Technical Flathead ford head stud

My 46 has an overheating problem. I pulled one head off, it was very easy, all the studs came right out. The p***enger side not as easy I broke one off which I have fixed on other flatheads in the past, but one will not budge even with my friends Snap On impact gun. Any suggestions will help! Heat, cold, Banging on the bolt head? Any helpful suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Rich

 

It's probably rusty in the head. spray it with Rust Buster tapping will help. slowly work it in and out, in and out , in and out until it starts to move just a little and be patient. It does work. There was a thread on this a while ago.

 

After applying all rust removing sprays and before youre ready to apply torque.
Heat the area and apply wax to the threaded hole.
The heat ****s the wax into the joint.
Good luck.

 

forgot to mention that even though this is a 59 a block the heads were held down by cap screws like n 8 ba so the drivers side head is still on the motor held down by one head bolt Rich

 

You could grind the bolt head off so you can remove the head. After the head is off, you can use penetrant/heat on the threads. Cut the bolt shorter and weld a nut onto the bolt so you can twist it out.
If you need a new bolt, i'll send you one.

 

Aaron, that is exactly what I was thinking. I hope it is not stuck in the head. When I put this thing back together, it seems like the original studs would be easier to seal into the block. which is the current preferred method studs or head bolts? Thanks guys Rich

 

Rich, I think some guys like the studs and some guys like the bolts. If it were me and I already had the bolts, I'd just reuse them. I used Permatex #59235 high temp thread sealant when I put my bolts in. My bolts have been leak free for a year now so I'm pretty happy with my setup.

 

Aaron, got lots of bolts! I guess I will try the Permatex. Its just with the studs, you can see exactly what's going on where the stud goes into the block. I have to admit , with the bolts it is a breeze to lift the heads off unless you have one stuck. I put a piece of pipe over my !/2 inch drive breaker bar, had my 19 yr old grandson pull on it and bent my breaker bar. Borrowed a snap on impact from a friend, didn't do any better than my old antique impact. One more try with a giant 3/4 inch drive breaker bar before I grind the head off. Thanks for the advice guys Rich

 

I have minimal experience with flatheads, but some with removing stuck bolts. I've heated the head with torch, let it soak in, the heat will soak down into length of bolt. Do it a few times. Give it some good penetrating oil. Then rattle with impact. I've had pretty good luck with this.

 

Ground or cut the head off the offending head bolt. The 3/4 inch breaker bar didn't do the job. there was one stud and 23 head bolts. the cut off bolt and the stud will not let the head come loose. I was thinking about putting the battery back in and cranking the engine over to break the head loose. Am I crazy, or has this been done before? I probably should have left this side alone as the driver side head just about fell off after I took the last bolt out, and I am almost sure that side was the offending side. Thanks Rich

 

I do this all the time on flathead 4's and 6's. Leave a couple bolts loosened so the head doesn't fly off! I did it on the 59ab in my avatar, it started up and kept running with the left head up a ways and fire blowing out and lots of noise! It was great! I didn't think about it continuing to run but unlike an inline engine, the other bank still was intact and running. BTW, I actually start the inline engines but they die as soon as the head pops up. If your other head is already off, no problem, just start it on 4 cyls.

Dave

 

If you start it with one head off and one head loose and it fires up id love to see a video posted here. Ive never thought to try that but it sounds awesome.

 

I always welded a nut on the broken stud. Let it cool, no quench then use an impact driver and it will spin out.

 

You might try this induction tool, my friend has one and it's amazing what you can remove.

 

With the bolts out,can you move the head like a wrench?,maybe use it to get it started,not sure if there are any dowels in there or not,give it a couple of whacks with a big piece of wood? possible the bolt is rusted into the hole in the head as well. Harvey

 

There is one stud and one head bolt with the head cut off. with the motor in place in the car and intake manifold, generator, carburetor, wire looms etc it is really hard to drive something under the head to get it started up. If all the bolts were out the head would probably almost fall off like the driver side Rich

 

Finally got the head off that stud. Tried chisels, re bar ground to a screwdriver tip, tie rod forks nothing worked until I got my machinists wedges back from my cousin. Wedges started easy, a little heat on the head around the cut off head bolt, some penetrating oil and the head started moving up the bolt. Tie rod forks next, more heat and a lot of sweating and prying between two guys and finally got the head free of the bolt. Thanks guys for the advice, recommendations and moral support. Rich .

 

Excellent

 

Just as a side note, one of my buddies said he beats on the top of "stuck in the head" bolts with an impact gun with a flat tool in it to shock rusted bolts free of the head. Rich

 

How about head gaskets? I have a friend his handle is "Flathead Ed" he swears that "Best" brand head gaskets are the ones to use, and everything else is junk. I have a new set of Best head gaskets for an 8 ba and there are no copper crush rings around the water p***ages, only steel around the combustion chambers. The set of Fel Pro 59- ab or in my case C59 -A gaskets have steel crush rings around the combustion chambers and copper rings around all the water p***ages. Here you go guys, what is the majority preference? Thanks Rich