cylinder heads removal with engine in car ?

Engine needs to come out.

The type of work that you are contemplating most certainly will include a few other things as well. Even if both heads could be removed "in the car", it wouldn't be the right way to do it.

 

The heads can be removed in the car if you wish. When the heads are ready to come off, remove all 4 motor mount bolts and place a 1 foot long 2X4 across the oil pan and lift the engine up and back (tilting the engine away from the firewall) with a floor jack. The 4-6 head can now be removed. Of course the 1-3 head will come off no problem. Good luck...

 

Kevin,
Don't remember what model Dino you have but all USA cars can get the heads off. I did it on my 72GT. If your motor mounts are like the book, it is impossible. If your motor mounts are like mine and omgjon's the engine is tipped back just enough. Look at Jon's pictures on his web site. There is a thread about motor mounts too. Search this forum.
John

 

Just curious what "other things" are ? If the engine just needs a valve job then why not do it with the engine in the car ? Lot of work to remove that engine, especially in your garage at home.

BTW daviekj, I forgot to tell you to disconnect the shifter before lifting the motor, DUH... Unless you have a problem with the clutch, gearbox or bottom end, why pull the motor ?

Also, make sure you send the heads to a Ferrari expert, otherwise they never get the stem heights correct. Ship them to Rod Drew at FAI in Costa Mesa for an expert job. Many shops around the country send him cylinder heads,

FAI : 949-631-6373

 

Kevin - yes the heads can be removed while the engine remains in the car, but you will spend more time and money at your chiropractor than you spend on removing the engine.

You can not imagine how back-breaking the job will be. The engine bay simply does not lend itself to doing serious work on the engine while in the car. Furthermore, you have to remove the carburettors, loosen the heat exchanger, much of the crankcase capture hose system, the air filter housing, etc., all to provide room and access to the various nuts and bolts.

It is much easier to remove the engine and do the job correctly on the floor. And while the engine is out, you can detail the engine bay, replace hoses, clean things up, etc.

You can rent a cherry picker for a day, buy a 6-pack, have a couple of neighbors come by to fend off, and lift the sucker out of the car. Really easy to do, and you have a great resource in Ferrarichat. Free advice for what it is worth.

Jim S.

 

I'll second Jim S's views on this matter. I took off the cam covers etc to bead blast in prep for the NEC a couple of weeks back, I can only now straighten up!

Has there ever been a thread on here that gave a step by step engine removal / replacement guide?

For sure Omijon's thread shows many of the details but has this ever been put down in writing and if not Kevin here is your chance for fame!!

If it is as easy as people say then I might well go down that route this winter.
Regards
Dave

 

I was given this interesting tip when I was re-doing an XKE a few years ago. If you take a rope (nylon or braided) and feed it thru the spark plug hole into the cylinders that have the pistons the furthest down and fill the cylinder all the way up (make darn sure that you leave enough rope sticking out of the hole to pull it back out later) then you can carefully turn the crank & the pistons will push the coiled rope up to the cylinder head and exert enough pressure to push the head up & off the studs. If you do it carefully you can get enough of a push from underneath the head to break the seal & help get the head off. I have tried to pull heads off from the top & it can be very tough. I myself have not done this but surely some guys here will have lucid opinions on whether or not it will work. Good luck!

 

Tom - brilliant! I have never heard of this approach, but it makes perfect sense. And you are correct. The most difficult and frustrating thing about removing heads is breaking the head gasket seal. Brilliant. Simply Brilliant.

I assume that the valves will be seated as the piston rises to compress the rope (cord). You could march down the various cylinders making sure that the rope is placed in that cylinder currently on the compression stroke. In this way you can be sure that the valves are closed.

Jim S.

 

I like the rope trick, its very clever! This is the first I have heard of it. As far as concerns about the valves being open, I would hope/assume the cams were removed before trying to break loose the head in this manner. Therefore, all valves would be closed as a result. Am I missing something here? Please correct me if I am wrong as I have yet to do my Dino. Rotating the cams in the head manually and confirming a TDC closure would work in any case. (timing chain disconnected)

I pulled the head on my XKE once without problems, but that was almost 30 years ago. (I still have the car.) I think the cams stayed in on that one. I will have to dig out the work shop manual now and double check.

An older plumber gent once gifted me with a neat trick when I was having problems sweat soldering a copper joint due to water leaking into the work area. He suggested I wad up a piece of break and jam it into the overhead tube that was dripping water to stop the leak. It worked like a charm. Just turn the water back on after completing the repair, and the bread simply dissolves. I'm not sure how to apply this technique to this thread, but you can never have too many tricks up your sleeve. I'm happy to pass them on where appropriate, and I hope this one helps someone out some day..

Thanks again for the inspiration.

 

Edited for spelling.

 

Jon - of course, you are correct. What was I thinking. If one is using the rope trick to remove the heads, the cams would have to be out to get to the head-bolt nuts. Hence, the valves would be closed. I guess I was too excited about a new trick to think it through.

The bread trick is also a good one. Here is another. I use Cheerios to check the continuity of my water drain to the street. I place Cheerios at the top and put the hose in. If there is an obstruction (roots, tennis balls, kids toys), the Cheerios will ultimately dissolve. Otherwise, I can see Cheerios coming out the pipe on the lower street.

Jim S.

 

The cereal trick sounds much cheaper than calling in the Roto-Rooter man needlessly @ +$175/hr. Good tip.
Cheerio for now! (ha)