quick "head change" question

  • Thread starter Thread starter Anonymous
  • Start date Start date
A

Anonymous

Guest
you guys make it seem so easy...but how easy is pulling the head?

I know I have to
1) remove the exhaust manifold
2) remove thecarb
3) remove the valve cover
4) remove the head botls

this is where I begin to worry. Is it now only a matter of removing the pushrods? and...is that simple?

basically I was thinking this. I am experiencing oil on #4 spark plug. Also, if I drive in stop and go traffic, sometimes I get puffs of white/blue smoke whne I start to go again or rev engine.

I am thinking I am going to get a head and have it worked on (3 angle and back cut, maybe some adjustable rockers...) and then MAYBE tear it down myself. Can I, someone of medium skills and low knowledge, do this myself? and how long might it take?

I figure $30 for gaskets, $150 for valve work, $XX for head and whatever the adjustable rockers cost...that would be a new top end for a hell of a lot cheaper than just the labor if someone esle does it...

advice?
 
You'll find all the instructions in a good manual. Most common mistakes (IMO) are not draining the coolant first, not removing all the head bolts (and in the correct reverse order), and breaking the temperature sender or wire. Everything else is pretty self evident in respect to order of operations.

You can save further money on a swap-in head by cleaning and stripping it yourself, degreasing and popping all the brass plugs and getting it sandblasted inside and out. CC it before teardown to know approximately how much to cut.

Exactly what the rest will cost reflects what you want done, and where the business is located. There's always a few small surprise costs - a radiator hose shows up perished, or thermostat defective - just small bits of one sort or another.

A word of warning. The head is heavy, and leaning across the car to position it while lowering down, is a challenge. There is a risk of back strain, so take it easy.

Cheers, Adam.
 
Howdy Chaz:

1st arrange for help, or at least a helper. These heads are heavy and awkward. Get help.
1st get a shop manual. They are about $45 and worth every penny.

Once you've removed the rocker assembly, remove the pushrods by slowly lifting and twisting or spinning as you lift. This helps to break the suction connection between the rod and lifter. You don't want to pull the lifters out of their bore. Whatever rocker system you use, be sure to clean it thoroughly before reinstalling.

Disconnect the exhaust manifold from the head pipe and leave the manifold on the head until you have it off. Saturate the exhaust bolts with penetrating oil and let them set at least overnight before attempting to loosen them.

A quality upper gasket set will include the valve stem seals. You'd better plan some milling in the machine shop costs. Be sure to read the sticky post at the top of this forum about gasket thicknesses and compression ratio.

How long does it take? Murphy's law of home mechanics- how ever long it takes, it takes longer. How ever much it costs, it costs more. For a novice with pretty good help and the right tools, figure a minimum of 2 to 3 hours to disassemble. Be sure to note and label what bolts went where. have plenty of cans and zip lok bags ready to organize and keep hardware organized.

The machine shop has its own schedule and you will have little influence on their time table.

Once you have the machined head back, reassembly will take 3-4 hours. Be sure to clean the head bolt holes. Use hardened washers on the head bolts. Be sure to torque, with a torque wrench, in sequence, in stages. Checking, adjusting and tightening must be redone on start up.

It is cheap insurance to add a new water pump while you're here. It will be much easier now.

DIY is definately cheaper IF- you do it right, get help if you need it. If you don't have time and money to do it right the 1st time, plan time and money now to do it over, or accept the disappointment. This is not rocket science, but there are a bunch of little things that make a big difference.

Good luck.

Adios, David
 
wow, a cd that has all the pages of the manual. cool, maybe I will bid on that.
 
is it better to start with an extra head?

I imagine it would be...less down time..then I can get a 250.,.
 
alright, I won it yesterday.it is he 68 cougar/falcon/mustang service manual on CD. 600 Pages. I am sure there is info that will help other years too.

I should be a wealth of knowledge from here on out, just ask...
 
does that mean instead of us putting up a post saying we want one, we send a PM saying we want one?
 
It's like this:

If you go to the library and copy a few pages for your own research or use, that's fine. If you buy a book and copy the whole thing so that you can use it so that you don't smudge up the original, that's fine.

When you buy a book or a CD, make multiple copies, and distribute them for $3 each to all comers, that's a violation of copyright law and is subject to prosecution. It's called theft of intellectual property. I'd recommend against it.
 
i know that it is against the law, and i wasn't planning on asking for a copy, it was a joke, sorry
 
Well, when I go to Evilbay and type in "falcon wagon", I actually have to type "falcon+wagon-(cd)", or I get about a billion copies of this type manual clogging my search results. All from the same guy.

If I wanted a manual on CD, I would have typed in "ford falcon cd manual", and been looking in the literature section. To my mind, he's not making any friends selling in the way he chooses.

Adam.
 
Chaz, back to the head, alot of oil on plugs problems result from worn valve guides. The three angle valve grind etc. etc. is great. I did all that and paid a big buck too, I even got a warranty, everything was great until about a year and 10,000 miles later. the warranty was gone the wet plugs and the blue smoke were back. I knew a couple of other guys that had the same problem. I found out that alot of shops just knurl the inside of the valve guides with a knurling tool to expand them instead of replacing the guides like they should. Valve guides are dirt cheap but the old ones have to be drilled out and the new ones pressed in so some shops do the cheap fix instead and it only lasts so long befoer the guides are worn again. Hope you dont have the same problem we had. good luck..... Marlin
 
The CD manual I got screwed up my computer when I installed the CD on my hard drive. I didn't get any instructions for installing it and forgot to use windows installation wizard. I then had no way to uninstall it to make the problem go away. I think it screwed up from my video settings. I'm going to have to format my hard drive & start over :evil:

I got a Haynes manual after the CD because it just wasn't very good.
 
:shock: i took a head in and asked for all new guides and valves. the guy told me they did not do it that way. all they do is fix what is wrong. i loaded the head up and went to another shop....frank...
 
Hey, dont forget somethin I think is important, to make sure all the bolt holes r cleaned out and the bolts themselves r in good shape, tap and die is good for that, but u hafta be careful, u dont want shavings and things down in the engine :?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

TrickSix
All Small Six Rocker Shaft Supplemental Oil Supply?
Replies
2
Views
1K
TrickSix
TrickSix
6
All Small Six Distributor guidance ideas
Replies
10
Views
375
wsa111
wsa111
J
All Small Six Will this head work???
2
Replies
20
Views
3K
78_200_C4
7
C
All Small Six I have a few questions about the 250ci
Replies
8
Views
324
powerband
powerband
J
All Small Six First post here. Pulley and head question
Replies
15
Views
2K
John Ha
John Ha
Back
Top