How do you take the cylinder head off of a 1985 Pontiac sunbird?

Answer 1

It becomes one of those things in which the more you do it, the easier and faster it becomes. Prepare yourself about 8 hours for your first run at a cylinder head.

The 1st thing you want to do is get yourself a Haynes manual for your specific car. It has all of the steps in order to do anything you want to do to your car. It will also tell you what materials you need. HIGHLY SUGGESTED ($15 or so. WELL worth it)

Make sure you have EVERY tool required. The Torque Wrench is probably the most important tool for the head bolts when you are putting it back on.

Make a list of all of the parts you will need. A head kit is a good safe idea but you will not need every piece. The Haynes manual will help you out to let you know what you need. Go to your local auto parts store and spend a bit.

This is also a prime time to replace the coolant and oil in your car so pick up some oil, a filter, and some coolant.

The next thing you want to do is get a bunch of little boxes to put parts in. Every time I don't get boxes to put my parts in, I ALWAYS lose one or two pieces. DO THIS to save your self time and hassle. Furthermore, label the boxes as you go with a black felt pen.

Take pictures of what you are doing with a digital camera. Take LOTS of shots of under the hood especially where you are going to be removing parts. You will thank me later for this one.

The rest is fully explained in the Haynes manual. Follow every step and don't skimp on any steps.