I have two studs on one head which have corrosion between them and the
alloy head,preventing removal of the head. Is there a chemical
solution to releasing or breaking down this corrosion?
I have tried mechanical head pullers,all know penetrants and have been
advised that heat is not an option as it will affect properties of
both the alloy head and the steel head stud. Stuffing rope into the
adjacent cylinder cavity and turning over the motor is also not an
option as is has been removed from the car.

Hiya!,

First of all, I'm jealous, you HAVE an Alfa Romeo.  Now that we have
that out of the way. I spoke with a mechanic who works on AR's and he
gave me some suggestions on how to get your head removed. He said NO
to the acetone idea, as it can cause damage to some metals, and that
it's better to be safe if you want to keep it all classic. The
mechanic I spoke with is Giovanni Di Fatta, a wonderful Italian out of
Maryland.
http://www.difatta.com/
giovanni@difatta.com

Giovanni said to do this, and it should loosen them up, break up the
corrosion, and not cause any metal/chemical damage.

"I can suggest to put brake fluid in the studs area,and wait for a
while for it to "eat" away at the corrosion...up to a couple hours.
Then try to some how use a block of wood to hammer the head up and
down. This way the hammer does not come into contact with the engine
parts at all. A rubber mallet type hammer would be best. If you can
put some heavy leverage between the head and the block, maybe
something to the effect of a screwdriver wrapped in cloth, as not to
damage any parts, with a little heat aroud the head to try and pry it
up after you put on the brake fluid, soak and hammer it. The heat will
help the fluid penetrate faster and work better to loosen the
corrosion.
You may need to have the head re surfaced depending on what damage the
corrosion has done to it though, no matter how gently you get it off.
It will take time though to do a good job, and a lot of patience, and
don't feel bad, sometimes we have these kinds of problems too. There
is no quick fix, just time, muscle and patience. Another idea you can
try, though more risky is to, if you can get enough space you can cut
the studs off with a axle blade
Also
We have all the parts in stock, that you may need - new and used.
Regards, Giovanni"

The was what he said exactly, though I did clean up spelling and
grammar errors for simplicity's sake :) He also stated to me tha i may
want to mention to you that you most likely will have to at least get
some replacement parts because of the corrosion. He doubts you'll ever
be able to have a 100% complete original engine after this kind of
corrosion.

Also, here are some links you may find helpful with your car.
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=alfa%20romeo%20repair&btnG=Google+Search
http://www.trailalfa.com/
http://store.motolit.com/alfa-romeo.html

---

Clarification of Answer by nenna-ga on 15 Apr 2004 08:40 PDT

And, my cat hit my mouse as I was finishing up my answer :)

Anyway, Good Luck on getting your car taken care of, and thanks for using GA.

Nenna-GA

1: Are the studs mounted in the block and you removed the nut and
slide the heads over the studs.

Or 

2: Is the head retained by bolts that you loosen and remove then the head comes of?


I assume case 1

The studs corroded between them self and the stud channel not allowing
you to slide the head off? Can you doble nut the studs and attempt to
turn the stud to break the corrosion or in fact remove the offending
studs? Pouring ACETONE down there will help and putting a nut on there
and hiting it with a mallet (without damaging the nut or threads)
though those studs are probably not something you want to reuse! The
vibration and ACETONE should break the connection. If you deceide your
not gona use those studs you could also use a eletric chissel to
vibrate them. Lube all stud passages also!

Also you relize that corroded head studs mean they where exposed to
"water" meaning that either the head gaskit failed or the head cracked
and leaked water in there.


X

Hi xeno555-ga
Thanks for your interest. The Alfa V6 motor has the head studs
threaded into the block. The alloy heads slide down over the
studs,sealing the wet liners with the head gasket. The heads are
tensioned by eight nuts.

I have also used your suggestion of hammering the studs with an air
hammer to try and break the corrosion up. The V6 head is approximately
4.5" high and the corrosion is right to the top of the head. I am
interested in your suggestion about using acetone. Do you know what
happens when acetone comes into contact with aluminium alloy and or
steel studs? I could test it out on an engine in a
wreckers yard and observe. I would like to preserve this motor as it
is the original made with the car and one day the GTV6 may be a true
Alfa Classic,and classics are worth more if they have their original
motor.
Thanks again 

aussiealfisti-ga