Head's off!

Hey all,

After breaking a head bolt, I was able to get the head off my 65 L6. No cylinder scoring, the valves look good, rocker arms are fine, and i'm happy to report that there was enough of the bolt sticking up that my friend and I got it out easily with a bolt extractor kit. Now I'm just wondering... There is a little bit of sludge on top the pistons. Should I try to clean any of this up? What is some stuff I should be looking while I have the head off?

Thanks yall!!

Why did you remove the Head?

Yea spray some pb blaster to help loosen the carbon up and use some thing the wont gouge the akuminum piston or if your using a scuff pad to clean the deck up just go over the piston tops

X2 on why did the head came off - different questions come from different reasons why .

cheap way to clean engine...

put it back together, dribble water down the carb at high rpm, the water will 'steam clean' the cyls all at once. do it in 15 min intervals, first run the engine, drive it around put load on it... then take a 20oz water bottle and dribble it down the carb at righ rpm's... the water will lower the rpm some that means your feeding too fast, and if the engine gets hotter your not feading enough, there is a ballance. it would be best to 'mist' the water down the intake.

I like to run mystery oil with octain booster mixed in the gas, then run a few water bottles, I have found the combination even cleans the spark plugs and some of the exhaust, but temps do get higher so make sure your cooling system is up for it.

Long story... I was removing my non-functional AC compressor. One of the bolts holding the top bracket in was a headbolt. Like a boss, I broke the bolt down inside the head. So I had to take the head off to get the broken bolt out.

The concern was that there was a bad head gasket . For instance , if overheated you needed to make sure the head wasn't warped . Once you loosened even one head-bolt you had no choice but to replace the head gasket . Clean the surfaces , clear the bolt and bolthole threads , get the manual out and follow the instructions except some older manuals may mention the use of "head gasket sealer" ; modern gaskets do not use that . Do apply sealer to the 2 bolts that go into the water jacket .

I have a brand new felpro gasket i will install. Should I use high temp never seize on the head bolts?

Anti-seize compound is useful for the exhaust bolts ; I'm not sure I'd use it on the head bolts . For the head bolts a light coat of a lubricant like WD 40 can be used except on the 2 that go into the water jacket which need sealer . Was the bolt that broke the first bolt on the exhaust side ? That is one of those "water jacket" bolts . Be sure the sealer extends all the way to the beginning of the threads , but not enough to drip off into the coolant , to prevent the bolts rusting in place .

Ok, I'll make sure to put it on the exhaust bolts.

Yeah it sure was. The one directly above the water pump on the exhaust side. When you say sealant, what exactly do you mean? Like RTV?

RTV is what I have used ; you only need a light coat - just enough to cover the threads over about the first 1/2 inch , it will spread further up from there . Shortly after I got my present Falcon , I pulled the head to repair broken exhaust bolts . I used anti-seize on the exhaust bolts and RTV on those water jacket bolts . My radiator recently sprang a leak and took the head gasket with it - just barely leaking compression into the coolant , no warpage . Almost 15,000 miles and 2 1/2 years later all the bolts came out with no major problems . I used the FelPro gasket also both times - no complaint about the quality . I would recommend the cork valve cover gasket ; I have had better luck getting a good seal with that with the factory type cover .

You could try a wire brush on a drill for the tops of the pistons.

JackFish":2g9uejl0 said:

You could try a wire brush on a drill for the tops of the pistons.

Click to expand...

That won't score the cylinder walls? Also, how do I get the crud OUT of the cylinder after it's loose? Hit it with some compressed air or something? Stupid question probably but I'm new at this, haha

Bring each piston up to TDC before cleaning and yes use compressed air clean after.

MPGmustang":2hp0k9g5 said:

cheap way to clean engine...

put it back together, dribble water down the carb at high rpm, the water will 'steam clean' the cyls all at once. do it in 15 min intervals, first run the engine, drive it around put load on it... then take a 20oz water bottle and dribble it down the carb at righ rpm's... the water will lower the rpm some that means your feeding too fast, and if the engine gets hotter your not feading enough, there is a ballance. it would be best to 'mist' the water down the intake.

I like to run mystery oil with octain booster mixed in the gas, then run a few water bottles, I have found the combination even cleans the spark plugs and some of the exhaust, but temps do get higher so make sure your cooling system is up for it.

Click to expand...

Done this many times. There is a feel for it, but it does work. We would just add enough water down the carb throat to keep it from dieing. misting bottle is a good idea though. Have to remember that next time.

What engine are we talking about here.

How many miles?

What type of Head gasket did it have?

While the head is off you might want to consider getting a three angle valve job.

The head gasket if it was the solid steel shim is thinner then the replacement Gaskets available today so you might want to have the head milled to recover lost compression.

I would leave the pistons alone but if you feel like you must then use grease to pack the top ring land before cleaning and when done rotate the crank to drop the piston down the bore several times and wipe up the grease left behind.

I found a vacuum cleaner to useful, along with the compressed air.

I've used shaving cream/foam in holes and places I didn't want debris hiding (like between piston/cylinder walls). It makes a nice foamy dirt trap that blows out with compressed air, and any that's left behind dissolves into nothing with wd-40 or whatever you have.

I don't like messing around with pistons and tools. The water method works well and cheap. I just use Seafoam and it cleans and burns the carbon off everything and out the exhaust. Usually throw a can in fuel tank every oil change.