Problem With Pulling Heads??

[Project_Legacy]

yes i am taking apart the EJ22T motor that i just got. i have decided to rebuild the motor so as me and a friend were trying to pull the heads off, the bolts would not come loose at all. we were using an air impact wrench and it did nothing to the bolts. all of em. the valve side of the heads looked very clean tho. very very nice. but yes i have seemed to have misplaced my haynes manual. did a search on here as well and couldnt find anything about it... is this normal?? is it just realli realli hard to take off? any input would be appreciated. thanks


Don

[professor]

first I would never use an impact wrench on head bolts, or anything else you care about that is threaded into or through aluminum.

second impact wrenches shit themselves regularly so maybe you are not getting much twist. If you were, you'd have broken them by now.

Use a conventional breaker bar and they will come out or break.

[evolutionmovement]

I used a breaker bar and a pipe to no avail. Quick bursts with a cordless impact wrench and then the breaker/pipe finally did the trick. I have no idea how anyone would've gotten them off if they were in the car. If they were cast iron I may've been tempted to torch them off and everything was very clean.

Steve

[THAWA]

It's much much easier to remove head bolts when there's 3000 lbs of force to push (car) against rather than 150-250 lbs(engine/stand/accessories). You really shouldnt use an impact on em though. Since it sounds like the engine is on a stand you need to really brace it. Put it in the corner of the room if you can and hold the stand with your feet, then use gravity and your weight to turn it left on the end of a big breaker bar, like at least 24"

[evolutionmovement]

Ha ha! Get a real fat friend, like the kind that needs several home health care workers to get them out of bed or a chainsaw to get them out of the bathroom doorway when they get stuck, to stand on the engine stand if you're just going the breaker route. It seriously almost needs to be bolted to the floor. I agree not to use a 'real' impact wrench - I used my portable DeWalt which is much weaker than an air-powered one.

Steve

[Matt Monson]

This isn't really that hard. I did this for the 4th time this weekend. You just need a breaker bar with a cheater stick that gets you to around 3 ft of leverage. A second guy helps to hold the engine in place.

And it you have misplaced your manual, find it before you proceed. If you do not loosen these in the proper sequence you run the risk of warping a head!!!

[Project_Legacy]

kool. sounds good. i will try the breaker bar and post the results. someone said somethin about a torque wrench as well... any ideas about that? o yea. do u remember the pattern that u were talking about of taking them off? just incase i cant find the haynes? anyways thanks a lot everyone. so is it that bad to use the wrench?? guess it would be huh... LoL. thanks again. o yea... its not necessarily on a stand... but on top of a work bench type of thing... stand wasnt available to me at the time... fuck dat thing was hard to get on the bench tho



Don

[professor]

torque wrenches are a poor man's breaker bar, as they are often the longest handle in the toolbox. But don't do it, you'll ruin the accuracy right away if you use them for removals and stuck bolts. Plus they are much more expensive than a good breaker bar.

[Project_Legacy]

alrite we gots the heads off!! used a 24" breaker bar. wasnt too bad at all. does anyone know if these are one time torque down bolts? meaning i should buy new heads bolts? Everything looks good on the valves and in the cylinder walls as well! gonna bring the heads to the machine shop as soon as i can to get em rebuilt and everything. i dont think i am going to do anything with the main block tho.

Anyways are there any camshaft upgrades for the Legacy turbo?? i realli want to rev higher than 6500... is that the rev limit of the legacy turbo? but yea i want to be able to rev maybe around 7500 or 8000. would i mite have to switch heads to get to that limit?? and if so which heads would be good for that?

thanks a lot everyone for all ur help!

Don

[azn2nr]

if you get new head bolts you allow yourself the ability to run more boost depending on which ones you get.

[evolutionmovement]

I'd personally buy new bolts (and did). I'm not sure if you have to replace them, but it's always a good idea, especially with FI. ARP studs are the best idea, but they're a good deal more money.

The rpm limit is down to breathing (and an ECU rev limiter), so you'd need either expensive head work or a new set of heads. I wouldn't bother with the bottom end either unless you're going for a really hairy build or just want to do it. I thought my 73k JY turbo motor looked brand new when I took it apart and was impressed, but then I took apart my 246k N/A engine and was astounded at how new everything was - I'd have had no concerns with even the bearings lasting another 100k easy.

There's not much for cams unless you go DOHC heads, but it may not be necessary if you go that route anyway.

Steve

[Project_Legacy]

i intially wanted to run about 12 PSI of boost on this motor with a WRX intercooler. do u think i will be able to run maybe 15 or 16 PSI with the WRX intercooler? i have no fuel upgrades... would the stock fuel output be enough for that? as for now? i am thinkin of the walbro 255 fuel pump a lil later on. thanks everyone for all the help.


Don


yea i think i will get new head bolts then. and for the cams... i guess i will jus rebuild my stock heads and run those.

[dzx]

I was running 16psi with a 16G and just a walbro fuel pump. BAC5.2 was running 16psi on a saab intercooler.

[Project_Legacy]

well im also running the stock turbo..... i dont know if i will upgrade turbos or not... wat would be the efficiency range of the stock turbo?

[jake15]

i think the WRX i/c will be able to take it. i'm running 12-13psi on a 16g and it works great. when i get my fcd and some type of control for my 440cc injectors then its up to 16/17psi. i've heard the efficiency range of the stock turbo is around 14/15psi.