Stag head bolt

[sonett]

I like many other stag owners have started the winter repairs . In my caise I have a cooling header tank which is pressurising in 30 to 40 seconds on a cold engine . Yes you've got it , it's that head gasket time again !


I am a Saab Master Technician by trade and yes I am old enough to have worked on Saab 99's with half of the V8 engine fitted . Now Saab have had many years more experience in the delights of head bolt siezure and falseably removing a stuck head with all manner of pullers pushers saws etc., and eventually came up with a way of successfully removing seized head bolts that I have used ever since . Now I have done my Stag I can confirm that it still works on my heads , with all the long seized head bolts removed successfully . ( The most difficult bolt took approximately 8 mins to remove conpletly ) .


So what do you need tool wise to succeed ?? Well it's all done by ultra sonicsc !! The special tools needed apart from the usual spanners etc.are :- a compressor , air chistle and a rivetting head for the chistle .
You quite simply lock the bolt with two nuts leaving the top 6 or 7 mm of stud exposed ( say the top 2 threads plus the sloted bit ) . Then you apply the air chistle to vibrate the bolt . A well stuck bolt looks like it's on fire with smoke streeming out of it . With your spanners on the lock nuts you GENTLY try to undo it . IF it's tight - vibrate some more - if it's lose then undo it , sometimes applying a bit more vibration if it goes tight again . Full job on one bolt is between one and eight minutes , I have yet to exceed ten minutes on a single bolt .

I hope this helps those who are having problems
Sonett

[Seaking]

pictures of tools in action would be nice or just pic of tools please

[jleyton]

Hi Sonnett (gettit, but real name is?),

Welcome to the forum and thanks for that very interesting bit of info - I'd not heard of that before even though I was working on Triumphs way back - possibly when or before you were working on the 99s. Stags were still relatively new when I was working on them and I don't recollect the studs being that much difficulty - I guess they hadn't had a decade or two to get truly stuck !

I'm sure I should know but I'm not quite sure what you mean by 'rivetting head' for the chisel - do you have any pics?

Anyway, thanks again. Cheers

Julian

[Bob Heritage]

Useful information there Sonet. I've just found another use for my electric hammer (small Kango)

[V Mad]

This could save us a lot of time (I assume you mean head stud rather than bolt) and messing around with jacks and hacksaws. Is a rivetting head concave domed? Are they easy to obtain?
Good to hear something original on the forum.

[Firept]

Buy that man a beer!!
What a good idea. I was dreading taking the engine out this winter and doing the heads not that they need doing as its the bottom end thats a little noisy on start up but runs quiet and cool the rest of the time, but you know what its like if you've got it out then work on it (and the engine).
A quick question for all of you experts out there is it easier to take the engine out with the gear box attached (as the syncro is a bit weak on 2nd/3rd ) or to separate in the engine bay and lift them out as individuals? And if removing G/box and engine together lift the back of the car up as high as possible so that the tail end of the gearbox clears the front headlamp rail?


Paul

[Bob Heritage]

I would imagine a rivetting head would be something to stop the chisel from riding off the top of the stud, a short length of 1/2" gas barrel slipped over the stud springs to mind. Then use a knackered No10 SDS bit in a hammer drill with the rotation turned off.

[martin]

That sounds like a brilliant solution, what an introduction to the forum! welcome indeed!
Paul, manual box needs to come out with the engine, pretty much as you describee. Martin.

[DJT]

A quick question for all of you experts out there is it easier to take the engine out with the gear box attached (as the syncro is a bit weak on 2nd/3rd ) or to separate in the engine bay and lift them out as individuals? And if removing G/box and engine together lift the back of the car up as high as possible so that the tail end of the gearbox clears the front headlamp rail?

Paul,

It really depends on your facilities. Taking the engine and box out together requires some fairly robust lifting equipment plus quite a headroom, but is the best way to do it. Raising the rear of the car as you describe will help, but the combined unit still needs to be fairly vertical as it comes out. You can do it in two goes. I have done it both ways - gearbox down first, then engine out; and engine out on its own, leaving the box behind. The most difficult bit doing it this way is reaching the bellhousing bolts behind the cylinder heads. You have to remove the dizzy, then use long extension bars (preferably 3/8" drive) with sockets fron under the car to undo the bolts whilst someone holds the nuts with a spanner from the engine bay. I did it this way as I didn't have the facilities to lift a combined unit out.

Engine bay with g/box still in place:

DSC00003.jpg

Dave

[Firept]

Thanks for the info guys.
Sorry to steal the thread Sonnet and welcome to the mad house by the way.
Any idea of the weight of the engine and gearbox?

Paul.

[stag-phil]

Welcome Sonett

This forum is a fantastic source of information and you have just proved that!

Owning a Stag is a new experience to me, it has been a great but I have always had a fear of a head gasket failure and problems getting the heads off.

It was quite a relief to read your post so thank you.

Pictures of the tools would be great so that I know what to look out for.

Phil

[flying farmer]

Like all the best ideas, this is something simple. If ever I have another stuck head stud I am going to invest in an air chisel!
Neil

[jleyton]

I was dreading taking the engine out this winter and doing the heads not that they need doing as its the bottom end thats a little noisy on start up .............Paul

Hi Paul,

Far be it from me to stop a man doing a job, but if your heads do not appear to need doing, but the bottom end does, did you realise that you can do the bottom end from underneath without any need to remove the engine.

This is how I did my big ends and mains and it wasn't too hard a job

Cheers

Julian

[Guest]

Paul from Andover,

My first ever ride in a Stag was last april in Monxton - delft blue with leather interior. Owners name was Brian and he took me out for a local spin around. Do you know him? I bought mine in Devon the very next day. Not as good as Brian's though.

Bob in Brighton,

a short length of 1/2" gas barrel slipped over the stud springs to mind. Then use a knackered No10 SDS bit in a hammer drill with the rotation turned off.

I know that I should know this, but what's a hald inch gas barrel and a SDS bit? I have the hammer drill, but hopefull my heads will stay on for a long while yet.

[Bob Heritage]

,

a short length of 1/2" gas barrel slipped over the stud springs to mind. Then use a knackered No10 SDS bit in a hammer drill with the rotation turned off.

I know that I should know this, but what's a hald inch gas barrel and a SDS bit? I have the hammer drill, but hopefull my heads will stay on for a long while yet.

Gas barrel is a thick walled steel tube (used in gas fitting) but any thing would do to stop the bit riding off the stud, e.g an old socket.
SDS bit has a fluted shank, non slippage, standard fitting for a hammer drill. Not to be confused with a percussion drill which uses a conventional straight shank.