cylinder head bolt removal sequence

[thompson324]

just a quick question, can someone let me know the sequence to remove the head bolts ?

[Dirty Harry]

Dude, grab a Chilton's manual or whatever brand you like. I'd tell you but I don't have my book here. I was able to find them for $15. Just get it, it's cheap and it tells you a ton of shit.

[KillerCam282]

Cris Cross starting from the inners (old timer rule of thumb). Not sure what the Haynes manual will say about that.

[thompson324]

yea i know about the manual but its hard to get to the store when 1 car brakes down and the other has no registration or insurance, so if someone could tell me i could fix it today and be fine

[KillerCam282]

Cris Cross starting from the inners (old timer rule of thumb). Not sure what the Haynes manual will say about that.

I did this with like 6 different engines...you may need an impact gun tho.

[Dirty Harry]

NO! Do NOT use an impact gun to remove head bolts. They must be loosened in stages (the books tell you how much to turn them on each pass) in the proper sequence. If you recklessly loosen then with an impact gun you risk warping your head. Just use a good breaker bar. If you have to use extensions, make sure they are at least as good as Craftsman. I broke 3 extensions until I used my craftsman one, then all of them came out nice.

[KillerCam282]

No idea about the Haynes...but the factory manual says the opposite.

Factory Manual cylinder head removal pages

I dunno, I finally go the head of on my block. The toughest bolts are the inners, and thats with all the bolts on. Starting from the outside seems like a recipe for frustration.

NO! Do NOT use an impact gun to remove head bolts. They must be loosened in stages (the books tell you how much to turn them on each pass) in the proper sequence. If you recklessly loosen then with an impact gun you risk warping your head.

If you are reckless you will warp the head. If you are me this is not applicable. I know how to remove a cylinder head, i been through it countless times. If you use max psi on an aluminum block you risk all kinds of damage. Turning down the psi on your impact gun saves you from all that.

[Dirty Harry]

If YOU'RE careful then fine... I'm not so sure how many other people can do this. And as far as not following the loosening sequence, think about the head under pressure from all the points that the bolts are at. Honda says to loosen them in that sequence to avoid warpage. Yes I know they are tight... I even had to loosen them with the motor on an engine stand once. Only worked when I put one leg of it against a ceiling support column AND had someone stand on the other end. You'll be fine as long as you have enough muscle to pull a breaker bar worth a damn.

[KillerCam282]

My engine is sitting here on a dolly so I stood no chance. I was lucky to get even 5 of them off without the impact gun!

[jumpman83]

the first time I went through that I went in the wrong sequence and got some of them stuck. The couple times I had to pull it off again after that I was able to do it with the engine on the ground. If you brace it right and have about a 2 1/2' breaker bar, you should have no problems. And incase anyone doesn't want to look at that link, looking into the engine bay (meaning top row = intake side), the sequence would be:
9 5 1 3 7
8 4 2 6 10

(I really shouldn't have that memorized... I've had to take the head off something like 4 times during this project)

[thompson324]

thanks for the answers, i have removed heads before i just dont have a car to go get the manual, yea the head bolts are on there good but i do have good tools and breaker bars, i just have to get the timing belt off but i cant get the lower case off , i figured the crank pulley needs to come off but my electric imapct gun for some reason cant get it off and it is 200 ft lb gun, i guess it is just rusted in there, well back to work.. thanks

[Bluejayde]

Jam a crowbar in the flywheel(have someone hold it) and crank on the pulley bolt with a big breaker bar, it'll come off.

I tried bracing the rachet against the frame and starting the car, but it snapped my socket in two

So I suggest the first method.

[thompson324]

yea thats how i ended up doing it, i cant believe i spent alot of money on a impact electric gun and it didnt come off, but from what i hear they do have a tendancy of getting stuck.... ah well, got the head off and took off the cam an valve springs today and the valve seals were wasted, got the new ones coming on thursday so thanks again for the help