I thought I was making pretty good progress on my first head gasket job until I got to the head bolts. I'm attempting the bolts in order according the RAVE. The #1 bolt just won't give. Not much I can fit back there to help out. Any suggestions or tricks? I've read some posts, just curious if there are anymore thoughts.

'04 DII 74k

 

I bought a craftsman hammer impact driver and it worked wonders. Also, the harbor freight bolt extractors didn't work at all. Use the craftsman if you need them. With those two tools you should be able to work around anything the headbolts throw at you.

 

Thanks Will

 

1/2' drive 6pt impact socket has conquered them all for me.
Sometimes a cheater bar was needed.
Make sure the head of the bolt is clean with no gunk around it so the socket has a good fit.

 

LOL

My suggestion is to take your skirt off, buy a 2 foot long 1/2' drive breaker bar, 5/8" DEEP BLACK craftsman socket. And then rotate the stuck headbolt anti-clockwise whilst making a loud GRRRRRRRAAAAAAA noise. This method of mechanical and audible intimidation is usually more than enough to free tight bolts.

 

I was referring tothe process I used to remove a damaged bolt from the rear of the head near the firewall. The impact socket would twist off the bolt head whenever I torqued it. The hammer tool worked well as it applied both downward and rotational force to the bolt head which gave it some bit. I only used it on one bolt.

You can save your ridiculous statements for someone else in the future.

 

Nowhere in his post did he say the bolts are rounded off. Why you associate a rounded off bolt with a really tight bolt is beyond me. The ridiculous statement is telling someone to take headbolts off with a hand impact driver and when I balk at the idea, calling my statement ridiculous.

 

Hardnend socket and extention if need. Then attach at least a 2 foot breaker bar and crank with all you got. Since the bolts are torqued to Yield or 180 degree I don't know what the torque is but it is high.

 

Haley,

I hope you managed to sort out your headbolt issue. Not everyone in the forum is as rude as some of those who posted in this thread. Let us know if you have any more problems.

 

Thanks, I had to take a couple breaks so I wouldn't throw things, but I got them off. Ended up having to grind one down and use a smaller socket. Now I'm ready to put it all back together. Wish me luck!