I pulled the exhaust back when i wrapped the pipe around the axle and blew the flange attaching the Y pipe to the manifold, drilling out the studs and putting in through bolts plus and seize on the manifold/head bolts made for an easy removal.

This weekend will be a trip to the store to get some extra tools to pull the head bolts.

Looks like I'm going with stock bolts and bosch's head gaskets...

On another note does anyone know about the not using oil to lubricate the head bolts but some grease and teflon tape instead as to prevent oil from getting in between the head gasket and ruining the seal as you tighten the bolts down?

read it here - Best head gasket kit ? - Land Rover and Range Rover Forums

 

I have never heard of using grease and Teflon tape and would not recommend it.
if your going to use sty bolts then install them as the manual say. Teflon tape and grease are just going to screw up your torque figures therefore making the STY bolt ineffective.

jmho

by the way if that worked pipe dope, would be better than two layers of Teflon and grease

 

Use Victor Reinz gaskets only.

There pictures may help you.
You can change the heads in a parking lot.
I did.


Flickr: Landroverdude2's Photostream

Took me two weeks.

 

Hm. This is more of a pain than I thought it would be

 

Just put on good music and after you are done, eat well at a bar so that the pain of standing for hours diminishes. Advil helps and at least two beers after the session.
It was fun for me.
I liked my new job - albeit short. I liked Boulder Colorado. And I loved that parking lot.
Peaceful.
I did need to buy black gas pile to put over a breaker bar as drowsap said to do.
Works great.
And yes, use the BLACK socket - impact - with hex points and NOT a 12 point.

I used carb cleaner and plastic scrapers and brass brushes to clean off the heads.
That takes time.

Not really too hard.
Just a lot of work.

You look forward to putting antifreeze back into it.
All that seem easy - after all the work is done.

 

The help is much appriciated. I got the breaker bar and some other odds and ends and forgot the impact socket. Well. Long story short my socket snapped in half. Tomorrow I'll get a new socket and see where I can go from there.

What are normal prices to get the heads machined?? Does everyone do it? I'll be checking it with a 3' straight edge (I work in a shop that makes small parts so I'm familiar with machines, just nothing big enough to do this job) ... I am assuming I will be off by more than .001

 

Ok I got the passenger head off. I know it was leaking coolant into the rear piston and out the side of the motor, other than that what do you guys think? Also the flaky black material on the surfaces, what is that??

 

The flaky black material is the carbon buildup from the engine. It is normal. When you see a piston that looks steamed cleaned then that is the one that had the leak.