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Guide pins

5K views 15 replies 8 participants last post by  83CADMAN 
#1 ·
Anyone have a good tip on removing the head guide pins from the N* block?
 
#2 ·
Yes,
Just drop in a 1/2 inch drill upside down in the hole. Then take a foot long pipe wrench, wrap around the dowel pin and twist. I took 4 out three days ago this way in less than 15 minutes. If you need to replace the dowel pins they are gm part # 3522352 for $5.29 from gmotors.com.
Have Fun!
 
#7 ·
IF you try to pack (drill shank or rod) and twist out the guide sleeve, instead of WD-40 use a load of PB Blaster and let it soak for a half hour.

Speedy's method is the exact reverse of using a pack of greased washers, nut and bolt to install the water pump drive pulley on the intake cam snout.
 
#8 ·
Yep! PB Blaster soaked for a couple of days before I even started.
I also thought of tapping with 5/8 and pulling. I’m figuring I’ll have to drill / ream it through.
As it stands for now I'm proceeding with drilling all the other holes and I’ll come back to the problem child last.
First I used a 1/2" bit to clean out the old threads, then followed with a 17/32” bit to reach root thread diameter for a 5/8”-11 tap.
I was going to use a power drill but changed my mind and used the old school method of hand reaming.
The aluminum was malleable enough the drill bits cut just fine. I had to grind a flat on the drill bit shanks so I could lock them in a tap wrench. Every hole came out perfectly perpendicular to the deck. BTW lots of shiny aluminum chips from every hole.
Now its back to the…..I’ll post my problem guide pin results later.
 
#9 · (Edited by Moderator)
Want to mention for posterity that when doing the pipe wrench method be very careful with the surrounding deck surface. The aluminum alloy is super soft and if the the wrench jaw wipes on it when twisting it will score it up. Take a second to check for room first and save yourself a lot of extra trouble. Don't try to do things as fast as Tim Carroll does in his videos LOL.
Vernon
 
#12 ·
Hmmmm…Good idea, but… I don’t have a dremel.
I just priced drill bits; 9/16, 19/32 and a 5/8 at $20.00 EACH! OUCH!
That’s $60 bucks I could use elsewhere.
On with good old Yankee ingenuity.
Today I plan to tap all holes with a 5/8-11 tread. I'm thinking, since I’ve already run a 17/32 thru the damaged guide pin, the additional thread cut would thin the broken pin’s wall enough to pick out the remnants.
 
#14 ·
I've tried everything in the book including almost all of the above mentioned ideas. Have not tried the welded treaded rod trick though, good idea. The quickest and best thing Ive done to remove the dowels is a dowel puller. One of the guys at the shop had one and he saw me struggling a couple months ago while doing a reseal on a northstar (The Cadillac dealership I worked at closed, so I am relatively new at this GM dealership). He suggested I try it. I am not kidding, the thing is worth it's weight in gold. Had all 4 head dowels out in less than 5 minutes. Its a slide hammer that has a collar that fits around the outside of the dowel. The harder you slide the hammer the tighter the collar gets. Did not even oil the last three dowels. The downside is the only big tool company that Ive found so far that still makes them is Snap on and it's $300. Definately worth it if you do a lot of them. I'm sure there are other companies that might make them still, I am currently looking for one. You need a 5/8 collar (I think it's 5/8).

With that being said, My 2000 Deville's headgasket blew last sunday so I did them at work today. Bad news is the guy with the dowel puller recently quit so I was out of luck on using his. I ended up taking a 4" long bolt (cant remember the size, fit snuggly in the center of the dowel) and put a pair of vise grips around the outside as tight as I could get them. Twisted the dowel until it was loose, but then couldnt get it any further. I was determined to figure out a way to remove them without getting violent with them like I used to in the past. I tried everything with no luck. When I was about to give up and just chip it out like I've done in the past I had a crazy idea I thought wouldnt work at all. I broke out the air hammer. Used a blunt chisel tip on it. Hit the head of the bolt from the bottom of the head and I couldnt believe it, it came right out. Took an hour to figure it out and get the first one out. Had the last three out in about 10 minutes after that.

The air hammer trick works, especially if you don't want to drop big money on a dowell puller. The best way is to get a dowel puller though. You can even reuse the dowels if you want when you use the puller (I wouldn't, but you can). Here is a link to the snap on puller so you can get an idea of what I'm talking about. http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?item_ID=635473&group_ID=676035
 
#16 ·
SUCCESS!!!!!
I used a 9/16-drill bit clamped in a tap wrench to remove as much of the broken off guide pin as possible. I then switched to a 5/8-11 tap and since I’m installing head studs, I cut the threads to the bottom. The first time I backed the tap out of the hole the remnants of guide pin came with it. YESSSSSS!!!!!

Thanks Guy’s.
The tip’s from billbrownfarm, (post #2 & 5) and Submariner409, (post #7) worked very well. I did have to use a small pry bar between the deck and the pipe wrench to gently pry outward whilst twisting the guide pins. I used a rag over duct tape to protect the surface), thanks Manic Mechanic, (post #9). Also the tip from Speedygman, (post #6) worked well in regards to the one pin that sheared off.
 
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