Need help to remove 97 accord cylinder head bolt

[Frank Fan]

Hi everybody,
I am working on my 97 accord, and try to remove the cylinder head. I am at the point to unscrew the head bolts, and I found that they are very tight. I thought they should be around 72 ft-lb, but I think I am at the point of breaking my 1/2in breaker bar. I just dont want to break the head bolt also.
So I would like to get the advise from the folk who had done this before, Do I need 3/4in breaker bar and socket to take these bolt out. Or is there any tip to remove the bolt.

Thanks in advance

Topic

[Billy]

1. PB Blaster every 5 minutes for an hour.
2. Knock the bolt heads straight down, hard, with a brass drift.
3. Hit them with an air wrench.

Don’t reuse the TTY bolts. Consider studs instead of new bolts.

[Wyr Twister]

Carefully applied heat , along with the PB Blaster ?

I would these are torque to yield head bolts . You need to look that up .

First , if that is true , the procedure is to torque the down to a specific torque in multiple steps . Then continue to tighten them down for a specific number of degrees of rotation .

The net result may have been more than you anticipated .

Next you will likely need to purchase new head bolts . So do not worry about damaging the head bolts , if you have to replace them any way . Just do not damage the threaded holes in the block .

Lastly , you will need some way to measure the degrees of rotation when you do the final tightening .

God bless
Wyr

[zero]

You are going righty tighty, lefty loosey right? Just checking.

Head bolts are usually really, really tight since they are torque to yield on modern cars.

Like the torquing procedure, they should be loosened evenly (or close to) and in steps to avoid warping the head. Just give it what you can and brace yourself so you don’t get hurt if something fails really. If you can get your hands on a 3/4 bar and socket or adapter, then by all means feel free to do so. Personally I’ve always just used my chinesium 1/2 breaker bar without a problem. I would avoid using any sort of power tool for the initial loosening, once there’s no tension on them it doesn’t matter.

[Frank Fan]

Hi All,
Thanks for all you folk advise. I purchased a longer breaker bar with a better design, and I took out all the bolt in sequence.
And I got the cylinder head finally removed.
But I noticed that there are a thick layer of carbon deposit on most of the cylinder surfaces. Some folk said that while I have the head removed, I should do all the cleaning and tuning as much as possible.
So I would like to ask for any advise to which component I should look at first to take care of the carbon deposit problem.
And what should I do with the carbon deposit on the cylinders

Thanks again

[Wyr Twister]

How many miles on the car ?

I would remove as much carbon as I could from the head , while I had it off .

As far as removing it from inside the cylinder ? I do not know . I would be concerned with what might fall down the sides of the piston . I would think it would be very abrasive ?

Could you use light oil & compressed air to clean it out? I do not know . Someone more knowledgeable than I needs to chime in >

Once you have the head off , I would consider sending it to a machine shop . Have them check the flatness of the head mating surface wor warpage & correct as needed . Check the condition of the valves , guides and valve seats . Correct as needed .

God bless
Wyr

PS The longer breaker bar was just what you needed ! 🙂

[Richard Kirshy]

To remove the carbon build up on the combustion side of the head ….
There are several things you can try.
Flip the head combustion side up and puddle SEA FOAM or WD-40 and let it soak for a while the using a green scotch brite pad start scrubbing the carbon off gently.
Another method is to mask off the heads mating surface and spray oven cleaner on the combustion areas of the head then thoroughly clean it off.

As to the cylinders, I assume you mean the tops of the pistons.
If so then you may simply hand crank the motor to bring the piston to the top of the block and using SEA FOAM or WD-40 and a scotch brite pad scrub the top of each piston clean.
Use a air compressor to blow off the piston and remove as much debris as possible and wipe clean.
Proceed to the next and remember to well oil the cylinder walls to prevent flash rusting.
This may sound silly but you do realize that you will need to a oil and filter change when the job is completed.
Also a radiator flush is a good idea.

[Frank Fan]

Thanks Guy for your suggestions, I already have a rebuilt cylinder head ready to replace the old one. However. my concern is why there are so much carbon buildup on top of the piston, and is there some components on the intake manifold side I need to clean or replaced.
this is a 97 honda accord wth 200,000 on it, so is the carbon buildup on the piston a normal occurrence?

Thanks

[Richard Kirshy]

With any internal combustion engine , there will always be some amount of carbon build up.
How much will depend on several factors:
Highway or city mileage.
Engine maintenance.
Driving habits.
Use of quality fuel.
Use of fuel system treatment(s).

[Author]

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