Forgot to mention to make sure it is a 6 point socket. Whatever you do - do not attempt to loosen without that tight fitting impact socket. Anything less might round the bolt head and then you are in for a very bad week.

 

All suggestions are great! I was using an impact socket (6 point) and a 30" breaker bar, AND a piece of pipe to finally get all the bolts EXCEPT the driver's side, outside bolt. Eventually had to tow it to my local, most kind hearted independent shop where he finally had to cut off the head and got it out. A British car specialist (MG restorer).
The engine was apparently from a junk yard with a shoddy install by someone for owner #2. That owner even tried to take it to the LR dealer for warranty work (DUH) but obviously the serial numbers didn't match. Have the invoice from the dealership to prove it!
Eventually had to replace that engine, not because of the head repairs, which when done was great, but later block issues that required a long block from AB, the work done by my independent shop. Anyway, now a happy owner #4 (#3 was a factory trained LR mechanic from Manchester), long block great, 294K miles in total on the truck.

Keep at it. The bolts will come out, one way or another.

Welcome to Land Rover Discovery. And keep checking this forum. Excellent, top notch people with great info and advice.

 

Thanks Gecko for sending the link. That’s what I mean by a 2 1/2 ft (=30”) bar.

Your idea of using heat is often good, but in this case it will work against you. As aluminum (the head) expands more with heat than steel (the bolt), the head will expand and become thicker yet, causing the bolt to become tighter yet. The issue is not that the bolts are seized (almost certainly), but that they are very tight (as per design).

 

@gecko951 I'm using this but not sure what to set it at in terms of foot torques - 15 and 3 ft??? I honestly don't understand what settings to use for the head bolts and if the settings changes with an extension.... there was some complicated physics diagram about it that came with the manual, scary stuff.





@Extinct Copy. I bought a 6 pt socket, tight fitting impact socket - see pics above

@H Hill I am looking at the driver's side outside bolt close to the back wall and idk how I'm going to fit my socket and breaker bar in that small space to get that out either... Yikes. Thank you for your tips, and you're right, top-notch people with great info and advice - I would have given up long ago without this forum

@Harvlr Copy. Thanks!

 

You don't need to worry about the torque settings when undoing the bolts, only when tightening them.

 

@H Hill I am looking at the driver's side outside bolt close to the back wall and idk how I'm going to fit my socket and breaker bar in that small space to get that out either... Yikes. Thank you for your tips, and you're right, top-notch people with great info and advice - I would have given up long ago without this forum

Yeah, that one is a bitch. A few things make it easier. One is removing the hood, but that does not solve the issue. The second is the ideal length extension, but again maybe not solve it perfectly. I use a swivel, but you have to be careful with that so it does not walk off the bolt head and round it (the valve grinding compound helps with that). Absolute best solution but a bit of work is to unbolt engine mounts and lower the front of the engine till you can access it.

You might start with putting the socket on the bolt and the try to figure out what length extension you need to get to it ideally.

 

Just to throw more gas on the fire, he are my thoughts. I would not use a torque wrench to remove the bolts. Who knows how tight they are and you could damage the wrench. Regarding the back bolts, they are a b!tch for sure. Lowering the motor is a good suggestion, Alternately, if it's easier (I don't remember), you can undo the trans mounts and jack it up, there by tilting the engine forward to get it away from the firewall. I'll repeat myself from another post and tell you that on one head job I broke three sockets on one bolt, each time thinking I had finally cracked the bolt free only to find out I cracked another socket instead. They can be super tight so know you're not alone in this struggle. Finally a 5/8" impact socket and long breaker bar with a pipe extension got it free. As already mentioned, pay close attention to what's happening to the socket, just because the bar is moving don't assume the bolt is turning. If the bolt head gets damaged you'll be in a world of pain.

 

@H Hill For that drive side bolt get a long extension and a short wobble extension you can guide it in past the booster. The wooble give you enough movement to get things lined up Put a nice thick pad on your fender before you start.

 

I've blasted 1000 of those bolts out with 1/2 inch impacts, over 23 years, in any order I feel like.

 

By your own statement, you were using an impact driver. Someone who is struggling to get things out with hand tools could benefit from the tiny reduction in torque provided by having adjacent bolts still be tight.