I just started removing the head bolts from a '49 Ford V8 Flathead. First one came out OK. The second one I broke the bolt. Seeing that the threads are so far away from the head of the bolt I can't see that penetrating oil is going to be of much help. Any ideas on getting the bolts out without breaking them?? Thanks
Heat the head of each bolt with a Propane or "o" tip welding torch. Let it cool down and then squirt penetrating oil on the bolt head. I would think that the oil will be drawn under the bolt head and down onto the threads. Then carefully work the bolt to loosen it up. Could you use an impact wrench on a low setting to vibrate and loosen the bolt?
This 2nd one is broken right? Put a cast iron head back on, Do you have access to a lathe? The studs are 7/16" in diameter. you can machine a pilot that is undersized and drill out the remainder of the stud left in the block. I use the cast iron head to insure that when drilling with the pilot (hole) and undersized drill that it will be straight. You have to tap new threads,but I find on most cases that the threads reveal themselves and the remants of the stud just fall in the boss. Blow out or vac them out. Note: be careful in the center bolts bosses as you are right over and water then exhaust passage, drilling too deep, you'll hit the exh passage and then will have to come up with a away to plug that mistake=, I made that one .
Why din't i think about that! Exlent solution Kevin. Back in 1992 i bought an 8BA with all bolts stuck on one side. Spent alot of time drilling them all out. Non of the threads got hurt. I was lucky! ................................ Taildragger&fenderless
Hi Fenderless, Both heads are still on the motor. I broke the second head bolt I tried to remove. Since then I broke 2 more trying different things to loosen them. So now I have 3 broken head bolts and only one not broken, pretty bad ratio. This sucks.
Ok here's what I'm thinking. Unless someone tells me I'm nuts for doing this. I plan on grinding the heads off the head bolts. Then (hopefully) prying the heads off the motor. That way I will have access to the threads on the head bolts. I'll spray the threads with penetrating oil for a few days and see if I can get 'em out that way. Comments??
If you're gonna grind all the head bolts off, here's what I'd do. After you get the head pried off (good luck) Cut the bolts to within a half inch of the deck, then slip a large nut over each bolt stub, and weld it on to the bolt. The heat of welding will definitely help break the bolt free of the threads, and then nut will give you something to put a wrench on.
Yes that can work. Or you could break them again. I heated the studs with a mapp gas torch and touched the studs all the way around with a block of paraffin wax. They came right out like a magic trick.
Ha,Ha, Thanks Nate, I didn't know you were an astronaut. That's the second time I've heard about the paraffin wax trick. I'm gonna try that too. But I am going to use penetrating oil for a few days before I heat the bolts.
Do not use a 1/2" drive X 18" breaker bar and socket wrench to remove studs or bolts. There is to much shear torque a easy to break off rusted in studs. The best bet is a 1/2" drive impact wrench and depending on the model you may even have to moderate the torque on that. Follow others suggestions of applying a little heat on the stud but do not get them red hot. When you first begin to remove the bolt just try to tighten the bolt slightly before reversing it out, this helps to break the bond.
Yes and No. I tried both impact and breaker bar. Broke bolts with both. The one that came out, came out with the impact. I broke one with the breaker bar and two with impact. I tried going both directions with the impact to loosen the bolts. The threads are really stuck. No way to lubricate them that I know of.
Patience !! wiggle wiggle, heat heat, penetrating oil ,more heat , wiggle wiggle , more penetrating oil. Oh yeah did I mention PATIENCE !!!! >>>>.
Are the studs breaking even with the block or half way up in the head, I've found that a lot of times the studs are stuck rusted in the head more so than the block, I would try heating the head and using either wax or liquid wrench and let them sit for a day or so.
Usually did not have that much trouble. Friend took apart a bunch of them, broke some head bolts and his standard practice was to tighten first, and would go back & forth a while before trying to remove. Heat & wax sounds good too, prevent wear on the block threads by rusty bolts
@ Vintage Iron, The studs are breaking about 3 inches down from the head of the bolt. I've never taken a flathead motor apart before but I believe they're breaking at the block not in the head. @Barry, I tried that. both tighten and loosen. I'm going to use the heat and wax to get the remainder of the bolts out after I (again hopefully) remove the engine heads by grinding off the bolt heads and prying 'em off. So far, no one has told me not to grind the heads off the bolts so it's a go as soon as I have time.
Got one head off this afternoon. I was able to unscrew the bottom (small bolts) near the exhaust manifold with an impact gun. It took a while but back and forth finally paid off. Everything else I cut the heads of the bolts off. Prying the head off was easier than I thought it was going to be. Now, I've looked at the block for cracks. Especially the area between the cylinder and the valves. No Cracks!! I only got one head off and it's not real clean yet but it's a good sign so far. I may have a good block. One more question for you guys, Where do I look for the most common cracks?
The cracks to fix are dealing with the valve seat area. From valve to cylinder bore. The cracks from the bolt holes to the water passages are to ignore. The cracks in the webbing and rail area of the block are bad, no fix as far as I know. The bolts that I have the most problem with are the ones next to the center exhaust outlet. The other ones should go easier. Just my experience.
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