenge from the first hour, and l'm getting nowhere fast.

Since Saturday l have attacked this WBX engine with every trick l know. And still neither head will pop! All heads nuts removed without issue. I heated each one for 30 seconds. Whacked each with a hammer and they all came off without issue. Engine turns freely.
The heads can be replaced. But I need to reuse shortblock.

To date...
Heat
Oil
Heavy duty mallet and dowels of wood.
Club hammer and wood
Rope technique inside cylinder.

I note oil drains down the side of all studs apart from the pair between inlet valves. So l have jammed 24 mm sockets in exhaust ports and lifted engine via this cylinder head hoping weight and gravity will do the trick. 24 hours late...... and nothing!!

My next plan of attack is to cut away the water jackets and remove drain plugs, then pour oil inside to settle around bottom of sleeves.

Surely there cannot be that much corrosion inside?

Your views and advice, please.

Usually some firm belts with a rubber mallet does the job.
Maybe its the seals holding them on with a lot of sealant?? if you're doing a refresh just cut the seal off and see if that does it, although not sure how successful that will be.

Hi Steve,

This is my tenth WBX rebuild and l have never had this problem before.

As you mention, normally just a few taps around the heads and off it comes. I'm not particularly bothered if sleeves come out as well, as l will probably split engine to view the internals. But l'm hoping to get away with new rings and replace some valves as one has mushroomed so badly it colletts have disappeared!

That was my next move. I'm going to cut away jackets with either a dremel or a multitool blade

Getting desperate for advice please.
Nothing budging.
Have cut away jacket and still nothing moves. I can lift engine with these two.
I really don't what to damage the block.
Has anyone cut a cylinder head in two?

My guess would be barrels corroded into their recesses. Had one or two that were hard work. Big propane torch, get the heads good and hot, it won't hurt them but you need to make them expand enough before clopping the crankcase to get them moving.

Thanks Ian.
Do l direct heat at bottom of case by the follower holes or from above? Or both sides... top and bottom?
Both heads are stuck. Do they become that badly corroded? 110K DG 1900 engine

Reread your advice. Direct heat at heads and not bottom.

Just keep the heat moving and off the crankcase, needs to be spit boiling hot, then maybe a squirt of oil to the barrel spigots. Its smelly work!

Okay and thanks. Will take a break for now and dig out Propane torch.... and a fan.
Been on this for four hours today.

A bit of movement today. I deliberately sacrificed this cylinder head to my best club hammer. It has lost a coolant spigot to corrosion and is being replaced.

Pulled out the big guns and gave it plenty of heat.



It is definitely corrosion around the studs going through the cylinder heads.




Oil, brake fluid and penetrating oil not falling down the gap beside the stud. Just pooling at the top. In this picture both are filled to brim and left for a few minutes. I can rock head from side to side and see two studs are still firmly stuck. Even knocking the head back down and lifting up again is not breaking the corrosion.
Have ordered some acetone to mix with ATF. An idea another Stewart suggested l try to combat corrosion.

If the studs have gone that furry then its been run with pi$$ and vinegar in the cooling system for decades.
So they will be well pickled and ready to snap off when you try to change them.
You're going to struggle to recover much from that motor thats worth reusing...
Good luck!

PS alloy wheel cleaner might help dissolve some of the rust, but then again it might do more damage to everything else.

It is looking that way, unfortunately.

Get some plusgas to gelp remobing the rusted studs.

BUT

At the state of scenario they will probably snap.

Once removed find an engineer who may be able to get them out cleanly.

Fingers cross for you.

Its one of those jobs that needs patience and walking away when you get pissed off.

Some movement (literally) since my last post.
As predicted by SB the studs were heavily corroded to their cylinder head.
About two hours of wacking and heating and applying penetrating fluid finally saw one head removed.

Non worth save in my opinion.



The centre studs were the most corroded. The second head has identical issues.



More effort tomorrow.

bet that engine has been stood a good while out of the vehicle and / or drained down of most of the coolant