Trouble removing rocker gear.... - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

Axeman82 · 01-27-2004, 22:21

I have the engine stripped down to the rocker gear in the attempt of removing the head and even though all 28 bolts are out of the rocker assembly some arms are still down on the valves and so it won't come off.

Do I just pry these arms up till they pop off or is there some special way of doing it?

It was surprisingly clean which after seeing the piccy of the dirty assembly on the eafalcon.com tutorial I was pretty happy.

Dan...

weeman · 01-27-2004, 23:51

The rocker gear should just lift off. Try using more force to lift the gear off or even gently tap the stuck rockers with a rubber mallet to break them loose.

epox · 01-28-2004, 00:10

I have just finished doing my head gasket and as weeman said use a rubber mallet.
Just work your way along one side giving a firm hit with the mallet.
I have never done any major work on a engine before so I was very hesitant when removing (thought I might break something) but as long as you use a rubber mallet you cant hurt it Ha Ha (well dont smack the shite out of it)
The guide on eafalcon.com was a god send to me, very well written made it easy for a dum ass like me ;-)
Good luck!

Axeman82 · 01-28-2004, 00:19

I got it off no worries all I had to do was turn the cam a little which released pressure - maybe I shouldn't have done it but it worked and the head is now off. Head bolts were easy enough.

Here's what I found.

No. 4 spark plug was black and so is the No. 4 exhaust valve (when looking from underside the head). Does this indicate a burnt out valve?

The gasket at the end of the engine No. 6 cylinder was eaten into until there was no material from the water port to the gasket ring. There is also some slight corrosion where this fault in the gasket was.

There appears to be a lot of corrosion in the water channels in the block where it comes through the gasket. The holes for the coolant to pass through in the gasket are small huh? Nothing at all like the size of the ports in the head/block.

I'll probably see what the re-conditioner reckons about it...

epox · 01-28-2004, 00:41

when I removed mine it was pretty much how yours is, I got it reservist pressure tested and tested for hardness the guy said it was ok very common.
You will find if you stick a screw driver in those small holes in the old head gasket and move the driver around , they will open up , mine where completely blocked.
Cost only $150

Axeman82 · 01-28-2004, 00:47

Is it worth getting the valve thats all black looked out? From what it says in the repair manual its either rings or valve.

I wish I had a digi camera cos I would photograph it and post it up..

I agree that Alex did a great job on the tutorial.. I used it a fair bit..

Dan..

mongrelEB · 01-28-2004, 01:03

If it was black, it was either overfueling or not sparking.
Check the valve rim, see how it looks/seals. In any case it would be worth getting some valve grinding paste from Supercrap or something and just bedding the valves down again - use a drill on the stem to do it.

Axeman82 · 01-28-2004, 02:16

By the way I have read all the posts of people rounding off the head bolts, etc and I only used a 1/2" Supatool Premium socket set with 12 point sockets (except the sockets have that design that presses on the sides). And used a 15" breaker bar to crack them.

I must have had a good run.

According to the packet Supatool is made by Kincrome and looks to be of reasonable quality for the price.

Dan..

weeman · 01-28-2004, 02:58

Sounds like you had it easy with the head bolts.

It took me a good 30-45min to undo all the head bolts. Even with a 6 sided impact socket I almost stripped the heads on two bolts. Turned out the threads had rusted on about half of the bolts.