I received a bunch of good ideas for removing the cylinder head stuck to the cylinders...here's what worked finally:

Taking a punch and rotating the cylinder back and forth by tapping first on an ear on one side, then on the other side. This was very difficult to do because the ears were right next to the cylinder head studs, it was actually impossible to get a solid punch on some of them. For the #2 cylinder I would take the upper, inner ear a bunch of times, then go on the ground under the engine and reach up to tap on the lower inner ear. I was also carefully prying inbetween the ear(s) and the cylinder head sealing surface. The #2 cylinder was relatively easy, about 30 minutes of solid taps, back and forth, and the cylinder came loose. I did gouge the sealing surface in the process, stupidly using a round punch to pry(I was tapping the punch down in an effort to spread).

The #1 cylinder was another order of magnitude. It took hours of tapping, and it got very tiresome lying under the Vanagon tapping the punch five times then climbing up to the engine to do the same from the top...over and over and over with no sign of progress. Since the #2 cylinder was loose, every so often I would take a piece of 2x4 wood and whack the #2 side (hitting the wood with a hammer) from the valve cover side, trying to shift it from a different direction.

I kept my temper and long after I had given up expecting success, I thought I felt a slight movement while tapping from the top. At the same time the ear looked like it was changing shape from the tapping, so I didn't know if that was the movement I felt. Fifteen minutes of tapping later the head showed some signs of moving off the cylinder, and it was downhill from that point.

Was it worth it? If I had the confidence of removing and reinstalling a cylinder(over the rings) previously(w/engine in the car), I think it would have been quicker to just pull the cylinders off. I received a lot of files from list members about the entire job of removing watercooled cyl heads, and one of them described how a list member made his own custom ring compressor that made the job fairly easy. He bought a cheap ring compressor set from Autozone, cut it down to half it's width, removed the protrusions, and then used zip ties(plastic ties?) to tighten the compressor and hold the rings in place. He didn't mention how hard it was to get the ring compressor metal piece back up out of the cylinder (from below the piston) but he did the job in 30 minutes so it wasn't that big a deal.

Thanks everyone for all the information sent my way. I'm going to work on the other cylinder head now and see if it isn't a bit quicker.

John

----- Original Message ----- From: "jbclem1" <jbclem1@charter.net> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM> Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2005 10:34 PM Subject: Re: Removing watercooled cyl heads, engine in car

> Mike, > > Thanks, that's just what I was looking for. The "ears", how far(in inches) from the outside (outer > or top) edge of the cylinders are they? I don't see them but I haven't pulled the head too far out > yet either. > > John > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Mike Collum" <collum@VERIZON.NET> > To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM> > Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2005 8:16 PM > Subject: Re: Removing watercooled cyl heads, engine in car > > > > The cylinders have "ears" near the head. I have successfully used an open > > end wrench as a fulcrum to pry them apart. > > > > Make sure that neither piston on that side is at its lowest point of travel > > so that a small amount of movement of the cylinder won't cause the rings to > > pop out the bottom of the cylinder. > > > > Mike > > '84 GL 7 pass > > '85 GL Westy > > > > > > > First time I've removed the cylinder heads with the engine in the car, > > > 1983 watercooled. I'm on the > > > #1 & #2 side, I've separated the cylinder head about 3/4" from the > > > block(water jacket) and I can see > > > the cylinders moving with the cylinder head...ie they are sticking to the > > > cylinder head. > > > > > > I thought I'd stop at this point and ask for some unsticking cylinder > > > heads tips. I've sprayed > > > WD-40 like substance as much as I could, I've tapped lightly on the > > > cylinder head hoping the > > > vibration might free up the rust. I may take a piece of wood and try > > > tapping on the cylinders. > > > > > > Any surefire ideas at this point? I'm trying to avoid removing the > > > engine, and I'd like to keep the > > > cylinders from coming out with the head. > > > > > > John