Need help removing head after pebble fell in

[Kaiser man]

Last week I was removing the spark plugs,and apparently a pebble was stuck on my face from looking under the car, because as soon as I removed the #2 plug,a pebble fell right into the hole (out of all the places it could have gone )I cant see it to remove it so I need to remove the head,I already have a head gasket,but I've never removed a head before so i need some help and have some questions

1.To remove the water outlet elbow do i just unscrew the bolts and pull it up ,are there any special precautions,when i replace the water elbow gasket do i need a sealer,how tight should it be torqued when I put back on?

2.To remove the distributor do i just loosen the 3 bolts on the head and pull it up?

3.The screw on piece for the heater hose on the rear of the head is pretty tight,what would i use to remove it?

4.When I undo the bolts for the oil filter container,how do i completely remove the container so i can paint it,and when i replace the filter do i need to fill the container with oil,do any of you have a recommended oil filter replacement.

5.There is a bolt coming out of the side of the head to the right of the ignition coil,it has a small wire attached to ground something,what is this bolt for?

6.I'm assuming the head gasket doesn't need a sealant,is this right?

7.Also while i'm here,how do i replace the manifold gasket?How tight do i torque the bolts when i put it back on?I also assume this gasket doesn't use sealant because it would get too hot.

Thank You for your help

[shadetree77]

Man, that sucks! Talk about some bad luck. Anyway, really not trying to be a smarta$$ here but I think almost everything you have asked about can be answered by reading the service manual. I don't know what year your car is but a lot of the manuals are offered on the circlekf.com site for free.

[joefrazer]

Shadetree is correct...most everything is covered in the shop manual, but I'll help a bit. **Assuming this is a 226 engine***

1. You do not need to remove the water outlet elbow. Just remove the hose ( heater hose as well).

2. The distributor has just one nut - remove it and the vacuum tube and wire coming from the coil and the unit should lift straight out. You will see a slotted ring in the head...note its position because it lifts out as well and has to go back in exactly the same way. The distributor has a tab on the bottom that fits in the slot and has to go in the same way it came out as well.

3. You do not have to remove the heater hose elbow.

4. Remove the lines from the filter to remove it from the engine.

5. That bolt is actually the temperature sender. Remove the wire but you can leave the sender in place.

6. No sealant - install dry.

Hope this helps

[Kaiser man]

Shade tree , in the manual it just says " remove head", it is the least detailed repair manual I have ever seen.

[FleetMaster]

i would really try using a shop vac and suck out the pebble before i would disassemble and pull the head.  Garden hose, plastic tubing, duct tape all size down a line to reach into the cylinder through the plug hole.  Carefully rotating the engine by hand to get the piston close to TDC so valves are slightly open and air can enter the combustion chamber through the valves and head to your suction hose.  Have the shop vac EMPTY so you can see the pebble in the vac if you get it.  remember, even if the pebble will not pass through the hose, it can stay "sucked" onto the end of the tube as the tube is withdrawn through the sprak plug hole.

[boatingbill]

Fleetmaster is correct. Stick a long pencil into the spark plug hole and watch it as you slowly turn the motor over using the !" nut
on the front pulley. Watch the pencil move and it is easy to find TDC. A small vacuum hose should find the pebble, just be patient.

[Kaiser man]

Well I can't turn the engine over because it is BONE DRY on oil

[joefrazer]

You can turn the engine using a wrench and it will not cause any issues. I do agree with the others, I would try to remove the pebble with a vacuum or by other means before I'd pull the head. The risk of snapping off a head bolt (and it always snaps flush with the block) is too great. Been there and done that.

[Bobm90]

Not too hard to remove and replace the head but trying the vacuum first is a good idea, I would worry about moving the piston with ANYTHING in the cylinder, if the pebble is small enough and it moves it could effect a valve seat also. I will suggest that you use a nylon stocking to block the vacuum hose where it goes into the shop vac tank, this will allow you to remove the item that you retrieved, no need to empty the vac tank, this also works for retrieving small items from anywhere

[MarkH]

Definitely go with the shop vac first. You don't sound like you've got much mechanical experience and we've all been there........ given that, I wouldn't recommend you start turning the engine unless you have no other choice.

You might try some tool rental shops or even a mechanic to rent a bore scope to see where to steer your hose.

[alohagreen]

and sometimes the tool  called the *mechanics grabber*
MIGHT get it ...

[Bobm90]

Yep I met a girl called a "mechanics grabber" once. 

[Kaiser man]

I got it out with a shop vacuum.
Thank you everyone for your help