MTFCA Forum

Alright gents, before I go further I want to ask for your opinion, I have my Touring motor stripped down and intended to refresh the components and give her a general going over since the car hasn't been run in years. My plan is to remove the head, clean, inspect and put a fresh gasket and bolts back in place....but...those suckers are really tight and I don't want to snap a headbolt.

Would folks prefer to run the car first and head it up and then remove the head, or just do it cold and risk breaking a bolt? From looking inside the plug holes, the piston and valves look okay and not too carbonized.

Interested in your opinions.

Thanks,
Jim Chochole

What symptom(s) is your engine experiencing that dictates removing the head?

Is there a particular reason or symptom that you're chasing down? I'd do a compression test. If things looked good, I'd leave the head alone.

In my humble opinion...
I would try heating the head bolts and letting the heat "soak" in and reheat, then quench with water. Break them loose and work back and forth with some oil around the bolt.
Most times the bolt will rust in the head and not the threads in the block. Warming the engine with heat everything and maybe work against you.

And yes, what are the symptoms, did you check compression ?
Good luck !

Hey gents – the car has never run in my possession, so there are no negative symptoms. I just felt it better to inspect the pistons and valves and get a new head gasket on it and decarbonize at the same time.

Maybe I’ll start with a compression test first.

I think I would try to start the car first before removing the head. That’s my opinion and it would be a good idea to check and clean the timer, and to make sure the coils are all buzzing.
Drain any old gas out of the gas tank and put in fresh gas and start it up. You will find out pretty quick if there is any issues with the engine.

Thanks John, I added new coils, new belt, new hoses, checked the timer, drained the tank, radiator and oil and did a general "tune up" on a forgotten car and am ready to paint the old tired-looking motor. Maybe I'll run it and then decide if it needs a new head gasket.

You stated it hasn't run in years..... That would not wear anything out. Start the car. run it and then decide what you need if anything!

Simply removing the head could cause you tons of trouble that you don't even have now... I would check the gas and if there is a filter screen make sure it's all clean and fresh. An oil change would be good but at least check the level. You know nothing now and can later determine what things if any that you may need to work on like the coils. Before removing any head always do a compression test.

Good Luck, Get Driving

If you saw what I took the heads off of this week, you wouldn't even ask about breaking a head bolt. I took the heads off of 6 motors that some pistons had to be destroyed to remove them just to get the rods. These motors had valves that were rusted completely off and some that were rust welded to the block. I didn't break even ONE head bolt. You won't have any problem if you use a good impact, don't use a ratchet or wrench, too much stress. The impact only stresses the bolts intermittently.

I just pulled motor and trans out of my 1926 4-dr sedan. I knew the trans was bad. But the car ran fine. I decided while I had the motor out to check the head. Sent it to the machine shop and they found 2 cracks in it. Now I am installing a new Z head. So glad I checked it. Had time to do it now. It ran perfectly in Florida. So just because everything seems fine doesn't always mean it is. Good luck on your T. Clyde.

I'm surprised no one said it yet?

Don't remove the head just yet,
Don't run the motor.
Pull the plugs and drip some oil in the cylinders.
Turn the motor over by hand.
If that goes OK then try to start it (yes, with the plugs in).

I agree with Vern. Throw some oil in the cylinders and turn it for a while. Put some fresh oil in it and see if it runs. Run it a bit, check the compression and if it checks out, run it. Many of the old girls sat for many years and came back to life.

Yes, the engine always turns over without problem and has fresh oil in it. I'll start er up and see how she runs.