Head bolts won't budge :( Do I need an air wrench?

[MantaGreen97]

I'm trying to get the entire top end off this engine, and have two problems.

Firstly, I got everything off/undone on the "front" side of the engine, except the heads... The head bolts will not give way! I got one head bolt to turn, just one. So I got that bolt out but the others will not turn. I don't have a real breaker bar but I have a 20" ratchet that can take off the wheel hub nut like it's a joke, but I can't turn the head bolts! What happens is the socket just ends up riding up slightly on the nut from the torque and then it will start to round the head bolt. I slightly rounded the top part of a few of them--they just will not turn.

I'm using a 15mm socket (I tried two different ones) and I'm pressing down on the socket as hard as I can while trying to turn it with as much force as I can but the rotation just starts to lift the socket instead of turning the bolt. I cannot believe how hard these are to get off! Heads have never been removed before so these are what they were tightened to at the factory--I just don't get how 37lb*ft + 90 degrees turns into what seems to be over 200lb*ft... Are head bolts usually hard to get out?

Once I got past the initial torque "break" that moved the one I could move, it was pretty easy to get out thereafter. However I can't get that to happen on any of the other ones--they just won't budge.

Do I need an air/impact wrench to get these out, or will that not help me? This is very frustrating

My second problem, and less of a worry right now but definitely has to be taken care of, is that one of the back valve cover bolts wouldn't come off and I ended up rounding it It seems to be because of the absolutely stupid positioning of the stud on the heads that is there to support the ignition module--it just won't let you get a socket on there straight even with a u-joint. There is very very little room behind there on my car (97 Grand Am), so there's no way I could get a drill in there even if I had "easy out" bolt removers. I'm wondering can I just smash at the valve cover until the bolt breaks? The heads are being replaced so I'm not that worried about damaging the head all that much.

I'd really appreciate any help or tips anyone has.

[SappySE107]

Take the rear stud out of the head to get to the valve cover bolt.

The head bolts take some effort to break loose. Impact will do it but you shouldn't need that with an extension or long breaker bar.

[MantaGreen97]

Went out again to try to get the head bolts going, and this was the result...


That is how tight the bolts are on there I guess I'll have to take that one back to Sears, eh?

So now do I go out, find the cheapest tank/compressor/air wrench I can get and try that, or should I just get out the dremel and start hacking up the bolt heads (and the heads in the process) to get these things off?

Could I try heating them? (Then I guess I'd have to go out and get something to do that as well.)

[MantaGreen97]

Take the rear stud out of the head to get to the valve cover bolt.

Thanks for the help, Ben I did try to take the stud out of the head at the rear, but I couldn't get it out either. The top of the stud has a very small hex tip, which seems to fit a very small imperial socket best (can't remember the size) but it won't turn, it just spins/rounds it. Tried grabbing it with a pliers to no avail. There is very limited room to work with back there, unfortunately. Even if I got the stud out of there though, I don't think I'd be able to get the cover bolt out because it's rounded now.

The head bolts take some effort to break loose. Impact will do it but you shouldn't need that with an extension or long breaker bar.

It seems to be a tremendous amount of effort, I was shocked to see the socket shear like that. I actually thought it was either rounding the bolt or maybe that I got it turning, but then the I looked at the socket and saw it had ripped open, LOL.

I even tried to turn some of the bolts on the rear head with a wrench (because a socket won't fit at the moment with the valve cover still there) and they seemed to be equally tight--the ones I tried wouldn't budge either.

I'm thinking because an air wrench can deliver "snap" torque instantly, it should be able to get these off? I'm going to call it quits on using hand tools because I already broke one socket and I think the only thing that can happen from here is more broken sockets and further rounded bolt heads

[Azrael]

When using a breakerbar to remove the headbolts it's better to use an impact socket set as they'll take that kind of stress.

[IsaacHayes]

PB blaster? Might help...

[silvergtjrad]

I had to use an impact when I took mine out for the top end swap. I broke a chrome socket too hah!

[tractorman]

Yep, use an impact socket- even a cheap made-in-china impact socket will be more sturdy than that chroms Craftsman. (not to say that there's anything wrong with Craftsman sockets... but their chrome stuff is a bit thin, and WILL break)

Also, get a cheater pipe- three feet long or so. Make sure that when you're pulling on the ratchet (via cheater pipe) that you're pulling on it nice and straight to minimize unneccesary stress on the socket, and to prevent slipping off the bolt.

PB blaster etc. is a waste of time and money in this case. You're dealing with "striction" and inadequate tools/experience.

[ForcedFirebird]

I agree, the socket wasn't meant for that kind of stress. Use an impact socket and breaker bar, unless you already have the impact driver and air.

[MantaGreen97]

Thanks for the tips guys. Yeah I went back and noticed my "long" 15mm socket was also broken, lol. So I guess I wasn't so much rounding the bolts as I was destroying sockets. So with no more 15mm sockets to destroy, lol, and no rent-a-car places open past 6pm, I gave up on the heads at least. Good thing I can get those sockets replaced for free at least...

Yep, use an impact socket- even a cheap made-in-china impact socket will be more sturdy than that chroms Craftsman. (not to say that there's anything wrong with Craftsman sockets... but their chrome stuff is a bit thin, and WILL break)

Yeah I guess the chrome ones are more brittle... Well they are--that's the whole reason you don't use them with air tools, right? Which kind of makes me wonder why there are non-impact sockets at all since impact sockets seem to work in any case, but chrome ones don't.

Also, get a cheater pipe- three feet long or so. Make sure that when you're pulling on the ratchet (via cheater pipe) that you're pulling on it nice and straight to minimize unneccesary stress on the socket, and to prevent slipping off the bolt.

Yep will do, there's a pipe at my mom's house I used to use, but I just moved and a lot of my tools and stuff are still over there. I'm thinking I'm just going to find a half-decent air tank/tools kit though, just to be sure.

I was thinking at one point whether I should just put that one head bolt back in and forget about the new heads and just put the new intakes on, but I'm uncertain whether that would even be a good idea. I mean the head gasket wouldn't have moved and 7/8 bolts are still there, but I guess I've gone this far I can't really give up now, lol. I still can't get that stinkin valve cover bolt out, and I actually did try to break either it or the valve cover out of frustration but I couldn't even get that to happen! It wouldn't break... The only thing I can think of there is to try to dremel off the bolt but what will be interesting about that is the valve cover bolts have a washer "built in" to the bolt head which would make that tricky. Plus can you even get replacement bolts like that, because they are locked off on the other side so the bolts can't come out of the cover...

PB blaster etc. is a waste of time and money in this case. You're dealing with "striction" and inadequate tools/experience.

Yeah I tried spraying lots of Zep Twister on the bolts but it was useless. There's no way it can get under the bolt heads so it can't really do anything. All I got was a headache from inhaling the fumes of that stuff That stuff is best for rusty bolts, not head bolts.

And yeah this is my first time pulling heads off an engine really, so though I read up lots and got all my parts and everything I guess there's some things only experience can speak for... Getting the intakes off was easy enough--if I was only doing the LIM gaskets I guess I would have been done by now.

I still need to get the rear heat shield and and exhaust manifold off, which looks like another challenge given you have to go from underneath and even from under there I couldn't really tell how that was going to happen very easily... I just have one more bolt to undo on the crossover pipe up top, the brake hydraulics are kind of in the way there. And I still have no idea what I'm going to do about that valve cover bolt. Needless to say I gotta get it done somehow!

Oh and finally I guess I must have put some pressure on the trans fluid dipstick when I was trying to get that valve cover bolt out... So... Later when I look under the car there is all this trans fluid on the garage floor! It seems to be leaking right out of where the dipstick tube goes into the trans case. It seems (from info in the service manual) that I just need to replace the seal on the dipstick tube--hopefully that's all it is...

[Superdave]

i'd try an impact on it's lowest setting.. but think of it this way.. if you break the bolt heads off the head will slide right out!

[ForcedFirebird]

How were you going to aplly proper torque? If you have a torque wrench, go grab a cheapie impact set. Don't know if you have a Harbor Freight nearby, but I buy all my specialty "need once in a while" tools there.

[Superdave]

How were you going to aplly proper torque? If you have a torque wrench, go grab a cheapie impact set. Don't know if you have a Harbor Freight nearby, but I buy all my specialty "need once in a while" tools there.

Pawn shops are also awesome for this...


I picked up my badass Craftsman torque wrench for $30 from one, it was still in the original case.

[19Cutlass94]

wow mine came off with a breaker bar an minimal effort! You can pick up some cheap torque wrenches at napa!

Id just take an air gun to it if the bolts wanna be like that!

[MantaGreen97]

Yeah I have both 1/2" and 3/8" drive torque wrenches, and a torque angle meter, so assembly shouldn't be a problem, the problem is just getting them off LOL.