I'm completely stuck on this head bolt. No room to operate so close to the firewall. I've got the LH head off so I know I can apply the torque I just can't get a clean angle on it. Any advice would really be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

Hi

Are you sure that's bolt three at the back? Yes whatever the title the rear bolts are a pain in the ***. You have to use a universal joint as there's no straight access and then, with a two foot + leverage, you are pushing rather than pulling and the lever is waving all over the place because of the U/J.

I don't think there is an easy solution... I swearing enough to make a sailor blush as I did my best to heave on a two foot 300lb rated torque wrench to undo the @#$% bolt.

You will get it undone but it's not an easy task

 

usually the LH head (drivers side) is the hard one to get off because of the rear bolt. When you say you have the LH head off it can be confusing because if you are standing in front looking back then the LH head would be the passenger side, but if you're back looking forward the LH head is the drivers side. To help us understand better you should refer to things as "Drivers side" or "Passenger side" assuming you have a NAS model (LHD).

If you are having trouble with the drivers side rear bolt then you can try what I did.
1) take the hood off so you can see better
2) take the rubber seal off that runs across the top of the firewall
3) get a really long 2-3 foot extension with your socket and stick it in between the firewall and the brake lines (they look like black tubes)
4) Get a helper to reach down and hold the socket straight down on the bolt with one hand and with the other hand have them hold the extension where it meets your breaker bar. That should give them good control of the socket and extension so it doesn't slip off and round the head.
5) With your helper holding everything on straight you can slip a 3'-4' pipe over your 3' breaker bar and bust that sucker loose hopefully

 

i would suggest you put some of the other head bolts back in to lessen the stress on that one bolt. I have always used a 5/8 shallow impact socket, 4 inch extension and a 24 inch breaker bar and never had a problem.
i think a lot of problems arise when people do not break all the head bolts free, before try to remove them and end up with one bolt holding all the pressure or if you try to use a real inexpensive breaker bar that had a huge head on it that wont clear the firewall.
jmho

 

Huge thank you to LRGuy46, RoverGuy and Drowssap all the advice really helped out. Some times you are too close to your own problem to realize a bigger wrench can solve about anything. Heads are off and headed to a machine shop for resurfacing and cleaning. Couldn't have done it without the support of this board. Thanks again.