Corey Thomas - Jaguar XJ6 Series III

- Lifting the cylinder head on a 1987 Jaguar XJ6 Series III

Here goes:

• Getting tools ready, extending opening of hood and propping open, and attaching my poor-man fender covers (cardboard) - rolled the cardboard the jack handle to give it a curve making it an easy task for the tape to hold it in place
  
• Drained coolant and subsequent cleanup since I missed the target - after mopping up the floor, I had a fan running to help dry it
  
• Disconnect a ton-o-stuff on both intake and exhaust sides - note the exhaust manifolds were disconnected while the intake manifold remain connected - man, this was a lot of stuff which I started to label - I eventually resorted to a lot of pictures
  
• Tied up all connections with nylon ties, removed the valve covers and the head bolts - one stud was broken/corroded in the block, another was stuck and would take some extra encouragement which didn't work so I ended up lifting the head with the frozen stud in place which I eventually removed with a stud puller and a lot of penetrant
  
• Broke the head-gasket seal with a bottle jack on each side - 1 between the lip on the block and the head (exhaust side) - 1 with a long piece of wood between the floor and the intake manifold
  
• After stacking wood under the head, one side at a time, I lifted the head onto two 2x4s cut to fit on the ledge in the fender walls and then waited for a friend to help me get it over to the workbench - the whole assembly head+intake was about 100lbs
  
• Three issues become apparent: Broken stud means head not clamped down properly; damaged head gasket; clogged catalytic converter

• Checking the compression
• Starting work
• Draining coolant
• Disconnecting intake side
• Disconnecting exhaust side
• Disconnecting head
• Lifting the head
• Inspection