Cylinder Head lifting tip

[Verne_Frantz]

Maybe it's easy for a lot of you to lift a head by a pair of rocker arms on the studs, but I tried it recently when I was working on checking piston to valve clearance. Well, the rockers twist and pinch my fingers (and that hurts) and cause you to drop the head. I did, but luckily no damage. So I had these made up from a pair of less than perfect rockers. I made sure to use some anti-splatter in the socket so the ball would seat as it should.



I oiled them up and put them on the head and it lifted like a dream. The rocker can pivot as you position the head and the load is dispensed over the ball so there isn't much sideways strain on the studs.


Then good rockers get transferred on and my trusty P&G took care of the valve adjustment. Yes, it's tedious to remove the handles and swap to other rockers, then back again to lift it off, but it saves my fingers and eliminates the prospect of accidents.


Spin the short block over, switch back to the handles and pop off the head. slice the clay in half and measure it.


The whole job on #1 & #7 took about 45min. I did them one at a time too, but there's no reason why they both couldn't be done with one head attachment. I just didn't think of that. Now I'll clean up the handles and put some paint on them. I just thought I'd pass it on because it made it a lot less stressful for me. Safety First!

Verne