[TR] TR6 head removal

[Randall]

> My friends here are going to call their friends in shops for 
> more help and
> advice, before I end up having it towed to a shop.
> Any and all additional suggestions or comments would be 
> appreciated. 

Has the head moved at all?  Or is it still firmly against the block along the entire length?  If you managed to lift one end at all
(even 1/16"), then it may be bound up against the studs and you need to drive that end back down while you concentrate on doing the
same thing to the other end.  That is what happened when I tried to use a hoist to lift a TR3 head off of the studs.  The head bound
on the studs and lifted the car off the ground, even though it came free and came right off once I set the car down and drove the
lifted end back down.

Also, I think you mentioned packing rope into #5 and #6, but that would not be correct.  You want to use #1 and #6 as they come to
TDC at the same time.  Turn the engine backwards as far as it will go, and then use the starter to spin it forward.  You'll probably
have to repeat this dozens of times to see any movement at all.

Here are some more extreme suggestions, but probably it would be better to let a shop tackle it:

1) Use an arc welder to pass enough current through the studs to get them hot.  You can also weld a nut to the stud at the same time
to get a firmer grip without relying on the stud threads.

2) Build a tool similar to that used by the TR7 & Stag folks to remove recalcitrant heads.  This is basically a large (and heavy)
weldment that bolts to the head on both sides, and has large set screws that bear against the top of the studs.  Offhand, I'm not
sure where you would mount to a TR6 head on the LH side, the spark plug holes are the only threads on that side that I can think of.

As a side comment, this is a very common problem with the TR7 and Stag motors; and it is not uncommon to find motors that have been
destroyed by unsuccessful attempts to remove the head(s).  Reportedly the above tool works a treat, even when other methods fail.


3), which I plan to try if I ever get that far down my todo list, to build a home EDM (electrical discharge machining) machine and
use it to cut the studs out of the head.  There have been several sets of plans published in Home Shop Machinist (reprints are
available from Village Press).  Basically, you need a drive mechanism that will advance a section of brass tubing under "computer"
control, through the center of the stud; plus a power supply that will generate several hundred volts of DC without being damaged by
a short circuit.  The logic circuit monitors the voltage and advances the tool when the voltage is high, retracts it when the
voltage is low.  Each time it moves, the resulting spark removes a tiny piece of metal from the stud.  A small pump circulates fluid
through the center of the tube and a catch basin around the stud, to carry away the tiny bits.  It's a very slow process (hence the
need for automation), but will cut anything that will conduct (eg hardened steel) without wandering.  The classic example is cutting
a gear-shaped hole through a file.

Randall

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