Hey Leo...
Check my site at:
http://www.benplace.com/vanagon_engine1.htm
http://www.benplace.com/vanagon_engine3.htm
http://www.benplace.com/vanagon_engine4.htm

I did enought head lately to tell you that it is NOT a bif deal!!!!
EVERY single head went off very easy!!! remove all screw, the head will
come loose right away... now BANG those head with a rubber hammer... from
each side...they all comme loose....

At worse, do the following... put cyl. #1 at TDC, now turn the pulley 1/4
of a turn, so all cylinder will be mid way, givving you a bit more
safety... but even with the cylinder #1 at TDC and the #2 at the botom,
you can still pull the head out a bit, enough to insert a piece of hard
wood into the space between head and core and bang the sleeve....

But this is at WORSE!!!!! i neve had to do so... i just loose the head and
bang them...

Good luck...
Ben (Relaxing in the sunny FL)
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Howdy fellow listees,

I am about to replace the head of my 91 Westy. Very worry about the
cylinders come out with the head. I have searched the Achieve about this
subject and found that many folks have success taking the head off with no
major difficulty, some folks tap it for days to separate the head, and
some never get it off and have to remove the head with the cylinder
attached. Common sense tells me that there must be something one can do to
make the cylinder/head separation a smooth job. For example, can one turns
the engine to make the pistons as far down as possible to make the
separation easier, if so, how? Something to think about.

Leo
91 Westy multivan, 115,000 miles
Houston, Texas