Pulling cyl head- running into problems- need suggestions - IDI Engine - VWDiesel.net The IDI, TDI, and mTDI source.

• Pulling cyl head- running into problems- need suggestions by 92EcoDiesel Jetta on 24 Jul, 2011 12:26
• I have the K14 turbo and was planning on leaving the turbo on the head and pulling it as an assembly. Problem is I can't get the turbo oil drain line off on either the oil pan end or the turbo end fittings. I tried heat on the turbo end flare fittings and also lot's of penetrating oil didn't help.
   
  If I leave the turbo drain pipe on, can I pull the inlet manifold and then the exh manifold so I can pull the head.? Can I pull the exh manifold with the turbo on or does the turbo have to come off first before pulling the exh manifold? Problem I will be facing is lot's of rusted hardware, rounded nuts etc.
  
  Should I cut the turbo drain pipe and weld it back together? If I take the oil pan bolts out, I mayy be able to get a wrench on the fitting on the pan side and get the flare nut off without wrecking the pan. Will the turbo oil drain line pull out of the engine mount then? It is captured by it and hard to tell if it will come out.
• #1 by the caveman on 24 Jul, 2011 13:08
• If you do have the flare fittings on the bottom end of the drain, take as big a hammer that will sit on one flat side of the "nut". Then take another hammer and hit the other side of the nut. That should make the nut come loose. If you can really sit the hammers nice and tight then you can hit as hard as you like, but if you're not sure, be careful. If you can get heat on it with a torch, get the nut nice and hot [maybe not too red/orange hot unless you've drained the oil out of the pan] then as soon as you remove the torch, spray it with cold water until it's cold to the touch. Should almost come off by hand at that point.
  
  The head can be removed with the intake and exhaust manifolds attached. makes it heavy to lift though, so be careful of your back and not to drop the head and cause more damage than with what you started with.
• #2 by 92EcoDiesel Jetta on 24 Jul, 2011 14:03
• The flex section is on the bottom near the oil pan. I assume it's a rubber hose behind the s.s. braid so a torch is not a good idea unless I have a replacement turbo drain line. As far as a hammer are you serious? Is that a caveman's way? lol There's no room to put 2 wrenches on the fittings there so how am I going to swing a hammer? Swinging a hammer will probably break the pipe off of the oil pan.
  
  I got the inlet manifold off and the top row of exh manifold bolts off. Got one of the exh. C clamps off.  Still have to get the bottom row of exh manifold bolts and the C clamp on the passenger side off. Will the exh manifold with turbo still attached slide off of  the 8 exh manifold studs with the oil drain pipe still attached?
• #3 by 92EcoDiesel Jetta on 24 Jul, 2011 20:40
• Got it out! The 2 most difficult to get to (bottom middle) exh nuts stripped, figures, so I tried the upper turbo drain flare nuts again. Scraped the rust away with a pick, heat with propane torch, then penetrating oil and it broke loose! I tied the hood back straight up, stood on the strut towers and with cordage tied to the head and turbo, lifted it out easily. Have to clean it up, find a straight edge and check flatness. Cracks between the valves are very minor (narrow hairline). Don't see any other cracks but I'll look more carefully with a magnifier after it's cleaned up.
  
  
• #4 by Mark(The Miser)UK on 24 Jul, 2011 21:05
• Well done for persevering. I hadn't realised that on the transverse setup, the turbo actually sits on top of the exhaust manifold. I just knew it was higher up.
  
  On the Quantum, it hangs underneath and so four bolts and the oil supply removed and the turbo is left on the exhaust pipe, and you can lift the head. Another reason to get rid of the GTD I suppose...
• #5 by the caveman on 24 Jul, 2011 21:23
• Excellent Smithers !
• #6 by the caveman on 24 Jul, 2011 21:29
• I agree that taking that fitting off can be a pain. As for heating, the trick all the time is to heat as fast as possible, and squelch asap also. I thought there was a couple of inches of steel pipe before  the flex hose. I've done it before without any problems. the thing with the hammers is to use a lager one on the backside and then hit with a smaller one. Makes the nut oval out for a second and break the seal of rust in the threads
• #7 by guy plain on 24 Jul, 2011 22:02
• the hammer thing is one of the best a safest ways to bust a nut loose bar none!!! so long as your not a compete re*&$....like he said bigger hammer on the back side...or flat hunk of steel.... these no heat to bugger anything else up and no need to refill a hammer..lol i grew up on fishing boats on the BC coast....with a solid backing and a good wack you would be suprized how big and how rusty of a nut you can bust loose...this is a very NONE cave man way..
• #8 by 92EcoDiesel Jetta on 25 Jul, 2011 08:45
• What's the best way to clean the head for inspection? I was thinking a brass wire wheel on a Dremel.
  
  The nuts that came off the exh manifold were steel. Is this original? IAutohausaz sells copper exh nuts.
• #9 by clarkrep on 25 Jul, 2011 10:41
• Let us know how the brass wheel works. Be careful though, it's really easy to remove head material without realizing it.
  I usually use a razor blade to clean the deposits off of flat surfaces. Oven cleaner does a very nice job of breaking down the carbon everywhere else.
  Don't be surprise to find the aluminum around each prechamber raised a couple thou like its been squished up. It seems every one I've pulled apart has that...
• #10 by 92EcoDiesel Jetta on 25 Jul, 2011 12:57
• The brass wire wheel works great in bringing the shine out of the metal. I used an aluminum ruler (end) to scrape most of the carbon away first before the brass wire wheel. I sighted the aluminun ruler and it looked straight, held it next to another ruler and there was no gap between them so I called it good enough. Checked the head with a feeler gauge and there is no warpage at all. I used a .001 feeler and there was no place on the head I can shove that between the ruler.
  
  The head and car is in NYC Queens/ LI at the moment. I have a couple of shops in CT that can do a pressure test but I'd rather find one closer. Can anyone recommend a shop in Queens or LI with the proper equipment to do a pressure test on my head? From the googling I've done, there are different cyl head pressure test machines, some better than others. The submersible ones are generally not as good as the type that can be rotated, with clear Lexan block off plates so you can see where the leaks are. Some can do it with heated and cold water and air with the ability to switch between them in quick succession.
  
  I want to make sure the head has no leaks before putting any work into it. The 2 middle bores in the block look good as well as the piston tops, no lip and I can see the hatch marks. I'll do a more through inspection later. I need to get a bore gauge. What's a descent one that won't break the piggy bank?
  
  Before I pulled the head I did a compression and leak down test. Compression was good all around the 500 psi mark.
• #11 by 92EcoDiesel Jetta on 27 Jul, 2011 09:07
• Quote from: clarkrep on 25 Jul, 2011 10:41

  
  Don't be surprise to find the aluminum around each prechamber raised a couple thou like its been squished up. It seems every one I've pulled apart has that...
  

  
  The head is pretty flat. Couldn't get a 0.001 feeler into any of the "gaps" The prechambersstick up just a hair above the deck in the combustion chamber area, outside that area it lays flat. Is that normal?  I can measure how high it sticks up.