hey all, first post.....names jeff, nice to meet you, now to the point......

i have a 1995 blazer 4.3, (dont know what the injection system is called, but it looks specific to 1995

anyways, i needed to do lower intake gaskets, and when i got the lower manifold off, noticed coolant seaping out between the head and the block....so i decided to take on the head gasket. Im a trained marine mechanic, but this (as i found out) is a whole nother` animal...

It would take me about a day 6-8 hours to do BOTH head gaskets on a mercruiser 5.7 or 260, which is just a small block chevy really, this, however is an ongoing weekend problem (the blazer is not my primary vehicle.)

So after getting EVERYTHING off, (the bolts 6 bolts toward the passanger side under the exhaust manifold, the 7 (???) bolts on top of the head, removing the ac bracket, removing the exhaust manifold itself (having to cut two of the damn bolts) i STILL cannot get the cylinder head to "pop" off. it moves about an 1/8th of an inch, then comes to a halt, like something else is holding it on. i cant for the LIFE of me see anything else that could be holding it on, is there something in the back near the firewall im missing, or could it just be sealed on there somehow (iknow the gasket creates a seal, but ths really feels like theres a bolt thats loosened up and its getting hung up, but i dont see ANTHING....when i pry up on it with a block of wood, it moves about an 1/8th of an inch then just stops as if its getting hung up on something. Everything is out of the way (now) and i have a little room. I know there is two dowel type pins on the bottom of the head designed to hold the gasket in place, could that be whats holding it up ? does the head have to come off PERFECTLY straight ? i mean, im at a loss here......the pic doesnt help much, but its all i could get with my cell phone. Thanks in advance and i look forward to being a part of the community here.

thanks again all !!!

 

which head left or right cause if its the left I believe the oil dipstick bolts onto it.That may be your problem

 

I bet its just the dowels, im sure hes smart wnough to have unbolted the dipstick

 

Did you check to make sure that there aren't ground straps or anything else bolted to the back of the head?