You seem to have what I would call a 'hydraulic lock'. One way to save the
day would be to drill a small hole in the end of the nut, thereby relieving
the lock. (*Unless the problem somehow is a cross-threaded nut*) Yes, the
studs do come out with the case together, but of course the head needs to be
removed.

Karl

----- Original Message -----
From: Dave Bayer <daveb@CP.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Thursday, June 24, 1999 10:38 PM
Subject: Removing head nut

> Ok, I went to reseal one head that had a leaky head nut that I
> just could not seem to seal with the head on. I was in a big
> hurry and I believe I got a bunch of black VW sealant in the
> head nut. Anyway, I had twisted the thing on by hand for a
> couple revolutions and then pulled out the rachet to get it
> down to the head. Well, the nut stopped turning a couple
> millimeters from the head (ugh!) and would not come off. I
> let it sit for a long time and went out to try and pull the
> nut off again but the thing will not budge (I think I am
> bending the stud now). So I have a couple questions:
>
> 1) Has this ever happened to anyone else?!
>
> 2) How do the studs come out? Are they replacable with
> the case bolted together?
>
> TIA!
>
> dave