The distributor drive shaft can fall out.  It has shims on the bottom that
can fall into the case if you are really unlucky.

Stuart

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Tom Carchrae
Sent: Wednesday, October 16, 2013 8:31 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: off with her heads

Thanks Scott.  I'll try moving the piston around tomorrow.  I have been
dousing it with a can of un-sticker to no avail.... yet.  I don't have a
propane torch yet, but I believe they are pretty cheap.

I have left the distributor on there.  I presume that is important because
of timing?

Tom

On Wed, Oct 16, 2013 at 6:22 PM, Scott Daniel
<scottdaniel@turbovans.com>wrote:

>  hi John..
> I do them with the piston down, away from the cylinder head.
>
> it's ok to turn the engine ..
> one warning..always keep the distributor in the block when turning the
> engine over by hand.
>
> Even a propane torch would be better than nothing.
> I'd take the head to ...let's see..
> it runs up to 200 F when things are good n' warm in the cooling system.
>
> I wouldn't be afraid to take the whole head up to 250 F measured with
> an IR temp gun.
> That could/should have quite an affect.
>
> nix on the boiling water ..if just poring it over, almost no affect,
> unless you are outdoors and it's below zero.
>
> defenitely lower the piston in the barrel.
> just don't pull the barrel off the piston.
> you only need to get the barrel like 1/2 inch out ..
> then move piston back up to make more sure you don't pull the barrel
> off the head.
>
> you'll get it !
> and you're spraying penetrating oil liberally like every 4 hours, for
> days on end ?
>
> Scott
>
>
>  On 10/16/2013 4:37 PM, Tom Carchrae wrote:
>
> On Sun, Oct 6, 2013 at 12:17 PM, Tom Carchrae <tom@carchrae.net>
<tom@carchrae.net> wrote:
>
>
>  Enjoying the job so far.  We'll see, I may be cursing a bit more when
> I am re-assembling.
>
>
>  I guess it is sort of reassuring that I posted my first head offing
> email just 10 days ago.  I guess I was asking for it with the 'enjoying
the job'
> comment.  3 cylinders off, no problem...
>
> It seems now like it has been 10 years as I have been making very
> little progress.  I go out, pry, tap, bang, shout, and scrape the skin
> off my fingers, but no, that cylinder sleeve is well jammed into that
> head.  If this was a beheading, it is the very messy amateur sort;
> nothing short of gruesome.
>
> The cylinder in question has the piston quite close to the head, which
> gives me a lot more wiggle room. After fighting with it and having the
> nuts all still on (at the end of their threads) I removed the nuts and
> pulled it out further.  Still no luck.
>
> I am yet to try heat.  I guess this will be the next attack.  I guess
> that pouring boiling water on it won't help?  Or just go straight for
> propane heat (I can see burns now, as well as cuts on my hands).  That
> and more walloping, although so far this seems to be purely for my
> mental well being.
>
> One though I had was that I may have pried too much on the inside, so
> maybe it is not coming off evenly making it more stuck.  Another
> thought is that piston being out so far in that sleeve makes the whallops
less effective.
>
> Anyway, mostly, I just came to moan and bemuse.  Awoooooo.
>
> Tom
>
>
>
>