Taking off head housing

Hello all,

I am working on a DIY Head Gasket replacement for my 2010 Prius. I already got as far as taking off the head. I have unscrewed all 10 head bolts, all exhaust nuts and disconnected all hoses but I am still unable to pry up the housing. There still seems to be something on the right side. I made a short video showing where I'm at. I hesitate to use any more prying force as it definitely feels like I missed something. Are there any hidden bolts on the right of the head i should look out for? Here is a video showing where I'm at:

(sorry for the loud breathing )

 

Looks like Google Drive doesn't work for these things. Here it is uploaded on YouTube:

 

I found that I did not take off the screw that was deeper down on the exhaust pipes that was shown at 17:59 of this video:

Now it looks like it is moving more, but still not completely off. Maybe it is just glued on tighter on this side, but I am still not 100% sure. I see that it is now moving well in the back so the only place still holding on is the front right. I rewatched a few different videos but can't find what is missing. Here is a new video showing where I am now:

 

That was one of the problems. I unscrewed one more screw there and now the back of the head assembly moves freely, but there is still something in the front left. I made a new video showing where I am at now in the post above yours.

 

I was able to pry it loose. It was just glued on a bit tighter. Thanks for the suggestions. It pointed me in the direction of the exhaust which was where the screw was.

 

Hello all,

I was able to take off the cylinder head and pull the head gasket so now according to instructions I need to get it machined. This is the first time I've been this deep in an engine so my question is what specifically should I ask to be done at a machine shop? The Gasket Masters video said to "inspect the seals on the valves" and "if the head needs to be machined, have it machined".

The first shop that I called I asked them to "inspect the valve seals and machine it". They said they would need to "recondition" it and it would cost $500 and take around a week. Is this really what I need? What exactly should I be asking for?

I have attached the images of the head and cylinders and the faulty head gasket. (I think I see where it wore out between cylinders 1 and 2.

 

I apologize. I wasn't aware of the proper etiquette here and wanted to separate conversation topics.

I didn't see any head refurb info in my other thread. If you mean the Manual Excerpts and How-to thread in your signature, I did see the tolerances and I saw you mention using a straightedge and feeler gauges to check it myself. I will try that once I am able to get them from the store. Should I worry about inspecting the valve seals?

 

Got it. I have the FEL-PRO kit and I see it does have the stem seals. Do I need to do or check anything else with the head if I can avoid machining it? I plan to give it a good clean with Oxiclean, as was suggested in other threads here, and/or carb cleaner. I already thoroughly cleaned the EGR as was suggested in other threads here.

 

What would you recommend wiping it down with? Sponges, paper towels and rags or can a steel wool pad be used?

Any specific cleaner that might work best for these components, or should I just stick to carb cleaner?