Forum

[Dean]

Have a 350 and having difficulty getting the head off. Have been beating on it with a wooden block and hammer and it won't budge. The reason I'm removing the head is because I think the exhaust valve is going bad - have lost alsot of compression lately. Any ideas?

[jaffa90]

I`m new (but older) to enfields,from an engineering point of view you may have to torch the studs and/or the joint (copper gasket)to break the seal.

[pilot]

Put on compression stroke put some oil through plug hole, put plug back in and kick it over hard. head will release and tease off.
Good luck.
John.

[PeteF]

The problem is that the cylinder head nut washers are rubbish and get squashed and jam against the studs. Even when the head starts to move you sometimes have to fight it all the way off. If you can get the studs out it overcomes the problem. A length of rope down the plug hole is another method. Oil in the plughole will start the head moving but won't get it all the way.Keep bashing away at the exhaust port and inlet with a suitable bit of timber and it should come. Don't go near the fins! Do not use a lever on the gasket surface!

[sab]

I recently had a similar problem with my 500. Tried the rope method, kick-over method etc. but all to no avail. I ended up making a hardwood 'wedge' which sits on the frame giving me a horizontal surface, then a piece of angle iron across the bike sitting on that. From there I used a combination of long clamps etc. to ease the head up (and subsequently the barrel). You need to be able to bring it up very straight, so the clamps each side allow you to do this. Thumping it will release the gasket it it's stuck, but after that PeteF is right that the problem is the old washers which grip onto the studs. When you put it back it's worth buying the hardened washers from our hosts to avoid the problem next time. But it can be a pain getting the old ones out even after removing the head as they get completely crushed inside.

[John R]

I would advise you to persevere with the rope trick. Remove the rockers first to avoid the valves tangling with the rope, and experiment with different amounts of rope.

[Dean]

This is Dean - thanks for the suggestions. Worked on it last night and it finally broke loose. I can rotate it a bit, but it feels like it is stuck on the two bolts. Could the bolts be sticking due to build up? The washers on the bolts came off easily. How would I try to back those out?

[Dean]

Dean again. What precisely do you do with the rope?

[John R]

You just feed it through the spark plug hole until it fills up the combustion chamber and some of the space in the upper cylinder. The just kick the engine over good and hard and it will push the head off, while not being so hard as to break anything.

[Dean]

Got my answere regarding the rope - will give it a try and let you guys know. Thanks